The US state of Wisconsin is located in the North-Central US and is a part of the Midwest and Great Lakes region. It is bordered with the US states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and a part of Michigan and also has a coast along Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, two of the five North American Great Lakes, with Lake Superior being the largest and Lake Michigan the 2nd largest of the Great Lakes. The state capital is Madison and the largest city is Milwaukee.
Much of Wisconsin is forested, especially the Northern Highland where many glacial lakes can also be found. In the Central Plain can be found interesting sandstone formations as well as much rich farmland and within the Eastern Ridges and Lowlands which is mostly flat and not very forested, there is farmland and, in this region, can be found many of Wisconsin’s large cities as well. Finally, the Western Upland is a rugged and hilly area that features many rivers and streams as well as a number of small caves and more farmland can be found here as well.
The state is one of the leading dairy producers in the nation and is well known for its cheese. Other big parts of the Wisconsin economy are manufacturing, particularly that of paper, information tech and from agriculture, cranberries and ginseng and finally tourism is another big contributor.
And with introduction being done it is now time to get on to the part this blogpost was intended for. The spooky, the unexplained and the mysterious of the state of Wisconsin… what does it have in this realm to show off?
As usual I like to start with cryptids and the very first one that comes to mind is the Beast of Bray Road, which is a fairly well known one and is not super obscure but it is very much localized to the state. The first sightings of an apparent large canid cryptid, perhaps even a werewolf as some believe it to be, come from as far back as the 1930s, but with a spate of sightings also in the 1980s and 1990s and has there since been used to label any other such similar sightings in the state that look like this cryptid, even if it did not happen in the particular vicinity of the original sightings.
The pop culture from this creature has spawned a number of movies on it and also a book from one of those who were investigating the original sightings, news reporter Linda Godfrey, and who themselves eventually became convinced of its existence and released a book about it, called The Beast of Bray Road: Tailing Wisconsin’s Werewolf.
These first sightings took place near a community called Elkhorn and the road in question is a rural one nearby to this place, although not all of the sightings took place exactly on that road, but also in other areas surrounding Elkhorn. Many of those who believe in the creature also believe that there is more than just one and that there are many in the area and others who have investigated the Beast of Bray Road or who have at least looked into it have often labelled it a “Dogman”, which are a grouping of canid wolf-like cryptids that many believe to exist across the United States wilderness, but that are highly elusive and perhaps clever.
Descriptions of the beast vary as is typically the case, some say it looks bear-like, others say a hairy biped that looks similar to the Sasquatch or some other kind of Bigfoot or that it is a werewolf-like creature that is able to stand up on to its hind-legs where it can be as tall as 7ft in height. Its fur is described as a brown-gray similar to a dog or bear.
Explanations range from it being a mis-identified creature such as just a bear or known canid or that it may be some kind of undiscovered wild dog or canid creature but that has been overexaggerated in its description or that it is simply just hoaxes and mass hysteria or a mix of the bunch. Some say that the Michigan Dogman legend may have played to the creation of the Beast of Bray Road or that it led to mass hysteria of the sightings in the 1980s-90s. Others believe it is merely werewolf folklore brought over by European settlers.
Next up we have a creepy chronicle from the town of Mineral Point. It is about a “Vampire” some say lurks here, spooking the town’s residents and causing general mischief and uneasiness. The first encounter is from the 1980s and the latest is as recent as 2008.
It was on the evening of 14th March 1981 that the police were called to a disturbance at Graceland cemetery due to a mysterious humanoid figure lurking about and causing a general fright to those who were observing its uncanny behavior.
The figure was described as tall and having a face that was pale and that the figure was also dressed in black clothing and sported a cape to match. This figure was approached by a police officer who responded to the call of concerned residents.
The figure though had no plans of going quietly and decided to do something most unusual by casually leaping over a 6-foot tall fence with the police officer unable to catch the figure thereafter, it was gone. The authorities did attempt to track the figure via its footprints but only found that its footprints were non-existent from the point where it had leapt the fence.
Not much more could be done with the lack of evidence to follow and also no clue of the figure’s identity… but the saga was far from over. The police continued to be shown up by whatever the figure was on numerous occasions, never managing to catch whatever it was, often also being fooled by it, such as on one occasion its footprint tracks leading directly into a concrete wall. Some believed that the figure may not even have been alive, but may have been a ghost/apparition, which may explain its apparent unnatural ability.
The wall leaping trick was repeated again in March 2008, but this time the entity decided to up the game. The police arrived to find the figure sitting in a tree where it then leapt to the ground and vaulted over a 10ft wall once again to vanish seemingly into thin air.
Either it’s one of the world’s best pranksters or it’s a legitimate mischievous entity.
Up next is something quite a bit scarier and perhaps more sinister and also goes quite far back into the state’s history, until at least the late 1800s where the first sightings have been said to take place. It is that of some kind of Goat-like creature, that has been sighted along Hogsback Road near to the village of Hubertus.
The road itself is described as dangerous to drive on under usual circumstances, let alone there also being some kind of possible evil that exists along it as well. The Goatman of Hogsback Road is said to be a half-Goat, half-man… having the lower extremities be that of a Goat and the upper portion that of a man, although sporting a pair of disconcerting horns on his head.
Its description is very much reminiscent of a Satyr, which comes from Greek mythology and if such a thing were similar to this it would be a creature or entity of nature rather than something sinister. But now a days and with those who view paganism as a deception, it is viewed as evil and to those who are atheist it would be viewed still likely with fright and weariness.
I think many of us can agree that if we did see something like this out on a rural road, that it would be assumed nothing good could possibly come of it.
Wisconsin also features a number of water serpents, I will talk of two different water serpents here. One is called the Lake Koshkonong Monster and the other is called Jenny, which I identify with as it is my mother’s name as well. Both of these serpents were only sighted once quite long ago, but I feel they deserve a mention nonetheless.
Lake Koshkonong is located in southern Wisconsin along the Rock River primarily in Jefferson County not far from Fort Atkinson. The lake is large but not very deep, so it can be hard to imagine that a water serpent could have resided in it and maybe still does although it hasn’t been sighted since the first ever reported sighting. This sighting took place in November 1887 and was reported in the Watertown Republican newspaper.
According to the report two duck hunters out in a boat in the northeastern part of the lake, A. I. Sherman from Fort Atkinson and Charles Bartlett from Milwaukee, encountered a monstrous serpent just swimming along almost 200-feet from them, the monster, perhaps upon noticing the presence of the men, rose its long serpent head up out of the water, described about 10ft in length. The men themselves estimated the entire beast to be at least 40ft in length.
Apparently feeling rather ballsy that day the men, instead of trying to get away like any sane being would, decided to chase after the serpent in an attempt to slay it, but alas the monster merely slipped under the water never to be seen again.
The other water serpent, Jenny, was sighted in Geneva Lake, this lake being much smaller but a lot deeper than Lake Koshkonong, makes it a bit more realistic that an undiscovered water serpent could possibly reside in it.
Geneva Lake is found near to the town of Lake Geneva in southeastern Wisconsin. The lake is the only known place in the world that does mail jumping where a mail jumper uses a boat to pick up and deliver mail, even while the mail jumper jumps off the boat, the boat will continue to move at a slow, steady pace, the service has been maintained for local tradition and is also a tourist attraction.
The first reported sighting of Jenny took place in July 1892 and was reported by the Chicago Tribune. The witnesses were two boys who were fishing in the lake when they saw what they described as a giant snake in the water. The thing was truly massive, estimated at 100ft long and being about 3ft thick. The creature surfaced a short distance away from the fishing boys and begun to swim towards them, but perhaps having second doubts it decided to then turn away and dove back under the water.
Residents from Lake Geneva have claimed a number of other sightings but this is the only known reported one and there has been no known significant sightings since then.
I think this will be a good place to stop off for now. I usually do a haunted place as well, but I think this offers a good enough glimpse into what strange stuff Wisconsin has to offer. I am also eventually planning a new blogging series on haunted places in each state as well, so I may save that for then from now, although I may still add the odd one in here and there.
Next up will be the strange and the unexplained of the US state of Illinois.
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