I Encountered a Six-Foot Dogman in a German Forest. Was it a Benandanti?

Sightings of 'Dogmen or Doglike Humans' have been around since the dawn of time, with a daily dose of film Images of Hammer House of Horror Killers or the Death Shucks of Old it is no wonder we see every encounter as an attack, but as we learn more about the Phenomena behind these Beings or at least try to understand it somehow, there are reports of these Wolf headed men that seem to be the opposite of popular thought. There are many reports worldwide of attacks and kills by these Creatures throughout history and in modern times, we hear of them on Podcasts and TV, Popular film culture, Books and Video footage, ever more violent and to some thrilling. But 'they' are not all reported to be killers and predators. 


There are reports going back through time of benevolent Canines, Upright Dog-headed men, who fight a war of good and evil many of us are not aware of with many beings not of this plain and malevolent energies of all kinds. Outside forces can enslave many of the Cryptids as they do us humans and any being they can become attached too, and our little amount of knowledge leaves many people confused, myself included. Should we fear them without question? or is each case different, each individual event happening with a multitude of endings. Are we guilty of not being cautious enough? Or of judging 'them' all on the example of some?  I honestly dont know the answer, but I would love to learn from not only the creatures, but from the people who experience and see them. Because these reports are not localised to one or two countries, or one or two periods in time. They happen everywhere, from the dawn of time, and no doubt into the future, and on every Continent.

Our first report comes from a gentleman who encountered a Dogman as he described it, in Germany back in the 1970's, he explains the event and the description of the creature itself in some detail not just about 'Its' appearance, but how he believes the Creature might be related to an ancient society of nature protectors. He explains the event in his own words:  In the fall of 1972 whilst I was camping I saw one of those so-called Dogmen. I was an army brat back then living in West Germany in a place called Wildflecken. It was a heavily wooded and thickly Forested area. There were lots of places for a boy of 12 to go camping. I was on this occasion camping with a friend and it was about 9 pm at the time of the event, in the month of November. We had camp set up and a camp fire built, and I remember my friend was sitting cross-legged next to the fire tending it. I was directly across from him standing, doing something but I forget now what. We were in a tiny clearing within the evergreens, there were trees and shadow all around us.

We were just talking to each other when all of a sudden this very tall Creature standing on two legs, with a face which looked a bit like a German Shepard Dog stepped out of the foliage and we could clearly see 'Him'. 'It' was about 6 or 7 feet tall.I distinctly remember the tall ears and also a long snout and thick heavy shoulders, 'It' had a long tail, and the bent legs of a Dog. "It" seemed to be muscular in build and had a thick upper body and a narrow lower body. It was the same colour as a German Shepard. This 'thing' came towards us and stepped over the fire between us both and 'It' was gone in a quick second. 'It' was extremely fast. We both exclaimed, at the same time “what the hell was that!” before running off as fast as we could to my friend’s house. When we made it to the house we locked ourselves in his basement and slept there for the rest of the night. We never spoke of it again, we never told our parents or any of our friends. We didn’t know what we saw, but I did realise 'It' never made any aggressive gestures or noises towards us.

Over the years I have conducted much research since the age of the computer. I bought books on the any subject that I thought held an answer. All the lore and legends I have gone through makes me think, if legends are true, the 'thing' I saw could have been a Benandanti Werewolf. They were not known for evil and only tried to protect the farmers crops, nature and all living things against evil spirits.

The reference this gentleman makes to the Benandanti is something most of us will not be aware of, myself included. When looking up these Alpen residents it would seem like many of the Canine deities they are benevolent in nature. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Benandanti – or the “Good Walkers” – were a society or group who left their bodies at night to fight against malevolent forces on the spirit plain, battling against curses placed on farmers’ crops, healing the sick from astral ailments, and engaging in combat with supernatural creatures. All in the hopes that as promised Good always overcomes Evil?

The  Benandanti would often take the shape of half-human animals, including Dogs and Wolves although they could shape-shift at will into any animal they chose too, when reaching a meditative calmness and getting themselves ready to do battle they would leave their bodies in an astral state, leading to some frightening sightings of strange creatures by those who happened to be wandering the countryside at night and caught sight of the Benandanti in their Animal Form.

Could a secret group of Benandanti still be fighting against supernatural threats in Germany, Italy and France? Is this a worldwide phenomena taking place on a global scale?  Our European readers should keep their eyes peeled, and be sure to send in any strange reports they discover.

There are reports of humans suddenly appearing from the place a large canine walked into, there are also reports of Dog-headed worldwide, in the Forest of Dean area of the UK we have a report that most would tie into the Werewolf tales of old. The witness mentioned this to me along with a number of events that had happened throughout their lifetime. I was out early again one morning in the woods close to Drybrook in the Forest and it was so early it was just getting light (and yes, it had been a full moon that night) I was just walking as usual and as I explained due my dogs nature I have to walk at odd times and out of the way places so we dont meet up with other Dog walkers.  I was just walking with the Dog as I usually would when on one of the forest tracks, I came across a man dressed only in his boxer shorts &and he was completely covered in mud. He was not injured but he was fast asleep on the path just laying there? The dog I was with who was an elderly Staffie, wouldn't go near him. I couldn't help thinking about the classic werewolf scenario where the person wakes up in the woods with no memory of what had happened minus their clothes. We promptly left the area.

Also not fitting in with the stereotypical image of a terrifying werewolf are the Scottish Wulver noted to be kindhearted and generous souls, known to help some of the most unfortunate people in the country. Hailing from the Shetland Islands, to the north of the Scottish mainland, the Wulver took the form of a man with a wolf’s head. Taking pity on the needy by leaving fish on the windowsills of poorer families, the Wulver was spotted on a regular basis around Shetland up to the start of the 20th century. Covered in a layer of thick brown hair, unlike the actual Werewolf, the Wulver was never human in the first place. In fact, the ancient Celts believed that the Wulver actually evolved from wolves - it was said to be symbolic of the in-between stage of man and wolf.

Although there isn’t much official documentation on the elusive creature - the last reported sighting being in the early twentieth century, the Wulver was said to live alone in a cave on Shetland and enjoyed the peaceful life. Unlike other werewolves - often painted as ferocious and daring - the Scottish Wulver was considered kind and often helped lost travellers, by guiding them to nearby towns and villages. Families that were poor and starving might find that the Wulver had left a supply of fish on their windowsill thanks to his benevolent side. The same kindness was shown to households with a sick family member, and the Wulver was seen sitting mournfully outside the home of a terminally ill person. The Wulver was frequently spotted out fishing for its daily meal from a rock dubbed, ‘The Wulver’s Stane’ and as long as he was left on his own devices, a Wulver showed no aggression to humans.

Another report from Rochdale in Lancashire also mentions the Dog headed men. Hi Deb I just had to tell you about a conversation I had last night when I was talking to my younger Sister and as I sent her some transcripts of your encounter stories a couple of weeks ago now which seemed to have prodded her memory. My Sister has always been a bit of a world traveller, and when she was in England about 40 years ago she was talking to our Grandmother, (our Mother's Mother) and our Gran told her about her friend who met the Wolf Headed Man. You could have knocked me down with a feather when she explained what Gran said! At last someone in my family who wouldn't think I was a raving looney. They all smile when I try to talk about our subject, but I know what they're thinking. (honestly I think there are thousands of us out there who get the same reaction from family, friends and work colleges and thats if your brave enough to bring up the subject)

Unfortunately this meeting could have been a 100 years ago or more Deb as I dont have a specific time frame. My Gran was in her 80's when she shared the account so it could have been before WW1. My Sister doesn't have any more details after so much time has passed. We come from Rochdale originally before we moved to Australia, so that's possibly where the encounter took place. I just wonder, as my mother said she spent a lot of time up on Blackstone Edge where the Wolf headed man was seen, I wonder if she was looking for her own encounter?! I’ll never know.

I used to say there are two sides to one coin when discussing the personality and traits of our Cryptid ones, now I think its more of a prismatic multifaceted puzzle that is impossible to explain or describe. As we think we reach an understanding another facet unfolds. Or is it more a case of the Tale of the Brave? A young brave who is pulled in a war between good and evil that is sending him mad. So torn between them he goes to visit his Chief medicine man, and explains there are two Wolves within him, each imploring him to do certain deeds. The White good Wolf asks him to care, nurture and walk the earth in the peace. Yet the Dark bad Wolf asks him for vengeance, hate and blood. In his confusion he asks the Chief which Wolf will eventually win the fight, the Chief answers simply, "The winner will be the Wolf you feed"

Until Next Time, Deb