While Wisconsin is generally regarded around the U.S. as “the best state since 1848”, it is not often one of the first ones to come up while discussing the overall topic of cryptozoology. But as lesser-known Fortean history points out, the Badger State should not be so quickly overlooked when searching for a location with a great number of hidden beasts. Many believe that within its cheese-filled borders, Wisconsin contains a multitude of Phantom Kangaroos, out of place alligators, Goatman, Bigfoot, Lake Monsters, Thunderbirds, Dragons, Lizardmen, and even Hodags, just to name a few.

But even if one is well versed in the sheer amount of odd creatures that are believed to reside within the 30th state in the Union, there is typically one creature that generally flies under the radar. It is believed to be a beast that was only encountered up close one time by a father and son while driving down a dark road. It is said to be humanoid in shape, monstrous in appearance, and capable of flight. That creature, which understandably haunts the dreams of those unlucky enough to see it, is known as the Wisconsin Man-Bat, and this is its story.

The story goes that on September 26th, 2006, around 9:30 pm, a 53yr old father (who goes by his Cherokee name, Wohali) and his 25yr old son were driving over a hilled area on Briggs Road in the village of Holmen - which is located in La Crosse county - when their headlights illuminated a terrifying figure flying through the air and headed straight at their truck.

Caught off guard by the massive shape that was about to collide with them, the son quickly swerved the vehicle to the side of the road in order to avoid the creature, but at the last moment, the unknown thing changed its direction and shot straight up into the night sky while shrieking loudly and disappeared from view. Almost instantaneously, a strange illness overtook both men inside the truck and they hurriedly opened the doors in order to vomit in the darkness outside.

The son, completely overtaken by the sudden illness, puked nearly seven times into the ditch. His father, keeping pace with his number, vomited in agony on the opposite side of the truck. After the slow passing of several minutes, and with stomachs now empty and a strong desire to leave the area, the two men loaded themselves back into their truck and quickly made their way back home, each hoping the entire way that they would soon begin to feel better, but strangely this would not happen. For the next week, both father and son remained ill and after trying to find relief through various medications, each could only assume that their strange untreatable illness was the result of the brief encounter they shared with the unknown creature.

After the weeks passing and with the unknown sickness finally behind them, Wohali grabbed a piece of paper and wrote out in detail his account of what had happened that night, even going as far as to draw what both he and his son believed they saw flying at their truck in the darkness (photo shown above). Both men state that the unknown creature was believed to be gray-brown in color, around 6-7ft tall, and possessed large leathery bat-like wings that were thought to be around 10-12ft wide.

Along with this, the creature appeared to have large arm-like appendages that seemed to be attached to the wings and looked as if they were topped off with long claws. Extending out from the bottom of the body were two human-like legs with monstrous feet that had long claws instead of toes. Visibly pronounced and distended ribs could be seen in the chest area and a large snarling mouth filled with noticeably sharp teeth could be seen inside. The eyes appeared to glow yellow as they reflected back the light of the headlights.

Wohali stated that he does not know if the creature was already in flight when they came upon it, or if it was first down on the ground and then jumped up to rush at them through the air, but what he does know is that it was unlike anything he or his son had ever seen before. He was adamant that what they had seen was not a large bird or any other sort of misidentified animal. He was 100% certain that he and his son had seen a living, breathing, monster.

While the sighting of the Wisconsin Man-Bat may seem completely unbelievable at first, it should not be written off so quickly due to the fact that other strange creature sightings have taken place in and around the La Crosse area as well. One such sighting took place in 1997 when a worker for the state DNR, as well as a road crew that was in the area, saw what can only be described as a flying humanoid somewhat similar to that of the Man-Bat. This time though the witnesses claimed that what they saw was much more lizard-like in appearance and was covered in greenish-brown scales along with possessing two large wings. The creature was said to be watching them from the side of Highway 13 before shockingly taking off into the sky, flying overhead, and disappearing on out of view.

Also during that same time frame, a father and son who were searching for their lost dog along the Black River near La Crosse were thought to have stumbled upon a Lizard Man who frightened them so badly that they froze in terror. Both witnesses stated that the creature uncomfortably watched and stared at them with unbroken eye contact until they were able to safely remove themselves from the area. As of today, none of these creatures are believed to have ever been seen again.

Could the Man-Bat, as wild as it is to believe, have been responsible for all of these weird humanoid sightings? Or could these three creatures be completely separate beings and all unique onto themselves? If you ask the residents of Wisconsin, anything is possible here. But one theory that has been raised more than once before on what the Man-Bat could be actually links directly to one of the most famous and well-known cryptids currently out there in the world today. We of course are talking about the infamous Mothman.

Some researchers feel that the Man-Bat is actually within the same “family” as Mothman as both are described somewhat similar in appearance, both were encountered in rural areas, and both disappeared after a tragedy involving water happened within their respective area. Now you may be asking yourself what sort of aquatic tragedy occurred in Wisconsin, well to that we say, let us tell you. As far-fetched as the theory sounds, it is worth pointing out that a large number of drowning’s have occurred within the rivers around La Crosse where these creatures have been seen, and one unfortunate death is even reported as happening not long after the sighting of Man-Bat. Is this definitive proof that there is a link between the two events? Not at all. But does it add to the story and provide new avenues to go down? Most certainly yes.

Could these “facts” be more than just coincidences? Is there truly a link between the Man-Bat of Wisconsin and the Mothman of West Virginia? Some say yes, others say no, and even more won’t even give it the time of day. It is truly an inevitable rabbit hole of wild ideas, unique Fortean topics, and bizarre conspiracy theories. So to all those who wish to try and solve the mystery for themselves, we wish you nothing but the best and hope for your success, because you are going to need it.

-The Pine Barrens Institute

*Image Credit: Wohali (Witness Drawing)

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