Dewey Lake Monster


In Michigan folklore, the Dewey Lake Monster is a legendary creature first reported in summer 1964 after sightings near Dewey Lake in Dowagiac, Michigan. The creature was described as a hairy animal approximately nine feet tall, with glowing eyes.

History

According to legend, a creature purported to be a combination of gorilla, bear and cat was rumored to dwell in the area between Sister Lakes and Decatur, Michigan. In June 1964, the tale gained national attention after some local residents claimed to have seen a creature "with glowing eyes" approximately tall and weighing about. Police searched the area and found nothing, but the reports caused curious thrill-seekers and monster-hunters to besiege the community that summer. Local entrepreneurs sold the tourists "monster 'getaway' gas, monster burgers and monster hunting kits — with a net, flashlight, squirt gun, a mallet and a stake".
Several zoologists suggested that people may have misidentified a bear or gorilla. Cass County Sheriff Robert Dool and conservation officer William Rowe dismissed speculations of a monster. Within a week, the hysteria diminished, and the South Bend Tribune reported that "nobody seems frightened anymore".
In a 1983 retrospective, the Tribune suggested that the Dewey Lake monster "came out of a wine bottle" to be created in the imaginations of "well-sauced strawberry pickers". Steve Arseneau of the Dowagiac Area History Museum said, “I view it more as a ‘rural legend’”. According to Arseneau, “perhaps some people saw something, and their imaginations got the better of them.”

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