I passed a very sick night last night lying in bed and binging Amazon Prime Crypto docs. (I started with Small Town Monsters). If you haven’t caught any of those yet, you should. But as I was rolling through all of these it came to a Cryptid I admit I hadn’t heard of before, the Hodag.





For one, I learned it exists in Rhinelander Wisconsin.(which apparently is a Crypto hotbead, with everything from the Beast of Bray Road and more) when all I’m thinking about is wanting to get my hands on some cheese. It was first discovered by a known prankster by the name of Eugene Shepard back in 1893. He reportedly took a group of volunteers out on a hunt for the Hodag and needed dynamite to kill it. On his second “hunt” he took one “alive”. It became a hit at the local fair and also his house for visits. It was found to be a wooden sculpture covered in ox fur and run on strings to simulate movement along with growls all controlled by his sons. (When i look at it I see an awesome piniata at every kids birthday party in Wisconsin). Despite Eugene’s confession of it being a hoax it was too late the truth was out there, and there is at least one sighting a year reported there of this mythical beast.





These reports are where things get a little interesting. His descriptions are of him having green or black fur, head like a frog, either face of an ox or elephant. And body of dinosaur with spikes and all. (The one body part they all agree on) Now I’m not an expert here but there does appear to be some confusion regarding what it looks like, or maybe there are two different kinds. Maybe we are talking male and female here? Maybe two different beasts altogether?





Is there a possibility that these beasts are being confused with a quick glimpse of a hog running by? Wisconsin has had reports of wild feral hogs. Either way he is now a beloved mascot in Rhinelander. And like the man who discovered him, he is known as a prankster himself. Stealing fish off your line, taking your golf balls off the course etc. a mischievous creature that thinks every day is April Fools Day. I think we would hit it off I’ve been known to pull off a few great pranks myself. He has been immortalized in a few of Paul Bunyan’s tales and several sculptures around his home town. And wether he is beast or bedtime story, he is definitely here to stay and counted as a cryptid for us to go discover for ourselves.





Eugene Shepard’s first drawing of the Hodag