The Dogman from Michigan

Wolfman Jack and Other Radio Legends

Dogman’s Catchphrase: Oooooooooooo… go away, please.

The legendary cryptid, Dogman, is alive and well in the northern woods of Michigan. His origins are in North American folklore, specifically Michigan and Wisconsin. His story can be connected to wolf-like Native American creatures, and of course, werewolves. He also is called Michigan Dogman or the Beast of Bray Road. He’s been around for centuries and is painfully shy. Most reported sightings of him are completely fabricated because he really does not want to be found and is excellent at hiding. When I do manage to track him down, I mess with him by calling him Wolfman Jack after the famous and beloved DJ with the gravelly voice and legendary howl. I listened to that DJ’s show many a night while traveling around with Shel and Frank. The Dogman and the DJ are complete opposites which is why I think it’s a funny nickname. They have no real connection other than the one I have made with this nickname and that I love them both. Also, that they both gained fame over the radio waves. Fame, mind you, that Dogman hates with every hair on his body.

I know when some of you read the word dogman, you immediately thought of Dav Pilkey’s book series about a policeman and a dog who suffered a terrible accident and were then sewn together so they could continue to fight crime. Honestly, that premise sounds more Eldritch horror than beloved kid’s book series, but for some reason it really works.

Dav Pilkey’s Dogman is not the Dogman we are looking for.

The dogman is definitely werewolf adjacent, but some modern cryptozoologists propose that he is a relic of a prehistoric canid species not yet documented by science. Witnesses describe the creature standing much taller than a normal man with a canine-like head. That description is completely accurate, except that the Dogman is immortal and a monster.

print by Marjorie G. (had to include this print from a Michigan artist - so cute but still not the exact Dogman we are looking for.

The artist Marjorie G really has captured Dogman’s main vibe (at least 97% of the time). However, there are times when he can transform into the primitive, violent, and dangerous version everyone fears.

That 3%, when he becomes this darker version, is well represented in The Legend of the Dogman by Steve Cook, a radio show that aired on WTCM FM on of Traverse City on April 1, 1987. It was a special April Fool’s show, and it sparked a renewed interest in this elusive cryptid from Michigan and Wisconsin, one people have been building on ever since.

Steve Cook performed the song called “The Legend” on that radio show if you want to give it a listen. The song has been rewritten throughout the years since that original broadcast, and the original radio show recording was lost. Here is the ‘97 version.

Lyrics of The Legend '97 by Steve Cook

A cool summer morning in early June, is when the legend began, at a nameless logging camp in Wexford County, where the Manistee River ran.

Eleven lumberjacks near the Garland swamp found an animal they thought was a dog.

In a playful mood they chased it around till it ran inside a hollow log.

A logger named Johnson grabbed him a stick and poked around inside.

Then the thing let out an unearthly scream and came out and stood upright.

None of those men ever said very much, ′bout what ever happened then.

They just packed up their belongings and left that night, were never heard from again.

It was ten years later in '97, when a farmer near Buckley was found.

Slumped over his plow, his heart had stopped, there were dog tracks all around.

Seven years passed with the turn of the century, they say a crazy old widow had a dream, of dogs that circled her house at night that walked like men and screamed.

In 1917, a sheriff who was out walking found a driverless wagon and tracks in the dust, like wolves had been a stalkin′.

Near the roadside a four-horse team lay dead with their eyes open wide.

When the vet finished up his examination, he said it looked like they died of fright.

In '37 a schooner captain said, several crew members had reported a pack of wild dogs roaming Bowers Harbor.

His story was never reported.

In '57 a man of the cloth found claw marks on an old church door.

The newspaper said they′d been made by a dog, he′d a had to stood 7'4".

In ′67 a van-load of hippies, told a park-ranger named Quinlinn, they'd been awakened in the night by a scratch at the window, there was a dogman looking in and grinning.

In ′77 there were screams in the night, near the village of Bellaire.

Could've been a bobcat, could′ve been the wind, nobody looked up there.

Then in the summer of '87, near Luther, it happened again... at a cabin in the woods it looked like maybe, someone had tried to break in.

There were cuts around the doors that could only been made by very sharp teeth and claws.

He didn't wear shoes cuz he didn′t have feet.

He walked on just two paws.

So far this year, no stories have appeared.

Have the dogmen gone away?

Have they disappeared?

Soon enough I guess we′ll know, cuz this is the time to fear, for another ten years has come around, the seventh year is here and somewhere in the north-woods darkness, a creature walks upright.

And the best advice you may ever get is never to go out...

at night.

Steve Cook, the man behind “The Legend”. He sells copies of the song and donates all proceeds to a local animal shelter. I like this guy more every year.

Dogman usually becomes this more terrifying version when he is trying to scare humans away from something important to him, like a sacred part of his forest, endangered animals, or his special reading spots. He’s territorial and protective, just like your favorite furry best friend at home. Is he ravenous for human flesh? Mostly not.

There is a documentary including eyewitnesses called "The Legend of Dogman: Werewolf of America." There is an ultra-low budget horror film called “The Dogman” by Richard Bauer that premiered at the State Theater in Traverse City. I believe there is even a sequel. Neither of which get rave reviews, and I have not watched. There is also some CreepyPasta material around the Michigan Dogman such as The Gable Film that you can check out if you want to dig even deeper into the created content around this cryptid. 

Michigan is surrounded by Great Lakes and filled with vast and isolated wooded areas. Going up to the lake on the weekends is as time-honored a tradition as telling creepy tales around the campfire. The Dogman was definitely one of those Michigan campfire stories.

Despite being depicted as a violent monster to be feared, there are no actual deaths currently associated with his legends. He is typically not a killer. However, he has killed. In my next entry, I will reveal the terrifying tale from 1987 that involves the Dogman’s most brutal slaying. Some of you need to be constantly reminded of who the real monsters are on this planet, and this story promises to do just that.

If you can’t wait to read a creepy story about a werwolf-like creature now, check out my entry about Barghest.