The Dover Demon
A teenager driving home saw a small creature with a huge head and glowing eyes crawling along a stone wall.
What was reported
On the night of 21 April 1977, 17-year-old Bill Bartlett was driving through Dover when he said he saw a strange creature on a low stone wall: thin limbs, long fingers, hairless skin and a large, watermelon-shaped head with glowing orange eyes.
Later that night, and again the next evening, two other teenagers reported seeing a similar figure nearby. Bartlett drew what he saw, and the drawing became famous.
Explanations offered
Suggested explanations include a young moose or a foal seen in the headlights, or a hoax, though the witnesses have stood by their accounts for decades. Investigators at the time found them credible and found no sign of a prank.
- When
- 21–22 April 1977
- Where
- Dover, Massachusetts, USA
- Witnesses
- Three teenagers, on two nights
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.