Sunday, September 23, 2007

Mystery Animal Caught On Film

Just recently, myself, Linda Godfrey and a number of other researchers were given access to an intriguing piece of film footage that appears to show an unknown - and distinctly strange - animal.

And now the footage has been made public - by Steve Cook, a Michigan DJ who has the film in his possession.

Linda and I have been discussing the film over the course of the last week; and as my views are very similar to Linda's, I have related her thoughts below. Here's what she has to say:

"The film is grainy, blurry, shows a lot of nondescript landscape and begins with some ordinary shots of a lady chopping a log. It appears that the filmmaker saw the creature while riding in a truck, jumped out of the truck to shoot it, then was surprised by a side ambush and ended up with a view of the creature's fangs and gaping maw -- perhaps after the camera was tossed to the ground in haste as the filmer hustled back into the truck. (I think the mouth shots are the least convincing part of the film.) But the first stills that show the creature clearly indicate a canine-headed animal moving through knee-high undergrowth. It has pointed ears on top of its head and shoulders, which ordinary dogs (or bears or other quadrupeds) do not have. It turns and moves to one side, charging through the brush in a way that would be very difficult for a human to do."

Here's the link to Linda's full-post on the story.

And here's the link to Steve Cook's site, where the film can be viewed.

Precisely what the mystery critter is, I don't know; but it's sure to provoke a lot of controversy in the coming weeks.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Nick,

Very unusual. Two things interest me. Firstly, when the animal turns around to chase the cameraman, its movements are very odd, almost like it's morphing from one shape to another. Could this be evidence of digital editing? Secondly, it reminds me of the Japanese Akito dog, particularly its curled tail and broad torso.

I'm suspicious of this footage, particularly the gaping jaw shot. That's a little too Blair Witch Project! I think it's a hoax.

Cheers mate,

Rick MG
The Daily Grail

Nick Redfern said...

Hi Rick

Cheers for the comments. I agree re the gaping jaw totally. In fact, if you look at what Linda Godfrey had to say in the extract that I posted, she concurred re the jaw shots.

Coincidentally, Linda and I discussed the film privately a week or so ago, and had concerns then re the jaw etc. And you're right: it does look very Blair Witch-like and over-dramatic at the end.

Yep, it does look like a morph: rather like a large, bulky ape kind of "knuckle walking" and then it leaps at the camera "big dog" style.

It's interesting that a number of people have picked up on the Blair Witch comparison; as well as the fact that it seems to change shape.

Hopefully, in time, we'll know the truth!

Best
Nick

ahtzib said...

Very well done Blair Witch homage. Much better than typical Youtube fare.

Nick Redfern said...

Ahtzib:

Yep, there have definitely been some Blair Witch comparisons with this. The ending, for example, certainly has a big BW feeling to it.

Siani said...

Sadly, my Windows Media Player refuses to play the film, so I can't comment on it. But thanks for pointing the way to a very interesting website - I've never heard of the Michigan Dogman before, and love tales about crypto-creatures.

Nick Redfern said...

Siani:

Yes, a number of people have said to me that they couldn't get it to play. Hopefully, the site will get it rectified.

Best
Nick

Vasily said...

Try VLC - open source, cross platform media player. Video plays find in it.