Bray Road

Bray Road looks like just another unassuming stretch of concrete surrounded by farmland in rural Wisconsin, and to some people, it is. To others, it’s home to the most famous werewolf in the United States.

The beast is described as having shaggy, black or greyish-brown fur with pointed ears, sharp claws, and a sloping weakness to its back legs. Witnesses report seeing it walk upright on two legs, reaching a height of seven or eight feet, as well as on all fours; though, it’s specified to look unlike any other four-legged animal when it runs in this position. It has been observed to eat in a way more similar to humans and apes than canines, with the creature holding prey in it’s paws and bringing it to its mouth to eat rather than bending its head to its food. 

The first known sighting of a creature fitting this description on or near Bray Road was reported in 1936 by Mark Schackelman, a night watchman for an assisted living facility for developmentally disabled individuals. He described the creature to his son as being over six feet tall, with black fur, pointed ears, claws, and smelling like decay. Schackelman saw the beast again the next night, when it reportedly attempted to speak to him in a growling, near-human voice. It “spoke” one word - ‘gadara.’

Reports of encounters with the beast were made again in the 1970s, ‘80s, ‘90s, and even the early 2000s. Sometimes it was “peaceful,” only staring witnesses down from a distance. Other times, it was seen running across the road or eating roadkill. Two particularly unlucky eyewitnesses were chased down in their vehicles, with claw marks on their trunk to corroborate their story.

Linda S. Godfrey, a reporter for Walworth County’s “The Week” was the first person to dig deeper into these sightings. She followed the story for 40 years, interviewing countless witnesses and sharing their stories first in “The Week,” then in numerous books on the Beast of Bray Road and other Wisconsin cryptids and legends when the newspaper ceased its operations.

Witnesses of the Beast of Bray Road are diverse and largely reported to be very credible individuals, which makes brushing off this creature as an attempt at garnering money or fame more difficult. Because of this, one theory about the Beast of Bray Road is that it is in fact a real animal - but instead of a supernatural creature or even a new species, it might just be a black bear suffering from mange.

Mange is a disease that causes hair loss and emaciation in animals. A black bear in this condition can look similar to a wolf, especially at a distance or in nighttime conditions. Black bears are also more likely to scavenge roadkill than wolves, they hold food in their paws and bring it to their mouths to eat rather than bending their head to their food like wolves, and black bears can walk and even run on their hind legs whereas wolves cannot. While this theory is not flawless, many amateur cryptozoologists find it to be more compelling than other proposed explanations.