Could the Dover Demon be more than just a local myth? I mean, it’s definitely possible. Witnesses from the small town of Dover, Massachusetts, have shared some truly chilling encounters.
They all seem to point to a mysterious creature lurking around. Let’s dive into the details of each Dover Demon sighting. From firsthand accounts to more rumor-based stories, including alleged sightings that may have happened before and after the documented ones from 1977 and 1978.
In this article:
First Ever Dover Demon Sighting? Channing Pond (1972)
In 1972, five years before the more well-known Dover Demon sightings, something happened near Channing Pond on Springdale Avenue in Dover, Massachusetts.
You won’t have many articles discussing this particular sighting because there isn’t much information about what happened.
So, in 1972, a small group of friends might have had an early encounter with the strange creature. Mark Sennott (who lived in neighboring Sherborn) talked about it.
He claimed he and his friends were driving near the pond when their headlights lit up a small creature at the edge of the woods. However, they couldn’t really tell what it was because the unidentified animal ran deep in the forest, moving along the pond’s perimeter.
The sighting was brief, and the headlights weren’t strong enough to reveal any details. The group just couldn’t make out what it was, and they assumed it was probably an animal.
In a later interview (after the Dover Demon sightings in 1977 and 1978), Sennott said:
“I don’t know if we really saw something. We thought we did… We saw a small figure, deep in the woods, moving at the edge of the pond. We could see it moving in the headlights.”
Back then, they reported the sighting to the local police. However, the investigation led nowhere—no significant findings at all. The whole thing faded from memory.
But then, in 1977, after the Dover Demon reports started coming in, Sennott and his friends began to think back on that night in 1972. Maybe there was a connection?
The First Documented Encounter: Farm Street (April 21, 1977)
On April 21, 1977, at about 10:30 p.m., 17-year-old William “Bill” Bartlett was driving his Volkswagen along Farm Street in Dover. He had his friends Mike Mazzocca and Andy Brodie with him.
They were cruising down this dimly lit, rural road when suddenly, something caught Bartlett’s eye. There was a creature perched on a stone wall. At first, he figured it was just a cat or a dog. But then the headlights really hit it, and he realized this was something else. Something weird.
Bartlett described it as having a massive, egg-shaped head. The head was about the size of the rest of its body. And no mouth, no nose, no ears—just two huge, round eyes. These eyes were glowing, glassy, and lidless, shining like bright orange marbles.
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Its body? Super thin and spindly, with long, tendril-like fingers gripping the rocks. The skin looked rough, almost like sandpaper, with a peach-colored tint.
The whole sighting lasted just a few seconds. Then, the creature scrambled off into the woods. Bartlett’s friends missed it completely—they were busy chatting and didn’t look over in time.
Back at home, Bartlett was visibly shaken. He told his dad about it and then sketched the creature. He even wrote on his drawing: “I, Bill Bartlett, swear on a stack of Bibles that I saw this creature.”
This was the first reported sighting of what we now call the Dover Demon.
People believed Bartlett. Why? Because he was a reliable teenager. He was doing well at school and never got into trouble with anyone in the community.
Plus, he had some solid artistic skills, which helped him offer a detailed sketch of the creature.
The Second Encounter: Miller Hill Road (April 22, 1977)
Just a few hours later, another sighting took place in the early morning of April 22, 1977. This time, it was 15-year-old John Baxter. He was walking home from his girlfriend’s house along Miller Hill Road in Dover.
It was a pretty creepy night—cloudy, dark, with the road barely lit, and woods all around. As Baxter walked north, he noticed a small figure coming toward him. He first thought it might be his buddy, M.G. Bouchard, who lived nearby and was about the same height. So, he called out, “M.G., is that you?” No response. The figure stopped, and Baxter froze, too.
Feeling curious but also a little uneasy, he stepped forward to get a better look. The silhouette suddenly turned and dashed into a wooded gully beside the road.
Baxter, being a curious teenager, decided to follow it. He scrambled down the slope, crossed a brook, and climbed up the opposite embankment. That’s when he saw it—standing about 30 feet away, leaning against a tree.
Baxter described it as having a huge, watermelon-shaped head and long, thin limbs. Its fingers were wrapped around the tree trunk, and although its eyes weren’t glowing, they were still visible in the dark.
Its body looked kind of like a monkey, but the head was oversized and weirdly shaped.
Feeling increasingly spooked, Baxter decided it was time to leave. He backed away slowly, then booked it to Farm Street, where he got a ride home.
When he got home, Baxter sketched what he saw. Interestingly, his drawing closely matched what Bartlett had drawn earlier. This second sighting, just hours after Bartlett’s, really added credibility to the whole thing.
It wasn’t just one person now. People in Dover were starting to take notice of this strange creature.
The Third Encounter: Springdale Avenue (April 22, 1977)
Later that same night, April 22, around midnight, 15-year-old Abby Brabham and her boyfriend, 18-year-old Will Taintor, were driving along Springdale Avenue in Dover. They were approaching a bridge near Channing Pond when Brabham spotted something strange. It was on the left side of the road, and the headlights lit it up.
She described it as having a large, round head—about the same size as its body. No visible facial features, except for these two intensely bright green eyes. The eyes were glowing. She insisted on this point in a later interview.
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The creature’s skin was beige and hairless, and it seemed to be crouching on all fours. Its limbs were thin and long, almost giving it a frail look.
Taintor, who was driving, only caught a glimpse of it. He saw a figure with a big head and a tan body crouched by the roadside. They didn’t stop to take a closer look. Instead, they drove on, both of them feeling uneasy.
This was the third Dover Demon sighting within 25 hours. The consistency in what the witnesses saw—especially the creature’s large head, glowing eyes, and thin limbs—added more credibility.
Dover (1978): Another Dover Demon Sighting?
In 1978, about a year after those initial Dover Demon sightings, the same William Bartlett had another strange experience.
He was parked in a car with his girlfriend when he heard a sudden thud against the vehicle. Startled, he looked up and saw a small figure quickly running away into the dark.
However, the whole thing happened really fast. Plus, the visibility was limited. So, Bartlett couldn’t be sure if it was the same creature he’d seen the year before or maybe just a prankster. To this day, the 1978 Dover Demon sighting remains a mystery.
Sightings Beyond 1978
Since 1978, there haven’t been any verified Dover Demon sightings. Still, that doesn’t mean people have stopped talking.
The rumors continue, especially around Dover. Some folks claim they’ve seen the creature over the years. And just recently, in 2024, there have been alleged sightings popping up on social media—mostly on Reddit.
These recent Dover Demon sightings in 2024 have definitely sparked interest again. But to be honest, I couldn’t verify any of these reports myself, so they could be true… or maybe not.
Either way, the Dover Demon remains part of the local legend, and it seems like this mystery isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
