Dover Demon
Over two nights in April 1977, four teenagers in Dover, Massachusetts independently reported seeing the same bizarre creature - a large-headed, spindly-limbed being with glowing orange eyes. The witnesses were considered reliable, their descriptions matched, and the case remains unexplained after nearly 50 years.
The Dover Demon made only a handful of appearances over two April nights in 1977, but those brief sightings created one of cryptozoology’s most enduring mysteries - a case distinguished by the credibility of its witnesses and the remarkable consistency of their independent descriptions.
First Night: Farm Street
On the evening of April 21, 1977, three seventeen-year-old boys were driving along Farm Street in Dover, Massachusetts, an affluent Boston suburb. Bill Bartlett was behind the wheel when his headlights illuminated something crouched on a stone wall.
What Bartlett saw defied easy categorization. The creature had an enormous, watermelon-shaped head completely out of proportion to its thin, spindly body. Its eyes were large and glowing orange, set wide apart on its oversized cranium. The skin appeared hairless and textured, tan or peach in color. Long, thin fingers wrapped around the stones of the wall.
Bartlett’s passengers didn’t see the creature clearly, but they saw his reaction - genuine terror. Within an hour, he had made a detailed drawing of what he’d witnessed. That drawing would prove remarkably similar to what other witnesses would report without knowledge of his sighting.
Second Night: Confirmation
Approximately two hours after Bartlett’s sighting, fifteen-year-old John Baxter was walking home from his girlfriend’s house. On Miller High Road, he spotted a figure approaching him. Assuming it was a friend, he called out. The figure stopped, and as Baxter got closer, he realized it wasn’t human.
The creature stood on two legs but was utterly alien in proportion - the same massive head, the same spindly limbs Bartlett had described. It moved into a gully and watched Baxter with those luminous eyes. He fled.
The following night, April 22, two more teenagers - Will Taintor and Abby Brabham - reported seeing a similar creature while driving on Springdale Avenue. Brabham’s description matched the others precisely, though she claimed the eyes appeared green rather than orange.
The Investigation
The Dover Demon case attracted serious investigators, including noted cryptozoologist Loren Coleman, who found several compelling factors:
- All four witnesses were known as honest, level-headed teenagers
- Their descriptions matched despite no contact between sightings
- The witnesses had nothing to gain from fabrication
- The drawings made independently by Bartlett and Baxter showed the same distinctive creature
Local authorities investigated but found no evidence of a hoax. The witnesses maintained their accounts and were willing to discuss them publicly - unusual behavior for teenagers perpetrating a prank.
What Was It?
Theories have ranged from misidentified animals (a newborn moose, a deformed calf) to extraterrestrial beings. Some researchers have noted similarities to descriptions of “Grey” aliens. Others suggest the creature may have been an entirely unknown species, briefly surfacing in Dover before disappearing forever.
Bill Bartlett, now an artist, has continued to stand by his account for nearly five decades. He’s stated repeatedly that he knows what he saw and that it was nothing conventional. The Dover Demon, whatever it was, appeared for two nights, was seen by four credible witnesses, and has never been seen again.