Overview
The Dover Demon was reported on April 21 and 22, 1977, in Dover, Massachusetts, a quiet town about 15 miles southwest of Boston. Three teenagers, in separate sightings, described a small, thin creature about four feet tall with a large, watermelon-shaped head, glowing orange or green eyes, and no visible nose or mouth.
The first witness, 17-year-old Bill Bartlett, said he saw it while driving on Farm Street. Hours later, 15-year-old John Baxter reported a similar figure on Miller Hill Road. The next night, 15-year-old Abby Brabham reported it on Springdale Avenue. Each made a sketch, and the drawings matched closely.
Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman led the investigation and gave the creature its name. Plotted on a map, the sightings fall along a line about two miles long. The local police chief called Bartlett a reliable witness, and decades later the former chief still described the teens as good, reliable kids. There were no further sightings. Skeptics suggest a school-vacation prank, a foal or a moose calf. Bartlett has stood by his account for decades.
Timeline
- April 21, 1977, about 10:30 p.m.Bill Bartlett's sighting on Farm Street.
- April 22, 1977, about 12:30 a.m.John Baxter's sighting near Miller Hill Road.
- April 22, 1977, about midnightAbby Brabham's sighting on Springdale Avenue.
- 1977Loren Coleman investigates and names the 'Dover Demon'.
- 2006Bartlett and the former police chief stand by their accounts.
Reported sightings
Farm Street near Bridge Street, Dover, Massachusetts
April 21, 1977, about 10:30 p.m. On the record
Seventeen-year-old Bill Bartlett was driving on Farm Street when he saw a strange figure by the road. He described a creature about four feet tall with long, thin limbs, a watermelon-shaped head without a visible nose or mouth, and glowing orange eyes. He sketched what he saw and later said, in a famous line, that he would swear on a stack of Bibles that he saw it.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgMiller Hill Road, Dover, Massachusetts
April 22, 1977, about 12:30 a.m. On the record
Fifteen-year-old John Baxter reported meeting a similar small figure on Miller Hill Road a couple of hours after Bartlett's sighting. He described a creature much like Bartlett's and made his own sketch. The two sketches closely matched, which is one reason the case drew so much attention.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgSpringdale Avenue, Dover, Massachusetts
April 22, 1977, about midnight On the record
Fifteen-year-old Abby Brabham said she saw a small creature by the road on Springdale Avenue the following night. She described a large head and glowing eyes, which she remembered as green. Her description and sketch matched those of the two boys.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgChanning Pond, Dover, Massachusetts
1972 Told story
Some accounts mention an earlier sighting by Mark Sennott at Channing Pond in 1972. It is not part of the core 1977 case and lacks firm documentation.
Source: locationsoflore.comEvidence
Witness sketches Unexplained
Three independent drawings that closely match each other.
Straight-line pattern Unexplained
The sighting spots fall along a line about two miles long.
Prank theory Disputed
Police suggested a school-vacation hoax; no prankster has ever come forward.
What each side says
What witnesses and researchers report
Three teenagers gave matching descriptions and drawings within about a day. The police chief considered Bartlett reliable, and in 2006 the former chief still vouched for all of them.
Bartlett has never changed his account, and no hoaxer has confessed in nearly fifty years.
What skeptics and scientists suggest
Police at the time thought it was probably a school vacation hoax. Others have suggested a young moose, a foal, a snowy owl or an escaped animal seen briefly in headlights.
Skeptics also note that the late 1970s were full of alien imagery from films like Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which may have shaped what the teens thought they saw.
Open questions
- Why was it seen on only two nights and never again?
- Did the teens' stories influence each other?
Visiting
Where: Dover, Massachusetts: Bridge Street Landing, Chase Woodlands/Peters Reservation and Channing Pond are near the sighting areas.
Access: Public conservation land; the roads are residential, so respect private property.
Did you know?
- Loren Coleman coined the name Dover Demon.
- Abby Brabham remembered the eyes as green; the boys said orange.
- The sighting spots line up along about two miles.