Episode 35: The Dover Demon | Haunting the Fireside

In tonight’s episode, we explore the case of the Dover Demon, a “cryptid” that was allegedly seen by four teenagers over the course of two nights in April 1977. What was it? Was this a hoax? Will we ever know the truth about this mystery? Tune in as we ask — and try to answer — these questions.

Sources and further reading:
– DeLorme Mapping Co., MA Atlas & Gazetteer
– Frank Smith, Dover Farms
– Fred Alsop, Birds of North America, (Eastern Region)
– Loren Coleman, Mysterious America
– Loren Coleman, Monsters of Massachusetts
– Mark Raycroft, Moose: Crowned Giant of the Northern Wilderness
– Hunter Shea, The Dover Demon
– Joe Nickell, “Identifying the Enigmatic ‘Dover Demon’” (Skeptical Inquirer, July/Aug. 2023)
– Mark Sullivan, The Boston Globe, October 29th, 2006: https://web.archive.org/web/20070226070142/http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/10/29/decades_later_the_dover_demon_still_haunts/
– WGBH Interview with Jeff Belanger: https://www.wgbh.org/culture/2024-04-29/nearly-half-a-century-later-dover-demon-mystery-still-puzzles-enthusiasts
– Metro West Daily News article on Bartlett and the Demon: https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/story/news/2021/10/19/dover-demon-massachusetts-unidentified-creature-cryptozoology-urban-legend-folklore/6026676001/
– California’s snowy owl: https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/05/world/snowy-owl-cypress-california-rare-sighting-scn/index.html
– Connecticut’s snowy owls: https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/fairfield/snowy-owls-spotted-this-week-at-connecticut-beaches/
– Youtube: Dover Demon on Lost Tapes (Pt. 1) / https://youtu.be/_qJZ3QKMh0Y?si=YRhbain8th6BH_75
– Youtube: Dover Demon on Lost Tapes (Pt. 2) / https://youtu.be/6iRrfmRlAfs?si=jarTDuHSEXNPL1th
– Wikipedia on the Dover Demon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dover_Demon
– William Bartlett’s page on BostonArtists.org: https://www.guildofbostonartists.org/william-bartlett

Content is produced, written, and edited by Stoneham Public Library staff, including the music featured in this episode. Stock footage and still images were taken from Canva.com (except for Bill Bartlett’s sketch of “the creature”).