Overview
Bray Road runs through farm fields and woods near Elkhorn in Walworth County, Wisconsin. Starting in the late 1980s, drivers said they saw a large, hairy, wolf-like animal there. Some said it crouched by the road eating roadkill. Others said it stood upright and ran on two legs. The descriptions often include pointed ears, a dog-like muzzle, fangs and glowing eyes, which is why the press soon called it the Wisconsin werewolf.
Linda Godfrey, a reporter for the local paper The Week, was sent to cover the stories in the early 1990s. She started out doubtful. Over time she said she became convinced that many witnesses were sincere. Her articles became the 2003 book The Beast of Bray Road: Tailing Wisconsin's Werewolf, and she kept collecting reports for decades. Her work shaped the wider 'Dogman' lore across the Midwest.
Older stories got folded in too. A 1936 account from a night watchman near Jefferson describes an upright, hairy, foul-smelling creature digging at a Native American burial mound. Newer reports have come from nearby Spring Prairie in 2018 and Lyons in 2020.
The legend has inspired several films, including a 2005 horror movie, a 2018 Small Town Monsters documentary and a 2025 horror comedy. Skeptics suggest wolves, big dogs or mangy bears; witnesses say what they saw was none of those.
Timeline
- 1936Night watchman reports an upright hairy creature digging at a burial mound near Jefferson, WI.
- Fall 1989Lorianne Endrizzi sees a creature kneeling beside Bray Road.
- Oct 31, 1991Doris Gipson reports hitting something and being chased on Bray Road.
- Early 1990sLinda Godfrey reports the sightings in The Week; the story spreads nationally.
- 2003Godfrey publishes The Beast of Bray Road.
- 2005The Asylum releases a horror film named after the beast.
- 2018Small Town Monsters releases the documentary The Bray Road Beast; a sighting is reported in Spring Prairie.
- July 2020Upright hairy creature reported near Lyons, Walworth County.
- 2025Horror comedy The Beast of Bray Road released.
Reported sightings
St. Coletta School grounds, Jefferson WI
1936 Told story
A night watchman, named in later retellings as Mark Shackleman, said he saw a creature digging at a Native American burial mound on the school grounds on more than one night. He described it as upright, about seven feet tall, covered in dark hair, with an odor like long-dead meat. He said it made a three-part growl. The account surfaced decades later through Godfrey's research.
Source: allthatsinteresting.comBray Road near Elkhorn WI
Fall 1989 (about 1:30 a.m.) On the record
Lorianne Endrizzi was driving home from her job managing a local lounge when she saw something large kneeling by the road. She said it held what looked like roadkill and had long claws, a dog-like face, fangs and yellowish glowing eyes. It turned to look at her car instead of running off. She is one of the named witnesses in Godfrey's reporting.
Source: allthatsinteresting.comBray Road near Elkhorn WI
Oct 31, 1991 On the record
Doris Gipson said she felt her car hit something on Bray Road. When she got out to look, a large dark creature came running at her, and she jumped back in the car and drove off. She reported claw marks on her trunk. She said she saw it again later the same night while driving a friend.
Source: allthatsinteresting.comFarm property near Bray Road
Around 1989 Told story
Among the early reports Godfrey gathered was one from an 11-year-old girl who said she saw a dog-like animal walking upright across her family's land. A local dairy farmer and another driver also reported encounters near the road around the same time. Names and exact dates for these were not given in the sources reviewed.
Source: wisconsinfrights.comBray Road, Walworth County WI
1980s Told story
Local stories from the 1980s describe a very large wolf running through cornfields by day, sometimes seen chasing deer, and a creature seen at night eating roadkill. Residents also linked torn-up deer and livestock to the beast. These reports are general and not tied to named witnesses.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgSpring Prairie, Walworth County WI
Feb 2018 On the record
A large, upright, hair-covered creature was reported in Spring Prairie, a few miles from Bray Road. The report was covered in local news and added to the long list of Walworth County sightings.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLyons, Walworth County WI
July 2020 On the record
Another upright, hairy creature was reported near Lyons. The sighting was written up by a local reporter and tied back to the Bray Road legend.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgEvidence
Claw marks on cars Unexplained
Witnesses including Gipson reported scratches on doors and trunks after encounters. Not examined by any lab.
Mutilated deer and livestock Disputed
Locals linked torn-up animals to the beast. Normal predators and scavengers also do this.
Witness testimony Disputed
Godfrey collected many accounts over decades, describing a wolf-headed animal that can rise on two legs.
What each side says
What witnesses and researchers report
Witnesses are ordinary local people who had little to gain. Several, like Endrizzi and Gipson, gave their names. Their descriptions match on key points: a canine head, pointed ears, long claws, a big body, and the ability to stand or run on its hind legs.
Linda Godfrey, who started as a skeptical reporter, said she became convinced many witnesses were sincere. She stressed that she did not claim to know what the animal was, only that people were seeing something they could not explain.
What skeptics and scientists suggest
Skeptics suggest people saw gray wolves, very large dogs such as Great Pyrenees or Newfoundlands, or black bears with mange, which can look strange and briefly stand up. At night, from a moving car, it is easy to misjudge size and posture.
Others point to hoaxes and to the way a famous story primes people to see a 'werewolf' in any large animal. Once the media named it, later sightings may have been shaped by the legend.
Open questions
- Are Bray Road and the wider Midwest 'Dogman' reports the same thing, or a story spreading?
- Why do witnesses so often say it stood on two legs?
Visiting
Where: Bray Road, Town of Geneva, just northeast of Elkhorn, Walworth County, Wisconsin.
Access: A public rural road lined with private farms and fields. Drive it, but do not trespass or stop in the roadway at night.
Events: No regular festival was confirmed.
Did you know?
- Linda Godfrey was sent to cover the story as a newspaper assignment and ended up writing several books on upright canines.
- The legend has been featured on MonsterQuest, Lost Tapes and In Search of Monsters.