Martin S. Kottmeyer

When experienced investigators examine cases involving mysterious monsters, they often find that there is a simple explanation: Witnesses have simply mistaken something ordinary for something extraordinary. A trick of light and shadows makes one thing look like something else. A misjudgment of distance makes something appear to be gigantic when it really is not. Was the Dover Demon such a case"

The Dover Demon is a puzzling creature that appeared in only one place-Dover, Massachusetts-during one weekend in 1977, but it remains a part of the area's mysterious lore. The Dover Demon was reported by credible witnesses to be a big—headed, red—eyed beast of unfamiliar form. The witnesses were sure they had seen a monster, but had they? Martin S. Kottmeyer thinks they may have seen something much more ordinary: a...