The Hodag
A Wisconsin timber man said he'd captured a horned, fanged beast, and put it on show at the county fair.
What was reported
In 1893 newspapers reported that Eugene Shepard, a timber surveyor in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, had found a fearsome creature with horns, fangs, spikes down its back and a terrible smell. In 1896 he said he'd caught a live one, and showed it at the county fair in a dimly lit tent, where it moved and growled.
Visitors paid to see it, until Shepard admitted it was a carved wooden figure covered in hide, moved with hidden wires.
Explanations offered
It was a hoax from the start, in the tradition of logging-camp tall tales. Rhinelander embraced it: the Hodag is the city's mascot and gives its name to a music festival.
- When
- 1893
- Where
- Rhinelander, Wisconsin, USA
- Witnesses
- Eugene Shepard and the people of Rhinelander
- Status
- Hoax
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.