#rhinelander

At long last, I present to you: The Hodag! This piece is done is the same vein as my Mothman poster, and they represent two of my favorite cryptids. As a Wisconsinite, I can't help but feel some pride that we have one of the most unique cryptid designs in North America!

This time Cody and Garth explore the legend of the fearsome Hodag with a little help from Least Haunted's resident old timey prospector Lucky Johnson. What is a Hodag? Why is the Hodag? And how is the Hodag? All good questions, and all with somewhat "satisfactory" answers. So grab your dynamite, hide your all white bulldogs, and make sure to be kind to any old oxen you might encounter. It's Hodag Hoedown time!

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Enjoy the episode images below!

Rhinelander, Wisconsin, USA

Eugene "Gene" Shepherd (1854-1923), talented surveyor and scouter of "Timber Stands" in the Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. A teller/collector of "Tall Tales" and raconteur, he was one of the "father's" of Paul Bunyan.

In 1893, while out hunting or surveying (depends on the telling of the story), he smelled the worst smell of his life, and became the first person to encounter The Hodag.

Possibly the photograph Gene claimed to have taken in that encounter.

Staged photo of the creature after being captured. This Hodag hunt, led by Gene, involved dynamite, bamboo polls, and chloroform.

The Hodag would be brought to Gene Shepherd's home, where it was placed in a pit and would be shown off for those interested, and who had a Nickel of course. In 1896, Gene Shepherd brought his Hodag to The Oneida County Fair (in Oneida County, Wisconsin), where he again showed off The Hodag to brave patrons. Again for a nickel.

Tales of The Hodag spread in newspapers. People began claiming to have seen The Hodag. And as notoriety grew, word eventually reached Washington D.C.

The Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. got word of The Hodag and announced that they were sending scientists to Rhinelander to see this mysterious monster. The Jig, as they say, was up.

Gene was forced to admit that the whole thing had been a "Prank" and had just been all in good fun.

Surprisingly the locals were not upset. It seemed that the people of Rhinelander had a good laugh, and largely moved on. However the story of The Hodag eventually became a core part of the identity of Rhinelander, especially after the logging industry in the area mostly collapsed. Over time, and picking up speed in the later half of the 20th century (maybe in connection to the spread of Bigfoot myths and popularity) Rhinelander embraced The Hodag even more. Going so far as to erect a larger than life statue in front of The Chamber of Commerce.

The local schools have adopted The Hodag as their mascot.

The police department has a Hodag on their official badge seal.

There is an official Hodag Store.

There are Hodag Tours (led by the former Mayor of Rhinelander on a river boat of all things!). There is an annual Hodag Country Music Festival.

It seems that The Hodag has given new life to the old logging town of Rhinelander Wisconsin, and everyone can feel good about it right? Nothing questionable or problematic at all. *Deep breath* Well about that… Meet The Underwater Panther. The Underwater Panther is a widespread Indigenous and First People's water spirit throughout the North Eastern States, Great Lakes Region, and into the Ohio River Valley.

Attested to since at least the Hopewell and Mound-builder society (Cahokia). Here is the "Alligator Mound" of Granville, Ohio. Thought to represent an Alligator by European Colonizers, it is actually a depiction of The Underwater panther.

Here is a petroglyph of The Great Underwater Panther, from Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Looks very familiar doesn't it? And Rhinelander is in The Great Lakes region, and the local Ho-Chunk peoples believe in Underwater Panther.

It is the hypothesis of Least Haunted, that Gene Shepherd saw depictions of Underwater Panther while surveying the region, and while interacting with the local Indigenous population. Gene was a great illustrator and artist, and he liked the iconography of what he was seeing and used it as the basis for The Hodag.

Further Hypothesis, that cannot be proven is that the etymology of the name, Hodag, comes from a combination and anglicization of the two names for the local Indigenous people; Hochunk, and Winnebago. Ho-Chunk + Winnebago = HoBago =Hobag= Hodag. And it is possible the name was chosen directly to throw scorn on the local peoples. It could be that anything that was "Indian superstition" was dismissively derided as "Hodag stuff"… This is just a hypothesis based on given track record of how terrible colonizers were and continue to be to the local Indigenous Peoples.

Gene Shepherd may not have been the first person to even mention or describe the Hodag, as there is a single newspaper clipping that reference a "Hodag" from Kent County Michigan (Closer to the lake home of Underwater Panther) in 1870! Which would be around the time a young Gene Shepherd would have been surveying Timber in the area. But until such a claim can be proven, corroborated, or the local Indigenous Peoples make their position known on The Hodag, and seeing as nowhere in the various stories about the Hodag from the time is there a mention of Native American connection- It gets a pass (For Now).

And Rhinelander continues to celebrate this quirky hoax from the 1890's. The City Government's own website is largely dedicated to The Hodag with fun tongue in cheek references to the outlandish claims.

It even featured in a series of regional commercials encouraging tourism to Rhinelander.

The series of commercials feature various people blaming The Hodag for things that are clearly not Hodag related.

GARTH'S CORNER!! GARTH'S CORNER!! GARTH'S CORNER!!

Namakoro as the new mascot of Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Sasebo region

Waka-Pi the mascot of Wakayama Women's Prison in Wakayama, Japan

Shinjuku Awawa, a sentient superhero soap bubble who promotes proper hand-washing

Kumamon, mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan

Atsuo, the Atami Hotel Association mascot in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

Marimokkori, the mascot of Hokkaidō, Japan

Nyango Star, the mascot of Kuroishi, Aomori, Japan

the hodag

While there are a few notable varieties of hodag, including the shovel-nosed specimen which tips trees and preys on porcupines, the current public image of the hodag was heavily influenced by the machinations of Eugene Shepard's intricate hodag hoax.

"the head of a frog, the grinning face of a giant elephant, thick short legs set off by huge claws, the back of a dinosaur, and a long tail with spears at the end", the newspaper said.

Apparently, they required dynamite to slay the creature. It soon became extinct due to the lack of their food source: white bulldogs!

——

Sending some love to my home state!

Inbox is open! Send cryptid requests! I’ll look them up and cover them!