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Massachusetts has a reputation for the freaky that can be mainly credited to the Salem witch trials, the deadly miscarriage of justice that spawned gift shops that will outlive us all.

But strange things have been afoot all across the state that don’t necessarily get as much shine—unless you count the flesh-like shine coming off an owl’s white feathers that a skeptic posited as an explanation for a Massachusetts monster sighting.

The Dover Demon is likely the most well-known Massachusetts cryptid. It is a strange enough creature that its memory prevails even though it was only spotted a handful of times. Throughout three nights in late April 1977, witnesses encountered a figure with peachy-pale skin, a somewhat figure-8-shaped head, and a distended belly. The figure was sometimes on all fours, sometimes leaning back against a tree, and had seemingly opposable fingers and toes.

Some people believed the witnesses, and others searched for more plausible theories, like famous skeptic Joe Nickell, who posited that perhaps a snowy white owl had flown into the beam of one witness’s yellow headlights, and the lights’ reflection against the feathers created a peachy reflection that looked like flesh. It’s difficult to ascertain whether this theory or the appearance and disappearance of an actual unknown monster is more plausible.

Then there are pukwudgies, legendary troll-like creatures said to inhabit the Freetown State Forest, among other locations throughout New England. In contrast to the Dover Demon, pukwudgie sightings are rampant, with stories flooding YouTube videos, Facebook groups, and TV specials, not to mention TikToks with purported pukwudgie sightings (that no one in the comments seems to be able to see).

But it turns out that the common idea of pukwudgies today differs vastly from the accounts of the Wampanoag tribe, who first lived in Massachusetts and documented their existence. While everyone who has encountered them experiences them as sinister at worst, mischievous at best, and magical, not in the good way, key differences point to the interesting way myths evolve and what they might or might not mean to the people who originated them.

Join Kristen and Will this week on Guide to the Unknown as they examine these northeastern beasties! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to get a new episode every Friday.