The Beast of Bray Road

  The Beast of Bray Road is considered by many to be a cryptid, although it is commonly referred to as a werewolf. It was first sighted in 1936 on rural Bray Road, outside of Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Over the years it has been sighted many times all throughout Wisconsin, with the most recent report occurring in 2006.

The Beast of Bray Road is described as having the characteristics of a bear, and a wolf as well. It is said to be nearly seven feet tall and weighs somewhere between 400 and 700 pounds. Some reports say that it is able to shift from standing on four legs to standing on two. According to several witnesses, the Beast of Bray Road has grayish brown fur and yellow eyes.

The first reported sighting of the Beast was in 1936. A man named Mark Schackalman was driving down Highway 18 at night when he saw a creature that he described as half-man and half-dog. The creature was digging at an old Indian burial mound. Schackalman returned to the site the next day to investigate. The Beast was still there. This time it spoke a three syllable word that sounded like 'gadara'. Throughout the years, this has been reported several times and many people have recognized this as the town in the Bible where Jesus cast out Legion, leading to speculation that the Beast of Bray Road is a demonic entity.

Another well documented sighting occurred on the eve of October 31, 1999, when a teenager named Doris Gibson was driving down Bray Road near Delavan, Wisconsin. She approached an intersection, then she felt the vehicle lift, as if she'd run something over. She got out of her car to investigate, and as she peered into the darkness, she saw a large, hairy figure. The creature began to rapidly approach her. She immediately got into her car and drove away. The creature jumped on the back of her car, but the car was wet so the creature slid off onto the pavement. Doris passed through that intersection again later that evening with a young girl she was taking trick-or-treating. She again saw the large hairy figure on the side of the road. When she saw that the creature was advancing toward the car, she ordered the girl to lock her door and quickly drove away.

The most recent sighting was in November of 2006, on Holy Hill Road in Washington County. Steve Krueger, a DNR worker, was on his daily route picking up dear carcasses when he came across the body of a doe. He put the doe in the back of his truck and got in the cab. He then proceeded to fill out paperwork. He felt the truck shake slightly, but thought nothing of it until the truck began to shake much more vigorously. He looked in his rear view mirror and saw a hairy, bulky creature. He threw the truck in drive and slammed on the gas. The creature retained the deer carcass, ripping an aluminum ramp off the back of the truck at the same time. Krueger described the creature as stocky with large pointed ears, a snout bigger than a bear, and estimated it was about 6 to 7 feet tall.

In 2002 a film surfaced, circa 1970s. It became known as the Gabel film. The film was presented by a man named Steve Cook, a Dj at WTCM-FM in Traverse City, Michigan. Just over three minutes long, the film at first just looks like some home videos—kids riding snowmobiles, a man washing his car—but towards the end of the film the cameraman is driving down a remote, rural road. He then gets out of the car, and the next thing that is seen is a huge, bulky creature. The creature begins to run toward the cameraman, who then turns and runs. In the final shot, there is a brief flash of teeth before the camera falls to the ground. A second film was later discovered, showing the police investigation after the cameraman is found dead. The cameraman is revealed to be torn in half. On posts to several cryptozoology forums, a man by the username of “Don Coyote” said he knew a relative of the victim. He quoted the relative as saying that what the officer saw was very traumatic and he eventually went crazy and often rambled "dogs have four toes, bears have five".

What is The Beast of Bray Road? Is it another urban legend started and kept going by people wanting attention? Or is it a werewolf? Could it be some kind of wolf/bear hybrid? Perhaps it is an undiscovered sub-species of canine. And were the Gabel films fake or were they the only documentation of the last horrifying moments of a man's life, snuffed out by an unknown creature? You may believe or you may be a hardened skeptic, but ask yourself this: On a beautiful night lit by the soft glow of a full moon, do you want to take a stroll alone on the infamous Bray Road?

If you do, please let us know how that worked out….