The Beast of Bray Road. Illustration by Linda Godfrey
The Beast of Bray Road. Illustration by Linda Godfrey

ELKHORN — A community event in honor of the mythical Beast of Bray Road is set for Saturday, May 20, 2023 at the Elkhorn Community Center.

The community center is located in the Matheson Memorial Library, 101 N. Wisconsin St., Elkhorn. The program begins at noon.

This will be the third year of the event, organized by Donna Fink. (FACEBOOK EVENT)

The Beast of Bray Road, a large wolf-like creature, has reportedly been seen on or near Bray Road outside of Elkhorn since the 1980s.

The legend of the Beast was first chronicled by author Linda Godfrey in 1991 in the Walworth County Week newspaper.

Godfrey died last November at the age of 71.

(Read: Tracking down the ‘Beast of Bray Road’)

“The rumors floated around town for two years or so before I heard them,” Godfrey wrote. “A wolfish-looking creature that ran on two legs and had been seen around the Bray Road area, stealing chickens, eating roadkills, and scaring the daylights our of locals who (sometimes literally) ran into it.”

Syndicated news shows quickly caught on to the story, with TV crews making their way to Delavan to interview Godfrey about recent sightings of The Beast.

The National Enquirer even paid Godfrey and staff photographer Terry Mayer to stake out Bray Road for any signs of the Beast.

Elkhorn’s Christmas parade that year had a float featuring the Beast.

“He continues to visit even today. We have recent pictures and video and footprint casts of him and are sharing our info for free,” Fink said.

Later that day, Lee Hampel, who owns property adjacent to Bray Road and who has hundreds of photos and videos, will be doing a presentation and giving hayrides around his farm for $10.

Fink says she’s been going into the woods and visiting Hanpel’s farm day and night for the past 12 years looking for the paranormal ever since we started reading Linda Godfrey’s books.

By Dan Plutchak

Dan Plutchak launched Walworth County Community News in 2021. He is the former editor of The Week and Walworth County Sunday.