The Wisconsin Werewolf Sightings
The legends of the Wisconsin Werewolves go back as far as the original history of the werewolf. The area that became Wisconsin was home to the original tribe that can claim that former tribe members were the first to have the ability to transform into wolves.
While this is a relatively little-known legend, the modern werewolf sightings in Wisconsin are a bit better known. Between 1936 and 1999 there were several sightings of a creature that terrified the local population. I've included them below.
Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #1
Year: 1936
Location: Jefferson County, Wisconsin
Mark Schackelman was driving along Highway 18 just outside of Jefferson, Wisconsin when he noticed someone digging in a field off the side of the road. The site was a location where a Native American burial ground was believed to be (I swear I am not making this up). When Schackelman slowed down to get a better look, the "man" turned around and faced him. It turns out that it was a hairy creature that stood on two legs, which Schackelman described as looking like a mix between an ape and a dog. The creature had the general shape of a large man, with opposable thumbs and everything.
Schackelman drove off in a hurry but remained curious about the creature. The next night he drove past the same area hoping to see the creature again. He did. This time the man-beast growled at him in a way that sounded eerily human, making a sound that he described as "ga-DA-ra". Schackelman freaked out and the creature ran off.
Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #2
Year: 1964
Location: Jefferson County, Wisconsin
Dennis Fewless was driving along Highway 89 around midnight when he saw a figure running across the road. When his headlights caught sight of the creature, it was eerily similar to werewolf seen in 1936, just a couple of miles away. Large and muscular, stood around seven feet tall, covered in dark brown hair, with a dog-like face.
Fewless saw the creature run across the road, jump over a barbed-wire fence, and disappear into a corn field.
Fewless waited until the sun was up the next day to return to the scene of the werewolf sighting. He had hoped to find tracks to prove the size of the beast, but the ground was too hard. He was able to find the place in the cornfield where the werewolf had entered. The stalks of corn were broken and askew in such a way that supported the theory that a man-beast of massive size had been there.
Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #3
Year: 1972
Location: Jefferson County, Wisconsin
A woman (name unreported) called 911 when she heard someone trying to break into her rural home in the middle of the night. Upon further investigation, it appeared that it was not a person, but a large animal that had tried to get in. A few weeks later the creature returned and again tried to forcefully enter the house. This time the woman saw the creature. She described it as around eight feet tall, covered in dark brown hair, and it stood on two legs. It had long arms with hands that had long, sharp claws on them.
When the creature couldn't get inside the house, it went out to the woman's barn and attacked a horse. The horse was alive, but had a deep cut across its back. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources investigated, finding a foot print that was said to be over a foot long.
Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #4
Year: 1989
Location: Elkhorn, Wisconsin
The town of Elkhorn, about an hour south of Jefferson County, had its own reports of the Wisconsin Werewolf. The first werewolf sighting occurred in 1989, though it wasn't reported until another sighting was reported 10 years later.
A woman named Lorianne Endrizzi had seen a large figure on the side of the road. As she got close she realized that it was not a person but a tall beast, covered in gray/brown hair, with a dog-like face featuring fangs, pointed ears, and glowing yellow eyes.
Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #5
Year: 1989
Location: Elkhorn, Wisconsin
A dairy farmer named Scott Bray owned a cattle pasture near his family's namesake street, Bray Road. He reported seeing a dog, larger and taller than a German Shepherd, in his pasture one night. The creature was muscular and heavy, covered in gray/brown hair with pointed ears. Bray was able to find footprints, larger than any known dog or wolf, in the pasture the next day.
Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #6
Year: 1989
Location: Elkhorn, Wisconsin
Russell Gest saw a large, dog-like creature in Elkhorn close to the time of the previous two reported encounters. He described the creature in a very similar way to the other reports, stating that it stood on its hind legs and began to slowly approach him before he ran away.
Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #7
Year: 1990
Location: Elkhorn, Wisconsin
An 11-year old girl named Heather Bowey saw what she thought was a large dog stand up on its hind legs and run away. She lived near Bray Road, which would become part of the famous nickname for this werewolf.
Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #8
Year: 1992
Location: Elkhorn, Wisconsin
Tammy Bray, the wife of Scott Bray, was driving back to her home on Bray Road when she saw the creature. She also described a tall, broad shouldered, and muscular beast covered in dark brown hair. The dog-like face and glowing yellow eyes match the previous descriptions of the Wisconsin werewolf, though at this point, the other sightings had still not been widely reported.
Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #9
Year: 1999
Location: Elkhorn, Wisconsin
This is the sighting that got everyone talking. It was the night of Halloween 1999, and an 18-year old woman named Doristine Gipson was driving along, you guessed it, Bray Road, when her car suddenly jerked as if she had hit something. She got out of the car and walked back along the road, straining to see. Then she caught sight of what she had hit.
A huge, dark, hairy figure began rushing toward her. Gipson ran back into her car and began to drive away. The beast reportedly jumped up onto the trunk of the car, but due to the wetness of the rain-covered car, it could not hold on and fell to the ground.
Gipson said she drove back to the location that same night with a young trick-or-treater, and they both saw a large figure laying on the side of the road. They didn't stay long.
Gipson reported the sighting the next day, which is what brought the other witnesses to share their tales. At this point, no one was sure what the creature was, so they dubbed it "The Bray Road Beast".
