THE LEGEND OF DOGMAN

If you decide to tell the tale of the legend of the Michigan Dogman, be sure to install a hint of doubt into your voice, for at the end of the night if the children believe, the Dogman they may receive!

—Michigan author Chad Stuemke

The year was 1987, and radio deejay Steve Cook from Traverse City started a frenzy when he played a song on April Fool’s day simply called “The Legend.” The song’s lyrics were about a mysterious creature that has become known as Dogman—a half man, half dog creature standing over seven feet tall that prowls the woods of Michigan. Cook had always been interested in folklore, ghosts and mysterious creatures, and this interest inspired his lyrics. The lyrics used local places in northern Michigan, such as Bower’s Harbor, as settings. The song told a gruesome tale of animals dying of fright and a priest finding sinister claw marks slashed into the church door. By all means, it seemed a harmless prank, until people started to call into the radio station claiming that they had seen the creature described in the song! That same year, reports about a cabin being attacked by a dog filled local papers and found their way into USA Today. Dogman has been popular ever since.

One of the foremost researchers on the Dogman phenomena is Linda Godfrey. Linda started to study Dogman after hearing reports about the beast in Wisconsin but soon found out that many of the Dogman sightings were also being reported in northwest Michigan. She noticed that many sightings of this creature seemed to center on Native American burial and effigy mounds. Effigy mounds were typically in the shape of an animal. Traverse City had a large amount of mounds, and ironically, there have been many Dogman sightings in that area of the west coast.

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An artist’s rendition of Dogman. Original art by Steven Mayes.

Chad Stuemke, a Michigan author and avid researcher of all things strange and mysterious, lives in northwest Michigan. Chad is no stranger to the Dogman story and feels that some of the Dogman legend and inspiration goes back to Native American tales of “shape shifters.” Native Americans believe that one can change his “mental shape” to take on aspects and traits of a totem animal. The totem animal is something that is always with you and protects you on your life journey. But some stories tell of Native Americans actually physically turning into their totem. Chad states:

The explanations for the belief and possible existence of Dogman are endless. Scientifically speaking, belief in and of itself may be a large part of the equation. This leads to the question: Could the belief of ancient Native Americans in conjunction with our own personal beliefs be adequate to bring this creature into fruition? As the legend of the Michigan Dogman continues to grow, so has the number of eyewitness accounts. This seems normal considering the more that become aware of the legend, the more who will “think” they have seen the creature. This admittedly is the most likely scenario. But there is always that slight possibility that it is the other way around, and that it is the belief in and of itself that is allowing this creature to literally step into our perceived reality.

Ever since 1987 and Steve Cook’s song, people truly believe that there is more to the tale than just an April Fool’s joke. At the time of the song’s release, people took it very seriously. Tom Maat remembers hearing the song while living on the east side of Michigan. He asked his friends if they wanted to go camping up near Traverse City, and none of his friends would go. They had all heard about Dogman and were scared about encountering it. More than twenty years after the songs first release, “The Legend” has become a tradition in northwest Michigan. Whether the song was a premonition or a novelty, it certainly awoke a creature that won’t fade out of Michiganders’ minds anytime soon.