Beast of Bray Road

In this episode of the Mondo Freako podcast, host Bob welcomes Dan, the recently retired host of the Happy Moment Podcast, to discuss the legend of the Beast of Bray Road. The conversation begins with a lighthearted catch-up on Dan’s recent trip to a Red Wings game before diving into the history of the Wisconsin cryptid, which gained national fame in the 1990s through the work of journalist Linda Godfrey. Dan successfully completes a five-question interactive quiz about the creature—earning himself a promised thin-crust pizza lunch in St. Louis—and reveals that his interest was sparked by a 2005 horror film.

A Happy Moment

https://youtube.com/live/yjTf_xJsHcw

Transcript (AI transcription)

So, Dan, have you had any happy moments lately? I have had some happy moments lately. As a matter of fact, a couple months ago, I was in Detroit to see a Red Wings game. So I’d say that was definitely a happy moment. Did you catch the octopus? Unfortunately, no. I was very tempted to run on your rank and try and grab it. I was sitting too far back. Sitting too far back. Welcome to Mondo Frico. How’s everybody doing tonight? I’m here with Dan, formerly of the Happy Moment Podcast. It’s going great tonight. How are you? Can I say formally of the Happy Moment podcast? Sure. Okay. I didn’t want to bring you down or anything. Oh, no. I’m retired now. You can say it. Oh, okay. Happily retired from a Happy Moment podcast. But you can always go and go and check it out. So the Happy Moment podcast, and here’s the YouTube for it.
And then also you can hit him up on Instagram if you want to. And it’s available on all podcast platforms. I think I was on there for at least one, right? Maybe two. I can’t remember now. There’s two happy moments, perhaps. Oh, yeah. Always a happy moment when Bob’s on the show. Well, that’s very nice of you, Dan. You’re such a nice person. But Dan and I are going to talk tonight about… The Beast of Bray Road. Now, I’m going to give you a choice point here, Dan. So I’m assuming you know a little bit about the Beast of Bray Road because we talked previously in emails and you’re like, hey, I think I’d like to talk about that. And I said, OK, sure. But I can give you so we do a quiz. I can give you the quiz first or I can give you the quiz after I read a little bit of information about the Beast of Bray Road.
Which would you rather do? Why don’t you go ahead and do a little bit of information first? Okay. All right. He’s going for the information. Information first, and then we’ll do the quiz. How’s that? Perfect. So the Beast of Bray Road is a legendary cryptid reported primarily in the rural areas near Elkhorn, Wisconsin, particularly along the quiet stretch of Bray Road. While sightings date back decades, the phenomenon gained national attention in the late 1980s and early 1990s through the investigative work of journalist Linda Godfrey. Witnesses consistently describe a massive, muscular creature standing between six and seven feet tall, covered in thick gray or black fur, and possessing a face that resembles a wolf or a large dog. Unlike a typical canine, however, the entity is frequently observed. Observed.
walking upright on his hind legs or kneeling to eat, often displaying a chillingly humanoid physique and glowing yellowish-orange eyes. Unlike the classic folklore of a werewolf, which involves a human transformation under a full moon, the Beast of Bray Road is often categorized as a skunkowarkin-type creature or a relic prehistoric animal. Theories regarding its origin range from a misidentified large wolf to a bear, to more fringe explanations involving interdimensional portals or occult activity within the nearby Kettle Moraine State Forest. Despite numerous reports and local scares, no physical evidence such as a carcass or DNA sample has ever been recovered to prove its existence. Nevertheless, the legend persists as a staple of American Midwest folklore, cementing the beast’s reputation as one of the most terrifying and enduring mysteries of the Wisconsin countryside.
Now, you probably knew a little bit about this, didn’t you, Dan? A little bit, yeah. But I actually first heard about The Beast of Bray Road through the movie that was released back in 2005. Oh, I had no idea. It was a movie? The Beast of Bray Road movie? Yeah, yeah. You should check it out. Oh, my God. I will. I didn’t even realize this. That’s interesting. I read some articles. Yeah, I’m not sure if it’s streaming anywhere or not, but it’s a good movie. It’s pretty scary, actually. All right. I have to look this up now while we’re talking. This is something new. I didn’t realize there was a beast. I mean, I’m sure that there’s something on it, like a documentary, but I don’t know. Yeah, no, this is a fiction movie. A Beast of Bray Road. 2005. Is that the one you’re talking about?
And it’s most definitely a horror movie. Werewolf sightings in Walworth County, Wisconsin, lead a sheriff to investigate a series of deaths caused by a creature with human and wolf DNA. Oh, it’s on Tubi. Oh, sweet. So you can stay on Tubi. That’s a freebie, right? Yeah. Wow. See, I didn’t even know this existed. So I knew about the Beast of Grey Road for quite some time, but I didn’t realize that there was a movie. I’m surprised I told you about it. Yeah. This will be my weekend watch now. I’m going to have to watch this one. So what drew you to be interested in that? The movie itself or was there other connections? Well, the movie itself was interesting, but I’ve also heard a little bit about it through another podcast called
You can say what it was. What’s the podcast? On Wednesdays, we talk weird. Okay, but what’s the podcast? That’s the podcast on Wednesdays, we talk weird. I know, I’m I’m joking, yeah. On Wednesdays We Talk Weird, hosted by Ashley Hilt. Oh, great. And so were you part of the show or were we just listening? Just listening. Oh, okay. I wasn’t sure. Because you are – well, I don’t – that’s a good question now. So I read the little blurb there that I, you know, from my research, but I guess Wisconsin – Did folks up north consider themselves all part of the Midwest as well? In Wisconsin and Michigan and everything? Yeah, that’s all considered the Midwest region. Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota. Yeah, I never really thought about that. Because I’m from St. Louis, and so I always think of the Midwest as just around here. And then whenever you go further north, I just thought it was further north. I didn’t think about it being the Midwest still. Yeah.
So, yeah, I guess it’s all part of the Midwest then. But then if you get down to Arkansas, though, that’s not the Midwest anymore. No, to us, that’s the South. That’s the South, right. Pretty much about an hour or hour and a half past St. Louis, it’s the South. Okay. You don’t even have to get out of Missouri. I mean, and everybody’s voices, everybody’s accent changes. uh, quite drastically as you get down there. And, uh, yeah. And so then you’re in the South, you know, my, my giveaway for knowing you’re in the South is if anybody asks you if you want sweet tea, because in St. Louis, people don’t ask you that question. But as soon as you get past Cape Girardeau, that’s what do you want to drink? You want some sweet tea? It’s like, no, no, I don’t want any sweet tea. No, you know, you, you,
Yeah, that’s not really used in the midwest either. No, exactly. Exactly. So, uh, you were in michigan somewhere and, uh, and so the beast of bray road maybe did you hear about it as a kid or no? No, no, I, I didn’t hear about it until i i saw the movie. Until you saw the movie? So not until after 2005 then at least. Yeah. So not until i was an adult. Yeah. See, because I remember it, um, Well, you’re younger than I am, but I remember in the 90s because that’s when I think a lot of the articles were written from the journalist that I mentioned, which I blanked on her name already. Linda Godfrey was in the, I think sometime in the m...