Bray Road
Just east of downtown Elkhorn, Wisconsin, lies a four-mile stretch of rural road that, under ordinary circumstances, would probably be little known beyond the surrounding communities. Bordered by small farms, wooded areas, open fields, and occasional wetlands, Bray Road looks much like countless other country roads throughout the Midwest. Its quiet landscape, however, has acquired a considerably more unusual reputation.
Known for the legend of the Beast of Bray Road, the area has become well known within cryptozoological and paranormal circles. Reports of mysterious creatures, often described as resembling a large, upright canine, a werewolf, or Bigfoot, have been associated with the area for decades, with sightings receiving particular attention during the 1980s and 1990s.
My general fascination with unusual phenomena, combined with my longstanding interest in photographing small rural towns and landscapes, led me to make a slight detour through Elkhorn while driving home to Chicago from Milwaukee. I spent a beautiful afternoon photographing the town and the surrounding countryside. While searching for interesting subjects and perspectives, I eventually drove the entire length of Bray Road six times, stopping along the way to photograph its farms, barns, empty roads, fences, fields, and trees.
Unsurprisingly, I did not encounter the Beast of Bray Road. What I did find was a landscape whose ordinary beauty subtly shifts once its legend is known. An empty road disappearing into the trees can suddenly feel more isolated. A distant farmhouse or abandoned barn takes on a different presence. Even an otherwise peaceful stretch of countryside can carry an undercurrent of mystery.
These photographs are not meant to document the legend itself but rather the place that gave rise to it. Working in black and white, I wanted to capture both the stark beauty of the rural Wisconsin landscape and the slightly uneasy atmosphere that inevitably follows once a story becomes attached to a place. Whether or not anything unusual has ever walked along Bray Road, the legend has become part of how the landscape is seen.
