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The Science of Lycanthropy

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In Wisconsin, sightings of creatures reported as "werewolves" date back to the mid-1930s, first from Jefferson County. In the 1980s, similar reports sprang from Walworth County, the next county south—mostly from around the small town of Elkhorn, near a lane called Bray Road.

A rash of sightings during the 1980s and 90s prompted a newspaper to assign coverage to reporter Linda Godfrey. It was she who initially coined the name "Beast of Bray Road."

A Fox News report on the Beast of Bray Road

Reports state that these creatures are large—two to four feet tall while walking on all fours and five to seven feet when walking upright. There are reports on file in which eyewitnesses claim to have seen either walking style used; and sometimes both have been reported during one sighting. Weight estimates range from 400 pounds up to 700 pounds.

The creatures are said to resemble the stereotypical Hollywood werewolf, looking like a human/wolf hybrid. Yet their behavior is markedly different.

These beings seem to be scavengers, in large part. Many reports of them include details of the creatures eating roadkill, usually held between their large paws. Most sightings end with the creature fleeing humans and returning to the dense brush and forest.

There were also a high number of sightings near Native American effigy mounds, which lead some researchers to make connections between these beings and the skinwalkers of Native American folklore. However, not one documented report is on file in which someone has witnessed these creatures shapeshifting. Of course, the fact that they can easily go from bipedal movement to moving on all fours could possibly be misinterpreted as a pelt-covered man transforming into a wolf.

Accounts of similar creatures are sometimes reported from the neighboring states of Michigan and Minnesota—one prime example being the Michigan Dogman.

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