Beast of Bray Road
Encyclopedia
The Beast of Bray Road is a cryptozoological
creature first reported in the 1980s on a rural road outside of Elkhorn, Wisconsin
. The same label has been applied well beyond the initial location, to any unknown creature from southern Wisconsin
or northern Illinois
that is described as having similar characteristics to those reported in the initial set of sightings.
Bray Road itself is a quiet country road near the community of Elkhorn. The rash of claimed sightings in the late 1980s and early 1990s prompted a local newspaper, the Walworth County Week, to assign reporter Linda Godfrey to cover the story. Godfrey initially was skeptical, but later became convinced of the sincerity of the witnesses. Her series of articles later became a book titled The Beast of Bray Road: Trailing Wisconsin's Werewolf.
The Beast of Bray Road is described by purported witnesses in several ways: as a bear
-like creature, as a hairy biped resembling Bigfoot
, and as an unusually large (2-4 feet tall on all fours, 7 feet tall standing up) intelligent wolf
-like creature apt to walk on its hind legs and weighing 400-700 pounds.
Although the Beast of Bray Road has not been seen to transform
from a human into a wolf in any of the sightings, it has been labeled a werewolf
in newspaper articles.
The Beast of Bray Road is also known as the "Bearcoon" to some Elkhorn residents.
, a waheela
(said to be a giant prehistoric wolf similar to Amarok
), or a wolfdog
or a coydog
.
It is also possible that hoaxes and mass hysteria
have caused some falsehoods and sightings of normal creatures to all be artificially lumped under the same label. Concurrently with the sightings in Wisconsin, there was a rash of similar encounters in the neighboring state of Michigan
. Following the release of "The Legend", a popular song about the Michigan Dogman
in 1987, author Steve Cook received dozens of reports, including photograph and film evidence of the creature. There is no known link between the sightings in adjoining states, other than the similarity of the creature described.
For years, the debate raged about whether the films were real or not. Finally in 2010, on the History Channel program, Monster Quest
, Steve Cook confirmed that both films were fake, made in 2002 by Mike Agrusa, who had been a longtime fan of Cook's "The Legend," a song about the dogman. The "creature" in the first film was actually a man in a Ghillie suit. The body in the second film was made of painted styrofoam. Although Monster Quest dramatized the event to make it appear that their expert had analyzed and found curious flaws in the film, then dispatched werewolf expert Linda Godfrey to interrogate Cook to determine the truth, Cook claimed in a lengthy blog post that he informed all parties involved in the production that the film was fake weeks before filming on the episode began.
as well as several books and a motion picture. Articles about it have appeared in Weekly World News
. The sightings spawned a 2005 exploitation movie
directed by Leigh Scott
titled The Beast of Bray Road. The History Channel's TV series MonsterQuest
launched an investigation on the beast, in which all witnesses were subjected to lie detector tests. The polygraph
administrator could find no indication that any of the witnesses had fabricated their stories. It has appeared in a season 3 episode of Lost Tapes
, in which it attacks members of a radical militia.
Cryptozoology
Cryptozoology refers to the search for animals whose existence has not been proven...
creature first reported in the 1980s on a rural road outside of Elkhorn, Wisconsin
Elkhorn, Wisconsin
Elkhorn is a city in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. It is southwest of Milwaukee and northwest of Chicago. The population was 7,305 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Walworth County...
. The same label has been applied well beyond the initial location, to any unknown creature from southern Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
or northern Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
that is described as having similar characteristics to those reported in the initial set of sightings.
Bray Road itself is a quiet country road near the community of Elkhorn. The rash of claimed sightings in the late 1980s and early 1990s prompted a local newspaper, the Walworth County Week, to assign reporter Linda Godfrey to cover the story. Godfrey initially was skeptical, but later became convinced of the sincerity of the witnesses. Her series of articles later became a book titled The Beast of Bray Road: Trailing Wisconsin's Werewolf.
Description
Most descriptions and eyewitness accounts are catalogued in Linda Godfrey's book Hunting the American Werewolf.The Beast of Bray Road is described by purported witnesses in several ways: as a bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
-like creature, as a hairy biped resembling Bigfoot
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...
, and as an unusually large (2-4 feet tall on all fours, 7 feet tall standing up) intelligent wolf
Gray Wolf
The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...
-like creature apt to walk on its hind legs and weighing 400-700 pounds.
Although the Beast of Bray Road has not been seen to transform
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
from a human into a wolf in any of the sightings, it has been labeled a werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
in newspaper articles.
The Beast of Bray Road is also known as the "Bearcoon" to some Elkhorn residents.
Explanations
A number of animal-based theories have been proposed. They include that the creature is an undiscovered variety of wild dogCanidae
Canidae is the biological family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals that includes wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, and domestic dogs. A member of this family is called a canid . The Canidae family is divided into two tribes: Canini and Vulpini...
, a waheela
Waheela
The Waheela is a wolf-like cryptid reported from Nahanni Valley in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It has also been reported in areas of Michigan and Alaska...
(said to be a giant prehistoric wolf similar to Amarok
Amarok (wolf)
Amarok is the name of a gigantic wolf in Inuit mythology.It is said to hunt down and devour anyone foolish enough to hunt alone at night. Unlike real wolves who hunt in packs, Amarok hunts alone. It is sometimes considered equivalent to the waheela of cryptozoology...
), or a wolfdog
Wolfdog
A wolfdog is a canid hybrid resulting from the mating of a wolf and a dog . The term "wolfdog" is preferred by most of the animals' proponents and breeders because the domestic dog recently was taxonomically recategorized as a subspecies of wolf...
or a coydog
Coydog
A coydog is the hybrid offspring of a male coyote and a female dog . Together they are genetically capable of producing fertile young. The dogote, a similar hybrid, is the result of breeding a male domestic dog with a female coyote...
.
It is also possible that hoaxes and mass hysteria
Collective hysteria
Mass hysteria—other names include collective hysteria, group hysteria, or collective obsessional behavior—is the manifestation of the same or similar hysterical symptoms by more than one person. A common manifestation of mass hysteria occurs when a group of people believe they are suffering from a...
have caused some falsehoods and sightings of normal creatures to all be artificially lumped under the same label. Concurrently with the sightings in Wisconsin, there was a rash of similar encounters in the neighboring state of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. Following the release of "The Legend", a popular song about the Michigan Dogman
Michigan Dogman
The Michigan Dogman is a cryptozoological creature first reported in 1887 in Wexford County, Michigan. Sightings have been reported in several locations throughout Michigan, primarily in the northwestern quadrant of the Lower Peninsula...
in 1987, author Steve Cook received dozens of reports, including photograph and film evidence of the creature. There is no known link between the sightings in adjoining states, other than the similarity of the creature described.
The Gable Film
In 2002 a film surfaced, supposedly made in the 1970's. It became known as the Gable film because of a paper label affixed to the box. The film, just over 3 minutes long, shows at first what looks like simple home movies, of kids riding snowmobiles, a man washing his truck. Near the end of the film, the person videotaping is riding down a remote dirt road, when he stops and goes out to check what looks to be a huge bulky creature on all fours. The creature suddenly runs after the cameraman, who tries to run away, before there is rustling and a brief shot of teeth and fangs before the camera falls to the ground. A second film was "discovered" and showed a police investigation after the cameraman in the first film is found dead. The police camera pans over to two officers examining the body, which is revealed to have been torn in half by whatever attacked the cameraman. In posts to several cryptozoology and related forums, a user identified as Don Coyote stated that he knew a relative of the dead body in the film. The relative said that the officer saw something that was apparently very traumatic. The officer lost his mind and began rambling "Dogs have four toes, People have five."For years, the debate raged about whether the films were real or not. Finally in 2010, on the History Channel program, Monster Quest
Monster Quest
MonsterQuest is an American television series that originally aired from October 31, 2007 to March 24, 2010 on the History channel...
, Steve Cook confirmed that both films were fake, made in 2002 by Mike Agrusa, who had been a longtime fan of Cook's "The Legend," a song about the dogman. The "creature" in the first film was actually a man in a Ghillie suit. The body in the second film was made of painted styrofoam. Although Monster Quest dramatized the event to make it appear that their expert had analyzed and found curious flaws in the film, then dispatched werewolf expert Linda Godfrey to interrogate Cook to determine the truth, Cook claimed in a lengthy blog post that he informed all parties involved in the production that the film was fake weeks before filming on the episode began.
Popular culture
The Beast of Bray Road appears in the television program Mystery HuntersMystery Hunters
Mystery Hunters is a Canadian Documentary television series aimed at a Young audience. It aired on YTV in Canada and on Discovery Kids in the United States. It was also dubbed in Japanese and aired in Japan on NHK....
as well as several books and a motion picture. Articles about it have appeared in Weekly World News
Weekly World News
The Weekly World News was a supermarket tabloid published in the United States from 1979 to 2007, renowned for its outlandish cover stories often based on supernatural or paranormal themes and an approach to news that verged on the satirical. Its characteristic black-and-white covers have become...
. The sightings spawned a 2005 exploitation movie
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
directed by Leigh Scott
Leigh Scott
Leigh Scott is an American film director, writer, producer, actor and cinematographer.- Early life and career :...
titled The Beast of Bray Road. The History Channel's TV series MonsterQuest
Monster Quest
MonsterQuest is an American television series that originally aired from October 31, 2007 to March 24, 2010 on the History channel...
launched an investigation on the beast, in which all witnesses were subjected to lie detector tests. The polygraph
Polygraph
A polygraph measures and records several physiological indices such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions...
administrator could find no indication that any of the witnesses had fabricated their stories. It has appeared in a season 3 episode of Lost Tapes
Lost Tapes
Lost Tapes is an American horror/thriller docudrama television series that airs on Animal Planet. Produced by Go Go Luckey Entertainment, the program presents fictional found footage depicting traumatic encounters with cryptozoological creatures , including the Chupacabra and Bigfoot, and even...
, in which it attacks members of a radical militia.
External links
- BeastofBrayRoad.com — Site by Linda S. Godfrey
- Michigan Dogman Several pages of sighting reports, including photographs