If you've ever wondered where the legend of Michigan's "Dog Man" got its start, it wasn't in a dank, old swamp or a foggy forest, but rather a tiny production studio at a radio station in northwest Michigan.
WCMU's Tina Sawyer spoke with the maker of this furry fable to learn how the legend was born.
Editor's note: This transcript has been edited for length and clarity
Tina Sawyer: In 1987, a myth in Northwest Michigan was born after a commercial radio station released a song about the Legend of The Dog Man.
TS: But this harmless prank took on a life of its own. Ever since the Legend of the Dog Man has become a story passed down through generations and told around campfires throughout the region. But what's the origin of the story? And is it based in truth, I had a chance to track down the creator of the original song, former disc jockey Steve Cook, to find out.
Steve Cook: I created the Dog Man as a character, because I sort of was always fascinated by the idea of werewolves. But the werewolf is different than the Dog Man than that the werewolf transitions from a dog into a man and vice versa. Whereas the Dog Man seems to be trapped in the middle. He is half dog and half man or he is a dog with man like capabilities, walking upright and being able to vocalize and that sort of thing.
TS: When you ran the song on the air. Tell us what happened after that?
SC: Actually, that morning that April Fool's morning of 87. Initially, nothing happened. Jack played it twice on the air, our morning man. And there was really no reaction until about an hour after he got off the air. Our receptionist took a call from a man who said, 'I heard that song that played this morning, and I want to know more about it, because I've actually seen this thing.' And the receptionist passed the call over to me. And I spoke to him and he told me a story that literally made the hair on my neck and arm stand up because it had happened 50 years before that in 1937. He told the story of fishing along the Muskegon River, and a pack of dogs came out of the woods and circled around him and one of them stood up and looked at him. He was so terrified by the story or by the event that he never told the story to anyone, including members of his own family until he heard that song. And I was the first person that he had ever told. And from that point, it just snowballed. There were reports began to come in throughout the day, from people saying that's no joke. That's a real thing. And then we started looking into the history of it. And it turns out, it actually had one, which made it even creepier for all of us involved.
TS: So there's videos out on YouTube, I've noticed, of the dog man or reports of suspected dog man activity...do you think that that's probably the guy you talked to? Or maybe somebody else?
SC: I think some of it is creativity. Some of it is suspicious. There's really nothing that I've seen that cements it for me. I'm always been a skeptic. Because I know the whole story of how the dog man socking was created. But some of it it really is pretty compelling. If you notice almost all of it is just a little bit grainy. There's there's never that really super clear image or video that comes out of any of the creatures, any of the cryptid creatures out there. It serves to deepen the mystery, but it doesn't serve to bring it to a solution.
TS: I know you said you're a skeptic, but do you still hope to believe that the dog man is real?
SC: You know I? I'm from Michigan, but I have a Missouri ethic. And that is I'll believe it when I see it or show me. But I haven't seen anything yet that like I said really cements the whole thing for me. But in terms of wanting to Absolutely. I've met so many people who are so committed in their belief that I have to believe there is more out there than we really understand. The question is it hasn't walked in front of me yet. So do I really want to believe yet?
TS: That was Steve Cook, creator of The Dog Man legend. I'm Tina Sawyer. WCMU News.
