I'm Laura Norton, and this is one strange thing.

The show will research the nation's news archives for stories that can't quite be explained.

Strange? Strangers, if there's one thing we love more than a relatively modern cryptid story,

and truly, all respect to the Dover demons and flatwood monsters out there, it's a historical one. There's just something about digging

into newspapers of a century or more past and reading about people who were grappling with

the unknown in a time where real species were still being discovered with a startling regularity.

It's an idea we discussed in our premium episode on that adorable little Australian freak,

the platypus, and in our coverage of the van meter visitor.

That sense of wonder, a time before instant media, before a camera was in everyone's hands,

when people were like,

oh, what new horror is this? That is right up our alley. So, it's in that spirit that we bring you a new flavor of weird, the wretch of Wisconsin, the nave of the Northwoods, the Hodag. This creature, though,

is a little different than our average monster, in that it's both a piece of true American folklore

and a true cryptid, one that appeared at a particular time and place, thus stirring up a lot of excitement in the

scientific community. Imagine if a gnome turned up at a state fair, and you kind of get the idea.

Described by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as, quote, a terrible brute with a dragon's body and fanged

snarling grin that smelled of buzzard meat and skunk

perfume. The hodag burst onto the Rhinelander scene in the early 1890s and caused quite a stir.

In fact, it made such an impression that it's still a key figure in the area today, sort of a town

mascot, you might say. And, per the town's website, it's still a key figure in the area today, sort of a town mascot, you might say.

And per the town's website, it's also a literal one for the local high school, who can proudly

claim that they were at some point voted as having the best mascot in the entire country.

We aren't sure by whom, but we certainly agree with this choice. It sure beats out our high school

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