The Beast of Bray Road | Ep. 127

What is lurking in rural Wisconsin? Could there be a real werewolf that stalks around Bray Road? The beast of Bray Rd is known as a dog man that stands between 6 and 7 feet tall with grey and brown hair, a muscular build, and a dog face with other canine features.

We discuss the folklore of the dogman known as The Beast of Bray Road and discuss some more recent encounters. 

Listen now!

What Is The Beast Of Bray Road?

Have you ever seen something you couldn’t explain, crawling in the shadows?

Have you ever been on a deserted country road and saw a beast that you’ve never seen before?

Could there be an unknown cryptid that is roaming in the night in the great state of Wisconsin?

What’s up, Bizarros?! This week we dive into the tale of the Beast Of Bray Road.

Mysterious beasts have been seen by numerous witnesses throughout Wisconsin.  Could it be an indigenous dogman, unlike the Michigan Dogman that was in every state but Michigan? 

Or is this a genuine cryptid that hasn’t been seen anywhere else?  Let’s dive deeper.

What Is The Beast Of Bray Road?

There is a non-native animal roaming the Wisconsin countryside.  Some say it’s a flesh-and-blood werewolf; others say it’s an actual dogman.

People from the details of witness testimony state that they have seen a hairy humanoid with canine features that eyewitnesses have seen around the towns of Delavan and Elkhorn in Wisconsin.

This mysterious creature people have seen has been described as significantly large, around 7 feet tall, with a very muscular humanoid style body, covered in fur or hair, and with a head resembling a wolf or a bear. It has greenish/yellow eyes and pointed ears.

It also can move as both a quadruped and biped.

Before you ask, we have both historical encounters that created the folklore and a few additional encounters found in the deep dark corners of the internet.

And the reason “Bray Road” is mentioned is because of one of the historical encounters, which we’ll get into.

While I personally think of it as a dog man, there is kind of a battle of what is actually should be thought of.

Due to the immense popularity of the entity type, the folklore in the town likens it (pun intended) to a werewolf.

However, some cryptozoologists believe it should actually be considered in the Bigfoot realm.

The mindset behind this is they fear if it’s labeled a werewolf it will instantly be written off as #unbelievable in the scientific community, so the best chance for this entity to be taken seriously it should be in the humanistic big foot / its own species category.

But, due to its canine qualities, dog man seems to be a good fit for me.

Beast Sightings

First Encounter – 1936 – Milwaukee Magazine & Legends of America

A man named Mark Shackleman arrived at the St. Coletta School for Exceptional Children around midnight.

He was the catchment (a Wisconsin word for security guard) for the school and made sure no one trespassed or vandalized the property.

It is near Jefferson, Wisconsin, and the area covered an old building, a school, an orchard, and wide open fields where several Native American burial mounds were preserved.

With it being so rural, he really didn’t have much to worry about other than maybe a few teen pranksters or things like that.

So, in general, it was a pretty easy gig.

That particular night, Shackleman was crossing the fields when he saw a shadow.

He squinted to see what it was.

As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw a hunched form that was on all fours, digging into one of the Native American mounds.

The way the thing was digging reminded Mark of a dog; it had a very canine approach to it, so initially, he figured that was what it was – maybe even a wolf.

The longer he stared, however, and the more he was understanding exactly what he was seeing – it was clear that this thing was no dog.

Mark could see that the thing was far too big for that.

Suddenly, it looked at him, and then it stood up.

The large, hairy body unfurled to what seemed like 7 feet tall. It had a shaggy canine face, but beneath the thick fur, the muscular body of a man. A low growl echoed across the field.

Other than fear, the only sensation that hit Mark was the stench of rotting meat.

His heart was beating out of his chest. Trying to control his breath and without making a sound, mark started stepping back.

Within an instance, the beast turned and ran off into the trees and was gone.

The next night, Mark returned to St. Coletta for his usual rounds.

As he walked the fields, he saw the shadow again, digging into the same mound as the night before. This time, he gripped his flashlight tight, ready to run or swing if need be.

Again, it stood up, but this time it opened its mouth. Mark saw fangs hanging down from its teeth and its lips pulled back in a snarl.

It growled at him; its speech seemed half-human and half-beast.

He didn’t move, and again the creature turned and left.

He never saw it again, but the terrifying growl, the way it seemed to speak to him, stuck in his mind for years afterward.

1964 – Beast Of Bray Road Encounter

Around midnight, Dennis Fewless was driving home from his job when his headlights illuminated a strange creature running across the road.

He described it as dark brown in color and possibly weighing around 400 to 500 pounds with a height of seven or eight feet.

During the incident, the beast ran across the road and jumped a barbed wire fence before Fewless lost sight of it.

A return to the location during the day presented little evidence except for the area where the beast pushed corn aside as it ducked into a field.

In an interview with author Jay Rath, Fewless stated that “I was awful scared that night. That was no man. It was all hairy from head to feet.”

1980s Encounters

These are short quick moments that stemmed from the 80s.

• A woman reported the beast of bray road trying to break into her home and actually injuring one of her horses. The horse was left with a huge gash on its back. The only evidence the next day was a footprint over 12 inches in size.
• A woman spotted it crossing the road in front of her car.
• Another driver saw it crouched on the side of the road, eating a dead animal.
• One young girl reported the beast chasing her through the forest.
• Animal mutilations were reported throughout the area through the 80s and 90s as well.
• A dairy farmer Scott Bray admitted to seeing a “strange looking dog” in his pasture near Bray Road in September or October of 1989. He described the creature as larger and taller than a German shepherd, with pointed ears, a hair-covered tail, and gray and black fur. The beast seemed to be bulkier in the front, with a strong chest. He tried to follow the bizarre dog to a large pile of rocks however he lost sight of it. Proof of the occurrence remained in the form of huge footprints.
• Russell Gest reported he was about a block away from an overgrown area when he heard the brush being rustled as if an animal was there. A beast appeared, standing on its hind legs. Gest stated that it took a couple of wobbly steps forward before he ran away. As he ran, Gest looked over his shoulder to see if he was being followed. He noted that the beast had gone down on all fours but was not chasing him. It eventually wandered towards Bray Road. Gest also described the beast as covered in black and gray fur and larger than a German shepherd. He estimated its upright height as around five feet, with an oversized dog or wolf head, wide neck, and shoulders. He believed it to be some kind of dog and wolf hybrid because its primary features were canine.
• On a fall evening in 1989, bar manager Lori Endrizzi was driving along Bray Road. As she rounded a bend, she saw what she initially perceived as a human being kneeling or hunched along the side of the road. She slowed down to take a look through the passenger side window. She was roughly six feet away from the figure and got a look at it for about 45 seconds. She described it as a beast with gray-brown fur, fangs, and pointed ears. She said it had a long face with a snout like a wolf. She also stated that its eyes glowed yellow, even though her headlights were not reflecting on them at that point. Its arms were jointed like a human’s and it seemed to hold its food with its palms up, which is unlike any local animal. The beast was muscular with human-esque fingers adorned in claws. Endrizzi could not see a tail, but its back legs were behind it, similar to a person who was kneeling.

1999 Encounter

In 1999, an 18-year-old girl, Doristine Gipson, was driving down Bray Road near Delevan when she claimed that her right tire hit something and actually lifted the tire up off the ground.

Obviously, she was concerned, so Gipson stopped the car and got out to see what she had run over.

There was nothing there.

Confused, she looked to the side of the road and saw a massive wolfish form standing on two legs.

It was breathing incredibly heavily, like panting and staring in her direction.

She rushed back into the car, and as she peeled away, the beast leaped onto her trunk but slid off in the slick rain, and she sped home.

When she came forward with her story, many of the other sightings were reported as well, prompting both further investigation and fresh skepticism and mockery.

Online Encounters About The Beast Of Bray Road

Encounter 1 – YouTube

I actually saw it on my birthday.

The day of my birthday was the night of the full moon me and my friends went out and about.

My parents told us not to; I’m stubborn.

We went to a bar that day and had a good time.

I saw a 7 ft tall beast with gray on its back in till beating yellow eyes staring at me when we were going home from the bar.

We heard noises coming from the left side of our vehicle driving.

There was a cow torn, and by it was the beast.

It was hard to describe cuz it was dark well, in Wisconsin time, it was 10:00 at night I live by the hospital where many times the beast has been seen. This is no joke.

You have to understand the beast looked straight in the car I never told anyone this I peed my pants I was so scared for my life and it since that night I got home I called my mom I told her do not come home till tomorrow.

She said I told you, so she stayed at her friend’s. My friends and I barricaded the door with anything we could find.

My dad was with my mom, so they stayed at the family’s house throughout tonight, and I fell asleep listening to scratches on the side of the house and growling.

I saw it more and more that week. The beast has been on our property several times. Every full moon, we go down into our basement and lock everything up.

Encounter 2 – 2016

“Me and my girlfriend were sitting outside on my dad’s porch smoking a cigarette.

It was dark, so it was pretty hard to see.

I also want to make note that my dad lived on about 300 acres of vacant land, and he did, for a fact, have many wild animals that roamed at night, as well as cattle, so we were pretty used to seeing wild hogs, coyotes, raccoons, and even wild turkey approach the house once the sun went down.

This didn’t seem like any of those things. There were no street lights, and the closest neighbor was about two football fields away.

We noticed something creeping through the grass about 30 feet away from the porch.

The movement reminded us of a coyote, but this, whatever it was, was only about a foot and a half tall and anywhere from 7-10 feet long.

Its body was pressed almost completely against the ground, and its head turned towards us, almost as if it was stalking us as prey.

We were pretty freaked out when we noticed, so we grabbed our cigarettes and shoes, but that’s when things got even freakier.

This thing had been crawling towards a medium-sized tree, and as it passed behind the tree, it didn’t reappear on the other side.

Could it have climbed the tree? Or perhaps stood upright behind the tree, hiding, watching?

I didn’t stay around to find out; all I know is the footsteps stopped, so it wasn’t running away out of view.

My girlfriend suggested we go get a flashlight and try to scare it off, to which I responded, “Are you f*cking crazy? Get inside now.”

After searching Wikipedia, I thought it might have been the beast of Bray road or maybe a werewolf.”

Encounter 3 – 1998

“I lived in the town of Franklin, WI.

This was about 1997-98.

We had just moved into a brand new subdivision and were currently the only house that was built.

The rest of the area, for a long distance, was empty lots on what used to be the adjoining farm’s old land.

Our backyard had a running creek. On the other side of the creek were some brush and a single-lane road with an old streetlight that gave off an orange hue about 30 yards or so away.

It was a warm summer night, and I was having a sleepover with one of my friends.

We had all the lights off and were playing hide and seek in the dark.

I went back into our sunroom and saw something crouched over, illuminated through the brush and the orange streetlight.

I’m not sure how to describe its body posture. You know how when you’re about to throw up, and you hunch over on your knees and palms?

It was similar to that. Its breaths were so deep and heavy that you could see its chest heaving from that distance.

We had a 140lb Akita who stood 6 ft on his hind legs. I could easily tell that whatever this was dwarfed my Akita.

I also know that it wasn’t any type of dog or wolf. Its hind legs were thick and muscular like a man’s, but its body tapered at the abdomen and head like a wolf or canine.

I called out to my friend, who came over and just said, “what the fuck is that!?” trying not to make much noise.

We sat there as it was hunched for a good 10 minutes.

My dad (who was a hardass Vietnam Vet) came out to see what we were doing up so late.

We asked what it was, and he just said,” I…..don’t know.” He then went outside as we stayed in, scared for my dad.

He had one of those old “megalights” that had “the power of 1000 candles” and took it with him.

He stood in the driveway and shined it onto whatever we were watching.

It looked back at us, and I honestly don’t remember its eye color. What I do remember is that when it took off into the brush, it took off upright, like a sprinter from the all 4’s stance.

My dad heard it splash through the creek and hightailed it in. It was one of those crazy moments you don’t really talk about because people think you were crazy.

When I heard about it, the Beast of Bray Road, so many years later, I immediately knew I’d seen it too.”

Encounter 4 – YouTube

I saw this thing too!!!

HOLY SHIT, was this thing HUGE!!

I got out of the passenger side of the car in the middle of the cemetery, right by the Star Of David.

I kid you not, the first 30 seconds, we saw something peeking behind a tombstone like a Human playing peekaboo.

I followed the Thing, and I had a big LED flashlight and was shining on this thing the whole time!

This thing has massive glowing green eyes and barely blinked. We stared at each other for 5 min straight and got closer and closer to it.

Every time I got closer, it moved back a tombstone and didn’t seem to try to cause harm, but the feeling I was going through was Indescribable.

It peeked at me as if we are playing peekaboo with each other. Also, this thing was ALL grey and very, very hairy, and I’d say the size of 2-3 wolves put together.

So back to the story, after 5 min I felt like I was walking half a mile away from the car as I followed this creature, and As I felt I got too close, and I mean CLOSE, I’d say me and thing were 15-20ft away from each other the whole time, and I got scared and panicked.

I ran to the car fast as I could, and as soon as I got in the passenger side of the car, this thing was right next to the car hiding behind the same tombstone when I first got out of the car.

if I had a go pro, this would have been the most amazing evidence. I saw this thing less than 1 min In the middle of the cemetery.

If any paranormal investigators are interested in my story, I can maybe show you what I saw if I was to go there again and the location.

And again, this beast and I were staring at each other straight for, I’d say, 8 min but felt like forever! It could have easily attacked me, and I’d be missing, but he didn’t cause harm and seemed very curious. Please, any real investigators, contact me if you’re interested.

What Is the Best Of Bray Road?

One theory that tries to explain the beast of bray road and other dog-man-type entities is mistaken due to panic.

Essentially, you as a person see this animal, and panic and fear set in, so you make mistaken observations that give these animals werewolf-like or supernatural characters.

I’m not saying that this is guaranteed the case or always the case, but the mind is tricky, and people naturally have a poor memory when it comes to exacts.

Another theory is that it is just someone in a suit that was pretending, which I don’t think to be the case.

Is The Beast Of Bray Road An Actual Werewolf?

What say you, Bizarros?  Is the Beast a real-life werewolf?  Perhaps it’s a dogman?  

Maybe it is a completely new cryptid that roams the shadows of Wisconsin.

Maybe we’ll never know what the beast of bray road is. However, horror fans can watch the horror movie “The Beast of Bray Road,” released in 2005.