“Somewhere in the north woods darkness a creature walks upright, and the best advice you may ever get is don’t go out at night.” -Steve Cook in The Legend of the Michigan Dogman
The Pacific Northwest has its Sasquatch, West Virginia has their Mothman, Jersey has their Devil, and we in the Great Lakes State have our Dogman, a fearsome werewolf-like beastie that purportedly roams the wilds of Northern Michigan. Discovery UK shares some of the Legend of the Michigan Dogman:
The first of the alleged Dog Man sightings in Michigan was in 1887, during a boom in US lumber production known as the great logging era, which roughly ran from 1870 to 1890. During this time, Michigan was its biggest producer of white pine lumber. Perhaps it’s therefore of little surprise that the initial influx of stories emerged then, with so many workers living and working in the woodlands in the area. The first of these is said to have taken place in 1887 in Wexford County, when a group of lumberjacks stumbled upon a creature they described as having the body of a man and the head of a dog. Its piercing eyes were either blue or yellow and its howl a terrifying scream.
1917: Four horses found dead, all with their eyes wide open. It’s said the examining vet believed they appeared scared to death.
1937: A victim of an attack by a pack of wild dogs claimed one of them walked on two legs.
1957: A newspaper report stated that claw marks found on a church door could only have been made by a creature reaching a height of 7”4.
1997: A farmer was found deceased at his plough from a heart attack, surrounded by dog tracks.
Unknown year: An army veteran claimed he saw the Dog Man of Michigan in Manistee National Forest, describing “a wolf head the size of my window” as the animal kept up with his truck travelling at 25 miles per hour. He also recalled it having sharp white teeth, three-inch long fangs, human-like hands some 14 inches across, black pointed ears, and yellow eyes.
Overall, Michigan Dogman stories often share common themes: a sinister canine visage, towering stature, and an unnerving ability to walk upright. What’s more, they all seemingly occurred in years ending in the number seven. This latter point has become a part of the mythos, with enthusiasts suggesting a possible ten-year cycle in the creature’s appearances.
Otisourcat originally shared this photo way back in 2008. Head over to their Flickr for the latest including some awesome shots of a raccoon on a snowman.
Some other Dogman related content you might enjoy includes this post on Michigan filmmaker Rich Brauer’s latest Dogman movie (third in his trilogy), the comprehensive Michigan Dogman entry in Wikipedia that relates the dogman is said to have been stalking the area around the Manistee River since the days when the Odawa tribes lived there, and of course Steve Cook’s song that “started” (or restarted) it all. Enjoy the song, but know that although author Steve Cook loves to claim he started the legend, it has been around for generations.
The grave is said to be immediately to the left of the entrance; if you stand in the vicinity long enough, the stench of death will reach you. This smell is followed by the appearance of the gardener, whose ghost will appear coming over the hill towards you. Be alert, because his apparition only lasts for a few seconds before he decides to disappear.
The Gardener is not the only ghost that makes its presence known here. The disembodied sobbing of a woman can be heard; but when trying to pinpoint the exact location, she can never be found…but the sound of the sobbing will continue.Apparitions, shadow people, and dark figures are seen in the surrounding forests, and the ground has been known to rumble and shake from time to time.
“So, the early reports are usually of men working in the woods who encounter this beast during their time there. And then over the years, it’s a lot of times people who are again alone, either on an isolated road or the woods,” Clark said. “Their encounters are very similar though. They do talk about this beast coming out of the woods, it is very agile, it jumps in front of their car or in front of them. It scratches at their houses or their tents.”
Most of the original reports came from logging camps. In the 1870s, Michigan was the leading white pine lumber producer in the nation. These encounters have been said to scare people to death. Someone recently called OnStar reporting that Dogman ran in front of his car—causing it to flip over.
My two connections with the Dogman are through filmmaker & friend Rich Brauer (see below) and the time my son and I were driving through the pine barrens near Fife Lake in Northern Michigan when we saw a weirdly tall black creature like a wolf or huge dog cross the road ahead of us on all fours. The legs appeared to be about 50% longer than a wolf or dog – very freakish. There are a bunch of ORV trails there and we briefly considered driving in to follow it before realizing we very much did not want to do that.
He was beloved by all, and most of all by the children. For he told them tales of the Loup Garou in the forest. And of the goblin thai came in the night to water the horses. And of the White Letiche, the ghost of a child who unchristened died, and was doomed to haunt unseen the chambers of children. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline
I have shared the very long tale of Le Loup Garou before and I will doubtless share it again! We begin at Grosse Pointe where:
…a trapper named Simonet had settled near there on the margin of the lake.
His young wife had faded away in the early years of their married life, but as if in compensation, had left the little prattler Archange to wean him from his grief and to cheer his loneliness. And the strong, hardy man, with his sunburnt face and brawny arms hardened by toil and exposure, in his yearning love for his child, learned to soften his rough manners and soothe her with the gentle ways of a woman. Anxiously he watched the unfolding of his “pretty flower,” as he called her, and with a solicitude touching in its simple pathos, he would select the softest skin of the bear to keep her feet warm, search for the brightest wings of the bird to adorn her hat. When she grew up he taught her to skin the beaver, muskrat and deer which he brought home, and to stretch them out on the drying frame near the house. He was wont to boast that no one could excel Archange preparing the poisson blanc (whitefish), poisson dore (pickerel), or give that peculiar shade of brown which is in itself an art, to the savory cochon au lait (sucking pig).
She was as light-hearted as the cricket that chirped on the hearth, and her cheery voice could be heard caroling away to the music of her spinning wheel. In the long winter evenings her deft fingers would plait the straw into hats which found a ready sale, and which, added to the sum she gained by her knitted socks and dried corn, enabled her to secure many little articles that her vanity suggested to enhance her charms. For the Canadian girl, in the rude surroundings of her forest home, was as anxious to please and be witch by her toilet as her more favored Parisian sister ; the instincts of the sex still lived in the wilderness. At the corn-huskings and dances on the greensward Archange was the reigning belle, and held her little court of homespun dressed youths fascinated by the magic of her dark eyes, her brunette complexion with its warm glow, her raven tresses and piquante tongue. Many admiring eyes followed her lithe form as she tripped in marvelous rapidity la jig a deux or as she changed into the more graceful, swaying motion of la dance ronde.
Enter the capable young farmer Pierre La Fontaine, whose marriage proposal was happily accepted by Simonet, was building a cabin for his bonnie bride, and apparently driving his fragile canoe along the rippling waters lit up by elfish moonbeams (Ms. Hamlin’s words) as they made wedding plans that included the gift of a red cow from Archange’s god-father. Well…
One evening as Pierre placed Archange on the beach near her home and she lingered, following him with her loving eyes as he swiftly rowed away until he had disappeared and only the faint echo of his Canadian boat song floated towards her, she was startled by a rustling sound near by. Looking up a wild shriek escaped her, for a monster with a wolf’s head and an enormous tail, walking erect as a human being, crossed her path. Quickly the cabin door was thrown open by Simonet, who had been roused by his daughter’s scream. Archange flew into her father’s arms and pointed to the spot where she had seen the monster, but the animal surprised by the light, had fled into the woods. Simonet’s face grew pale as Archange described, as accurately as her fears had allowed her to see, the apparition, and he recognized the dreaded Loup Garou.
Did I mention long?
Simonet worried about the Loup Garou (werewolf), but soon the wedding day arrived:
…Soon after she (Archange) joined Pierre and hand in hand, followed by all the habitants in their holiday attire, they entered the little church of logs hewn square, the interstices chinked in with clay, the roof of overlapping strips of bark. In front of the altar, decorated with flowers arranged by loving hands, they knelt. Father Freshet, who had baptized Pierre and Archange and prepared them for their first communion, now came to unite them in the holy bonds of matrimony. After the ceremony they went to the sacristy and inscribed their names in the registry, then hurried off to Pierre’ s new house, where the festivities were to take place. On the green lawn in front of her new cabin the blushing Archange greeted all her friends. The Seigneur of the neighborhood came to claim the right of premier baiser (first kiss). The refreshments were in abundance and all gave themselves up to the enjoyment of the moment, for the Canadians dearly loved a wedding and kept up its festivities for days.
Whilst the merry making was at its height the dreaded Garou with a rush like the wind sprang into their midst, seized Archange and escaped with her into the forest. All were paralyzed by the sudden, daring deed. But Pierre recovering, started in quick pursuit guided by the despairing cry of Archange, followed by all the men, whilst the women and children said their prayers and gave vent to loud lamentations. Long after the shadows had fallen they returned to report to the anxious, trembling crowd, and their sad, dejected faces spoke of the fruitlessness of their search. The monster had baffled them. But Pierre returned not. He was shortly after found by his friends wandering around and around a swamp, and clutching a piece of white batiste. When questioned as to how he had obtained this clue to Archange, he returned a maniacal stare and with a blood-curdling shriek, would have juimped into the swamp if he had not been held back by his companions, who with sorrowful accents said “La folie du bois.”* He would always return to the same swamp, remaining there for hours gazing vacantly in the weird reflections of its slimy, stagnant waters, until some friend led him home.
At the marriage of his sister, which occurred about a year afterwards, Pierre, always dead to the outside world, seemed to be roused by the preparations. After the ceremony he rushed into the woods as if in pursuit of something. He did not return until nearly sunset when he was seen, with wild eyes, flying hair, his clothes torn as if lay briers, chasing a Loup Garou to the very edge of the lake. All stood petrified by the strange apparition and feared a repetition of Archange’s fate. But the animal, seeing no escape, stood on one of the boulders strewn along the shore and stretched out his arms as if beckoning to some mysterious one. A large catfish was seen to rise on the surface of the water and open its mouth, into which the Loup Garou vanished. To this day no Canadian will eat catfish. The footprint of the wolf is still shown at Grosse Pointe, indelibly impressed on one of the boulders.
The internet Archive is down right now, but if it comes back you can read the story in full. Also I am still looking for a pic of the footprint in the boulder!
When legends are way back in the past, they aren’t as scary. This one isn’t, and the fact that many of the sightings take place in my own backyard make me reluctant to share it. So, reluctantly, via Steve Cook’s Michigan-Dogman.com, I give you a Dogman tale from Oceana County, Michigan in 2005. Italics are the notes from Cook to the witness’s account.
Most dogman encounters are very brief, and usually rather benign. Very few witnesses have ever had more than a single encounter (a fact which makes most of them quite grateful). Our next event is unique in that the witnesses shared repeated encounters in a very narrow window of time. All of these events took place in Oceana County in Michigan’s Lower Peninisula. The contributor wishes to remain anonymous.
“The first incident happened while I was home alone. I had moved my bed into my closet to further open up my room. My dog was in there with me and we were getting ready for bed. Then my dog began to growl, which was very unusual. He never growls. I had maybe heard him growl or bark twice in his entire ten years of life. This growl was so fierce and mean that it actually made me scared. He was looking up at the ceiling and his hair was standing on end.
Then I heard it. It was loud, like something big was walking across the roof. There was snorting and light growls, so at first I feared that a bear had wandered into the area. I tried to keep my dog quiet, but he was shaking and going wild. There was a lot of scratching, like something was trying to dig through the roof – then it was gone, suddenly and without warning. A few minutes later my uncle arrived, I rushed out to tell him the story, he looked around but found nothing. He tried to pass it off as a raccoon. Let me tell you – there is no way on earth that a raccoon could have caused that reaction from my dog or made that much noise.”
A few weeks later, the witness had convinced herself that her uncle was probably correct. She had a friend spending the night, and they decided to camp out in the yard. They built a small campfire in a firepit, and were sitting next to it talking. Hearing a sound, they looked toward the woods. Just beyond the light cast by the fire…
“Something was walking out there. The features were canine; legs were shaped like a wolf, bushy tail, everything. But, it was way too tall to be a regular dog or even a wolf, it stood a bit higher than a deer and it was very thin. I only caught the back end of it walking behind a lilac bush, but it was enough for me. I calmly told my friend that we needed to go inside. I told her to walk slowly, since I live in the middle of no mans land, I know that wild animals are attracted to fast moving objects, and the last thing I wanted was to get up close and personal with whatever that thing was.”
Safely back inside, they talked about what they had seen. Whatever it was had seemed more curious than threatening. Later that same night, that assessment would change.
“…we were having a cigarette out my window, and my friend dropped hers. She put a chair up to the window and crawled out. She walked a few steps, paused, looked back at me. “Did you hear that?” she asked. I hadn’t heard anything, but apparently, she had heard rustling from the field beside her. Then we both heard it, a very close and very loud snarl. It was like nothing I have ever heard before and hope to never hear again. No animal that I know of sounds or looks like that. “
Lots more available from The Legend of Michigan’s Dogman including a 1961 encounter in Big Rapids that includes a purported photo of the Dogman! There’s also a DVD you can purchase that’s pretty cool. Best of all, proceeds have raised over $60,000 for charities, primarily those involved in domestic animal rescue, rehabilitation, and placement in permanent homes.
Wikipedia explains that the Michigan Dogman is a cryptozoological creature first reported in 1887 in Wexford County. Sightings have been reported in several locations throughout Michigan, primarily in the northwestern quadrant of the Lower Peninsula. In 1987, the legend of the Michigan Dogman gained popularity when a disc jockey at WTCM-FM (Steve Cook) recorded a song about the creature and its reported sightings.
Michigan in Pictures 