Tradition: American Mythology
Alternative Names: Hodag, Nasobatilus hystrivoratus
Category: Forest dweller
The Myth
The Hodag is a strange and fearsome beast said to inhabit the lumber woods of Wisconsin and Minnesota. It has a mottled, striped, and checkered body covered in bristling hair, with horns and spines running along its back. Its most distinctive feature is a large, spade-shaped bony growth protruding from the front of its head, with unusual prongs extending from its eye sockets so that it can see only straight ahead. Although its appearance is fearsome, the Hodag is described as slow, deliberate, and intelligent, moving with surprising precision through the forest.
The Hodag is a skilled hunter of porcupines, which form its principal food. When it spots one rolled up among the branches of a spruce tree, the creature begins to lick its eyes until they resemble small pieces of ice. It then moves around the tree, cutting through the roots until the spruce begins to topple. As the tree falls, the Hodag catches it with a rush of air, causing the roots and branches to crack and break. The porcupine tumbles from its hiding place, and the Hodag catches it before it can escape. It then straddles the fallen tree, follows its prey to the ground, and crushes the porcupine with its huge front feet before swallowing it headfirst.
During autumn, the Hodag prepares for winter by stripping the bark from spruce and pine trees and covering its body with the fibrous material. It gathers a patch of hardwood leaves beneath the trees, rolling around until the leaves are packed tightly into a thick, warm mantle. Wrapped in this natural covering, the Hodag spends the winter hidden in the woods, emerging again when the weather grows warmer.
Sources
Cox, William T. Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, with a Few Desert and Mountain Beasts. St. Paul, MN: Press of Judd & Detweiler, Inc., 1910. https://archive.org/details/fearsomecreature00coxw