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Cryptid

The Dover Demon

Three separate groups of teenagers encountered a bizarre creature with a watermelon-shaped head and glowing orange eyes over two nights. No explanation has ever been found.

April 21-22, 1977
Dover, Massachusetts, USA
4+ witnesses

The Dover Demon

A creature so strange it defies classification—seen by multiple witnesses over two consecutive nights, then never again.

First Sighting

On April 21, 1977, around 10:30 PM:

  • Bill Bartlett (17) was driving with friends
  • His headlights illuminated something on a stone wall
  • He saw a creature unlike anything he’d ever seen
  • It turned to look at him with huge, glowing orange eyes

The Description

All witnesses described essentially the same being:

  • Approximately 3-4 feet tall
  • Spindly body with long, thin limbs
  • Oversized, watermelon-shaped head
  • Large, glowing eyes (orange or green)
  • No visible nose, ears, or mouth
  • Rough, sandpaper-like skin
  • Long fingers that wrapped around surfaces

Second Sighting

Later that same night (12:30 AM):

  • John Baxter (15) was walking home
  • He encountered the creature on a wooded path
  • It stood watching him from a hillside
  • He fled in terror

Third Sighting

The next night, April 22:

  • Abby Brabham and Will Taintor were driving
  • They saw the creature near a bridge
  • Abby described glowing green eyes
  • It was hunched over on all fours

The Investigation

Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman investigated:

  • All witnesses were interviewed separately
  • Their descriptions matched closely
  • None had prior knowledge of other sightings
  • All passed credibility assessments
  • No evidence of hoax was found

The Witnesses

The teenagers:

  • Had good reputations
  • Were not known for pranks
  • Were genuinely traumatized
  • Never changed their stories
  • Refused money for their accounts

Bill Bartlett’s sketch, made that night, became iconic.

The Theories

Alien

  • The creature’s appearance is classic “grey alien”
  • But no UFO was reported
  • Perhaps a stranded being?

Unknown Animal

  • A deformed animal?
  • An escaped exotic pet?
  • Nothing matches the description

Hoax

  • The witnesses insist it was real
  • No one has ever confessed
  • The emotional impact seemed genuine

Interdimensional

  • A being from another reality?
  • Briefly visible in ours?
  • Would explain its disappearance

Legacy

The Dover Demon:

  • Became an instant cryptid classic
  • Featured in countless books and shows
  • Dover embraced the legend
  • Never seen again after those two nights

Three groups. Two nights. One impossible creature. The Dover Demon remains unexplained.

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