Jerome Clark and Loren Coleman

Just about every area of the world has its own mysterious monster stories. In Dover, Massachusetts, a puzzling creature was reported during only one brief period, but the Dover Demon has become part of the permanent lore of the area.

According to cryptozoologist Loren Coleman, 1977 was an unusually eventful year for strange occurrences. UFO and creature sightings were abnormally frequent and often seemed to be connected; they often occurred in closely related times and places. Many of the creature sightings involved mysterious monsters with humanlike forms. People wondered if some of these creatures were from outer space. When Coleman heard reports of a mysterious monster sighted near Dover in April of that year, he went to investigate. The following selection describes what the witnesses saw and how Coleman investigated. The selection is taken from...