Encounter Atlas
Melon heads are small humanoids with huge, bulbous, hairless heads, said to emerge from the woods at night. The legend turns up in three states, each with its own origin story.
In Michigan they are linked to the area around the Felt Mansion in Laketown Township and said to be children who escaped an asylum, though local historians say no such asylum existed. In Kirtland, Ohio, the story blames a sinister Dr. Crow and his experiments on orphans, and teens drive Wisner Road looking for them. In Connecticut the tales centre on Velvet Street in Trumbull and the woods of Shelton, with origins from a colonial-era family to an escaped asylum.
Folklorists note the stories borrow from real fears and prejudice about disability. They are classic legend-trip tales.
What witnesses report
- Small figures with oversized bald heads
- Glowing eyes along a dark road
- Seen in the woods near old buildings
Famous cases
- 2011Melonheads film
West Michigan
Seen the Melon heads?
Tell us what happened. Every report is read by a person before it goes on the map, and you can stay anonymous.
