The Legend of the Hodag

In the small logging community of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, residents were reported missing pets. The rumors raging through the lumber camps pointed to the seven-foot long creature seen by loggers roaming through the woods. The animal reportedly had a long line of toothy spikes running down its back, razor-like teeth and fangs, and dangerous claws on each of its four feet. Eye witness accounts portrayed the beast as somewhere between an alligator and a dinosaur. It seemed the animal preferred white bull dogs, but the community feared not only for their pets, but their smaller livestock as well. The citizens of Rhinelander prayed that the brave men logging their nearby woods would kill this animal and end the disappearances.

In 1893, a logger named Gene Shepard set out to do just that. He and his band of men went deeper and deeper into the thick forest to track this animal and destroy the monster. After a long and arduous search, the men finally cornered the animal that later became known in all of Wisconsin as The Hodag. After cornering the animal, they surrounded it and threw dynamite in the direction of the beast until it burst into flames, but not before it destroyed many of the hunting dogs in the party, literally ripping them to shreds. The remains of the beast were brought back and show-cased in Rhinelander.

To the dismay of Rhinelander residents, dog disappearances did not cease. The Hodag had made it known that the beasts were still lurking in the deep forests of Northern Wisconsin. Three years later, in 1896, Gene Shepard and his crew were fortunate enough to find a Hodag, early in the season, hibernating in its den. Using a chloroform-laced towels on the end of a long bamboo pole, Shepard put the Hodag to sleep, captured it, and brought it back to town. It was brought to the Oneida County fair with admissions charged to the curious onlookers to get a glimpse of this legendary beast.


AFTERWARD: The great beast was later discovered to be an elaborate hoax. However, this legend has lived on in the minds and hearts of local residents. First-time visitors to the Rhinelander area are treated to great stories of Hodags that are still rumored to roam through the woods. Stories still abound of animals that have gone missing and were “taken by the Hodag.”