Overview
Bray Road is a rural road through corn and soybean fields just outside Elkhorn, a city of about 10,000 people in Walworth County, southeastern Wisconsin, about 40 miles southwest of Milwaukee. It looks like any other country lane, but it has given its name to one of America's best-known modern 'dogman' legends.
Witnesses describe a creature six to seven feet tall with a human-like body covered in fur, a wolf-like head and glowing red or orange eyes. Some say it ran on all fours, others that it stood or walked upright. Almost all describe intense fear. Some report it coming at their cars or leaving scratch marks, and stories of mutilated animals are part of the lore.
The reports reached the public through Linda Godfrey, a reporter for the weekly Walworth County Week. She began covering the sightings in the late 1980s and early 1990s, at first doubtful, but she came to believe many witnesses were sincere. Her 2003 book The Beast of Bray Road: Tailing Wisconsin's Werewolf made the road famous.
Reports have not stopped. Wikipedia notes claims of a large, upright, hairy creature near Spring Prairie in February 2018 and near Lyons in July 2020. The legend has inspired a 2005 horror film and a 2018 documentary, and Bray Road remains a popular night drive for cryptid fans.
Visiting
Where: Bray Road, just outside Elkhorn, Walworth County, WI, about 40 miles southwest of Milwaukee.
Access: Bray Road is a public road you can drive, but the fields and farms along it are private property. Do not stop in the roadway, walk into fields or knock on doors; pull off only where safe and legal. It is a dark country road at night, so drive slowly and watch for deer and farm equipment.
Events: No official festival or museum found. The 2003 book and 2018 documentary are the main tributes.
Timeline
- 1936A night watchman in Jefferson, WI, reportedly sees a creature digging on an Indian burial mound.
- 1970s-1990sMain period of reports around Bray Road and Elkhorn.
- Late 1980s-early 1990sReporter Linda Godfrey begins writing about the sightings in the Walworth County Week.
- 2003Godfrey publishes The Beast of Bray Road: Tailing Wisconsin's Werewolf.
- 2005The Asylum releases the horror film The Beast of Bray Road.
- 2018A documentary on the beast is released; a sighting is reported near Spring Prairie in February.
- July 2020A sighting is reported near Lyons, WI.
Reported sightings
St. Coletta School grounds, Jefferson, WI
1936 Told story
The earliest account linked to the beast says a night watchman at the St. Coletta School saw a hairy creature digging on an Indian burial mound on the grounds. The story was recorded long after the fact and the watchman is not named in the sources opened for this dossier.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgBray Road, outside Elkhorn
1980s Investigated report
One witness said they struck something on Bray Road at night, stopped, and were then chased by a large, wolf-like creature with red eyes. This type of story, collected by Linda Godfrey, became the core of the Bray Road legend. The witness is not named in the sources opened for this dossier.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgFields around Bray Road
1980s-1990s Investigated report
Godfrey collected reports of daylight sightings in cornfields, scratch marks on vehicles, and animals found mutilated with organs removed. Witnesses described both four-legged running and upright walking, a wolf-like head and glowing eyes, and nearly all spoke of fear.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgSpring Prairie, Walworth County
February 2018 On the record
A witness reported a large, hair-covered creature standing upright near Spring Prairie, a few miles from Bray Road, showing the legend still draws new reports decades later.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLyons, Walworth County
July 2020 On the record
Another report described a large, hairy, upright creature near Lyons, east of Elkhorn. Details on the witness were not available in sources opened for this dossier.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgEvidence
Vehicle scratch marks Unexplained
Reported by some witnesses in the 1980s-90s; no lab analysis known.
Mutilated animals Disputed
Part of the local lore; not linked to any identified animal.
What each side says
What witnesses and researchers report
Linda Godfrey, who started as a doubter, came to believe many of the witnesses were sincere and frightened by something real. Witnesses across decades describe the same mix of wolf-like head, glowing eyes and the ability to rise onto two legs.
Witnesses report the encounters as frightening and close, sometimes in daylight and sometimes from inside a car with a clear view, which supporters say makes simple misidentification harder to accept.
What skeptics and scientists suggest
Skeptics suggest gray wolves, very large dogs such as Great Pyrenees or Newfoundlands, or black bears with mange, which can look strange and briefly stand on their hind legs. Seen at night in headlights, size and posture are easy to misjudge.
They also point to hoaxes and to a kind of mass hysteria once a werewolf story is in the local paper, which makes people read ordinary animals as monsters.
Open questions
- Why do witnesses describe a canine that walks upright, which no known canine does for long?
- Did reports rise after Godfrey's newspaper coverage, or were they already common?
Did you know?
- Linda Godfrey started out doubtful but became convinced many Bray Road witnesses were sincere.
- A 2005 horror film by The Asylum took its name from the road.