Lake Geneva Ghosts - The Beast of Bray Road 30th Anniversary

Mike Huberty • December 29, 2021

“A certain number of people, good honest working folk, had seen something—something unusual. Something scary. Something hairy that relished pavement patty dinners!”

That was the caption underneath the cartoon of an upright wolf eating roadkill that ran in the December 29th, 1991 article of The Week, the local paper of the small Wisconsin city of Elkhorn. It was an article that they thought would be fun but forgotten soon after. Stories were spreading among the kids of the town that people saw a huge dog or wolf on two legs along a rural road late at night. The original reporter, Linda Godfrey, had to fight to get the article published.

It all started with a folder labeled “Werewolf”

Once Linda Godfrey went to the Walworth County Animal Control officer, he already had a stack of reported sightings and unusual occurrences, and the manila folder was labeled “Werewolf”.

The sightings go back to 1936

Once Linda ran the story, people started contacting her about their own sightings. One man detailed his own father’s encounter not far from Bray Road with a strange creature decades before. A story he had only shared with family before. The monster that his father had seen had all the hallmarks of the Beast that people were seeing along Bray Road in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

It’s Not Just Upright Wolves or Canines

Linda has also discovered hundreds of sightings of big cats in Wisconsin, sightings that the Department of Natural Resources says are impossible. Those sightings have political implications so sometimes cryptozoology can bleed over into the world of state politics, land zoning, and animal control.

A never-before-reported sighting

While driving home from Lake Geneva (where we have one of our most popular ghost tours!) a couple saw a puzzling creature in a cornfield in the middle of the day. Only after hearing about the Beast of Bray Road for the first time on TV a year later, did they realize that they had seen the same thing!

Listen to a special podcast episode featuring an interview with the original investigator and hear a firsthand never-before revealed encounter with the Beast of Bray Road…

If you want to start from scratch and learn what the Beast of Bray Road is all about, our Wisconsin Legends podcast will catch you up in no time. This comprehensive episode is guaranteed to get you up to speed for Halloween and your own Wisconsin legend trip. Click here to take a listen.

Uncover the Mystery of the Beast of Bray Road

Ready to dive into the chilling legend of Wisconsin’s most mysterious creature? Join us for an unforgettable journey into the tales of the Beast of Bray Road, where sightings of a terrifying, upright wolf-like figure have haunted locals for decades. From eerie encounters along dark rural roads to strange sightings dating back to the 1930s, our guided tours will take you deep into the world of Wisconsin’s cryptid lore. Whether you're a thrill-seeker, cryptozoology enthusiast, or simply curious about the unknown, our Wisconsin Bray Road Tour offers an experience you won’t forget. Book your spot now and explore the haunting mystery of Bray Road—if you dare! Check our Lake Geneva, WI ghost tour reviews on Google to see what others are saying about us!

Dive deeper into the mysterious world of hauntings with our curated collection of paranormal investigations and ghostly encounters. Read more stories like this in “Ghosts of Lake Geneva” by Rita Moore and R. Michael Huberty, a book of Lake Geneva ghost stories written by our own American Ghost Walks team. Click here for more.

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