Local Legend: The Gray Beast of Bete Grise, Michigan

Stories of Mythical Michigan creatures have been circulating for centuries...even before there WAS a place called 'Michigan'.

And thru those years we have dealt with Bigfoot, sasquatch, and yeti...Dogman...the Melonheads...various giant serpents, prehistoric creatures, and monsters in the Great Lakes...the Waheela...and this time around, it's the Gray Beast of Bete Grise.

The village (some call it a 'ghost town') of Bete Grise is in the Keweenaw Peninsula on Lake Superior. Now, being in the Upper Peninsula, anyone would be subjected to a sighting of a wolf...even a well-fed, oversized one. Could this be the impetus of the Gray Beast? It's been said throughout the years that Bete Grise was named after a giant gray creature that was seen roaming through the area.

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What purpose could this creature have for continuously roaming this particular beach? One legend says this was a place where teens would hang out after midnight, drinking, cavorting, and generally being “up to no good”. In retaliation for ruining its beaches, late at night the Gray Beast would roam the beach and nearby woods looking for these young people, attack them, and eat them.

Were some teens really killed by something? A real wolf maybe? Or was this just a tale that was told in an attempt to scare the kids into straightening up and acting responsible?

Another sketchy myth states that when the local Native Americans were finished harvesting the blueberry bogs near the bay, they burned what was left. The smoke then rolled out into the bog and took the form of a giant gray beast. The smoke creature evidently ended up taking on a life of its own and stayed hidden in Bete Grise, looking for victims......or should I say, a snack?

The mind's eye envisions a beast similar to that of the Dogman, but so far, no accurate description of the Gray Beast has been forthcoming.

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