Beast of Bray Road/Michigan Dog Man

I think that it moves to fast to be a human in a suit. It appears to have short hind legs. A human's rearend would be sticking up in the air if it were, because our arms are shorter than our legs. Wierd....

The video shows a truck that they were driving, did they ever recover a vehicle out of the woods? Hey wasnt' the Blair Witch Project something like that, some film footage found in the woods?

So there is no way this could just be a bear? we don't have them over here, but i'd imagine they look a lot like that when they are charging at you.

Doesn't look like any bear I've ever seen. Looks like...., well I'm not quite sure, like some kind of human/animal hybrid to me. I think the head isn't large/long enough to be a bear. Didn't move like a bear either. I think a bear that was aggressive would have reared up on it's hind quarters first, as a warning.

bears have a particular bounding, almost rolling gait when running. if you've seen bears before it's pretty darned hard to confuse them with anything else unless it's really dark and so is the bear. even small or baby bears have telltale traits that are incredibly hard to confuse with other animals, including the peculiar gait when running. at walking speed you might be able to mistake a small or baby bear for a large dog of similar coloring, but never at a running pace. of all the animals i've seen in the wild and on documentaries there's nothing quite like how a bear moves.

bears are even more distinct when standing on hind legs, as their hind legs are visibly short, making them hard to mistake for something else. along with the paws and way a bear holds it's forelegs when standing. especially the shuffling gait that is the only possible way for bears to walk on their hind legs and for only short distances.


if you've never read linda godfrey's book about the brayroad beast i heartily suggest it, it's fascinating, i own a copy. of course i'm a wisonsinite and strange things in this fair land are always interesting to me. i live about two-two and a half hours away from elkhorn, depending on traffic....well maybe three or four actually. i've always wanted to visit and go looking for the beast.

I'd also just like to add about bears:

They're pretty darn easy to read. kind of like a dog or wolf really, a look out of the corner of the eye, a slightly raised lip, a low growl, shifting it's body so that it's side is more visible to you(meaning, back off buddy i'm startin to get mad) . all things that indicate a bear is really darn close to ripping your face off and eating it. most bears are incredibly fast when attempting to attack, some even easily outpacing a normal human.

really they're like any wild animal, they give you plenty of signals visible and otherwise to indicate they don't want you around, and to be honest usually with any moderate level of normal human noise they're no where to be seen by people in the woods. and most people(who don't live in say madison wisconsin, or flint michigan bigger cities all their lives) in michigan and wisconsin knows these things almost from the time they start talking. due to relatives teachings that is, not like psychicly or anything like that lol.

reply to post by optimus primal


Well what do think of the video of this thing. I can't tell what it is. I sure as hell wouldn't have stuck around to find out either. Encoungtering that thing would make one wish that they had a shotgun/rifle. Where can I get my hands on that book about the Bray Rd. Beast. Can I get it at like Barnes/Noble or something like that.

It's quite possible the person was killed. I saw a slowed down version of the footage and you can clearly see the teeth of the animal literally inches from the screen.

Originally posted by optimus primaland to be honest usually with any moderate level of normal human noise they're no where to be seen by people in the woods.

Well, for the most part that is true. One time when I was 12 and running through the Sky Lakes Wilderness area in Oregon (the last Virgin Forest in the continental US) I literally ran into a Brown Bear that was tearing a log apart digging for grubs. I skidded to a stop but 5 feet away from it and it reared on it's hind legs and roared at me. I'm ashamed to admit that I screamed like a girl in terror and surprise, however, doing so probably saved my life because it turned around and ran.

However, most animals are not so skittish, especially when food is involved. I've frightened off wolves before by yelling at them (wolves tend to be one of the more skittish and easily frightened animals, even in packs), but another time I encountered a wolf feeding on an old carcass, it refused to be afraid and looked up at me long enough to growl before continuing to feed. He didn't seem the least bit concerned or bothered by the fact that I didn't take his warning and leave. He just continued to enjoy his meal while growling.

Likewise, when territory is involved, most animals won't be discouraged by fear. I've seen raccoons not only stand their ground against humans and dogs when they trespass on their homes, but will attack without hesitation (although they do like to give a lot of hissing as a warning first). Mountain Lions and Bobcats are the same way. Outside of their territory they will act like normal scavengers and flee at the first sign of noise, but in their home territory they will defend it with ferocity. I've even seen Deer lower their heads and stamp the ground, ready to charge, just for being on the same trail that they are.

One time at night, again in the Sky Lakes Wilderness, I was stalked for over 5 miles by a Puma. It never once made a sound towards me, it just followed me. I yelled at it and it would stop and watch me with curiosity, but it wasn't afraid. I even shot off my side-arm in air, and it cowered at the sound, but it never ran off. Eventually I came to realize that he wasn't going to be deterred and was going to continue following me. As he made no aggressive moves towards me I just continued on, and he followed me all the way back to camp. Sometimes wild animals can be more curious than they are afraid.

So, it is indeed true that most animals in the wild are going to be deterred or spooked or scared off by humans or by loud noises, but there are exceptions. Food, territory, and curiosity are all instances where even the most skittish of scavengers, most docile of herbivores, and even hardened predators will not be deterred.

As such, I would suspect that the Bray Road Beast would fall into the same situation. It would normally avoid humans and hide and flee from them, however, if cornered, or it's territory trespassed on, or when food is involved, it's behavior could easily turn far more aggressive.

reply to post by fraterormus


Dang, you need to find a new place to live-LOL

reply to post by Zoopedia


Yhea, I guess it's possible, but no word form anyone ever, and no missing person's reports/bodies recovered, or abandoned vehicle's recovered. From looking at the entire video, it's apparent that there's at least two people involved. Just strange that it's never been explained, and no one has come forward to claim the film.

reply to post by fraterormus


hence "usually". if you sneak up on a bear(like walking quietly without making much noise), or refuse to heed it's warnings, etc yeah they're not going to be upset by a little yelling they may still attack. it's common sense really, gotta respect the animal as they're more dangerous than us.....sometimes even when we're armed.


Reply to Skyeyes:
what do i think the gable film shows? Honestly i have no idea, i've never seen anything like it, on tv or in the wild. Over the years i've watched(well the short clip not this new longer version) this video dozens of times. it's not a human in a suit, as was pointed out his posterior would be up in the air( our body proportions just aren't right for that kind of thing). And i doubt you could find anyone who could replicate those movements at that speed with the slight changes in trajectory without breaking an arm.

What i find incredibly interesting is that when watching the gable film closely one can see the right(it's right , our left) rear leg at one point. it's movement(the leg) suggest wolf or dog maybe even large cat. and the mouth at the end also suggest large cat like say a mountain lion. but it doesn't quite fit any of those. the body is confusing, and if i'm seeing it clearly enough, incredibly muscular in the upper three quarters.
It's almost like a small mountain lion or a leopard was covered in a greyish wolf suit and then attacked the guy.

a second observation about the movement of this thing. besides the body itself, the movements are quite natural looking for a predator on attack. not something easily faked, especially buy a human in a suit. I don't think i'll ever be sure what this thing really is unless i see it myself in broad daylight clearly. I do know that it is a real animal, faked situation or not(I lean slightly toward not faked). The movements of it are too consistent with real world predator behaviour i've witnessed.

so basically i dunno what i think the animal in the gable film is, beyond that it IS an animal of some sort and most likely a predator, not an omnivore. It definitely, to me, is not in any way a baboon. No baboon species even remotely resembles the animal in the gable film.

reply to post by skyeyes


Oh and yes, you can purchase linda godfrey's book from B&N. That's where i got my copy

My uncle owns land near Manistee and I used to go out and fish on the streams of his farm. Until I noticed that I was being followed. Everyone said it was black bears, but now I am not so sure.

reply to post by fraterormus


Left out quote.



[edit on 14-7-2009 by StevesResearch]

Originally posted by fraterormus
Having grown up on Bray Road I was going to dismiss it entirely until I noticed that although the Beast of Bray Road and Michigan Dog Man are commonly used interchangeably, the Bray Road in "Beast of Bray Road" isn't the Bray Road in Michigan but the Bray Road in Elkhorn Wisconsin.

As with all good legends, there is a basis of truth...however, over time these legends take a life of their own and it's common for hoaxers to play/prey upon legends.

I think such is definitely the case in some of those photos reputedly portraying this creature.

However, it's not uncommon either for large quadrupedal animals, such as bears, to rear and go bipedal to make themselves look bigger than they really are to intimidate and scare away attackers. This isn't common in pack animals such as wolves, but it is with solitary animals. Just because it has been seen bipedal doesn't mean it is a bipedal animal.

Likewise, there are a lot of things in the wilderness that still defy classification or discovery. It's hard for modern city dwellers to conceive of, but in many parts of the United States wilderness still comprises the majority of our nation. If several new species are discovered every week on small islands such as Madagascar, is it really unreasonable to think that new species could possibly exist undiscovered in modern times on a significantly larger landmass such as North America or even just the United States?

Attributing a recent sighting with an escaped Olive Baboon satiates the desire of the mind to have a conveniently rational explanation, but I think it is also too dismissive. Clearly, this legend has far older roots, with numerous sightings long before one specific incident of an escaped Olive Baboon. It might explain one sighting, but all of them spanning the course of hundreds of years?

Definitely an interesting legend to research. In the least, it is entertaining. I have to confess that my curiosity is piqued.

Well said.

My thoughts exactly.

reply to post by optimus primal


Well if you ever go looking for this thing, make sure you take a firearm with you. I agree about the muscularity of the body. Almost looks like a primate body. But the head looks like a cat's head, or predator's head. Weird!!!! Next time I'm at B&N I'll inquire about the book. Any sightings of this thing in the past few months? Well I guess the thing in the video is supposed to be the Dogman, so any sighting's of that lately or the Bray Beast? I think they had an episode on Monster Hunter's (History Channel) about the Bray Beast didn't they?

The Michigan dogman is a Shasta Ground Sloth IMO. The Gable film looks and moves like a Gorilla.

Here's a drawing of a Shasta Ground Sloth.
www.tarpits.org...

Here's a photo of a footprint. Looks like a match to me.
www.examiner.com...

There has been many threads here about the Gable film. Is it real? From what I can remember I think the origins of the film might have came from a production company. Just google Michigan Dogman and it will take you right to a production company. So the video is fishy to begin with.

The whole dogman hype started out as a hoax too. But the greater mystery is the reports of shape shifting animals in the Michigan area.


I do know one thing, is that people who spend a lot of time in the woods in Michigan see strange things.

Originally posted by Sargoth
The Michigan dogman is a Shasta Ground Sloth IMO. The Gable film looks and moves like a Gorilla.

Here's a drawing of a Shasta Ground Sloth.
www.tarpits.org...

Here's a photo of a footprint. Looks like a match to me.
www.examiner.com...

I'm willing to believe that. That's a pretty good catch there. They do look very similar and the footprint does indeed look like a match.

It's also not too much of a stretch to believe that the descendants of an Ice-Age Mammal could still be alive today in cold northern climates like Wisconsin, Michigan and Canada where these sightings have occurred.

As far as logical explanations go, I think this is more credible of an idea than saying it was a weather balloon (I mean escaped Baboon which is spelled almost the same as balloon).