The “Gable film” is an edited 8mm film that has been raising a lot of questions and theories for the last few years. Many have declared this to be an elaborate hoax created by someone wanting to capitalize on the “Michigan Dogman” stories. The film itself is owned by MindStage Productions and can be seen online in a very edited and low quality version. It shows what many have said to be the actual cryptid creature lurking around the Wisconsin and adjacent states. Many researchers have claimed that this is just a hoax created by a radio DJ by the name of  Steve Cook.  The same person who helped create a fictional story of the “Michigan Dogman” as an April Fool’s joke, stated that he had acquired an old 8mm film with the images of a strange beast that attacks the camera man. He stated that the film was found in an estate sale in the lower peninsula of Michigan.

The 8mm reel did not have any detailed information about who or where the film was shot. The only information known was the inscription “Gable Case #MPO41177-1” that was on the film canister.

All the recent chatter about the “Beast of Bray Road” and “Michigan Dogman” is kicking up dust again since the news report on Fox’s Sean Hannity show last week in which Linda Godfrey was interviewed and the Gable film was shown on national television. I’ve noticed that GhostTheory’s web stats have climbed a lot due to all the Search Engine queries for the elusive creature. Not surprisingly I started to see more comments on my previous posts about the case. One of these comments was made by the reader who goes by “Zach Luebke”.  He posted the following:

Zach Luebke says:

I’ve been looking into this ‘Gable Film’ and found something interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvFYnkyY5tU
look at that and read the full info in the side bar.

Interesting indeed! The link shows a newly uploaded video by the YouTube user QuinlanOUR12. The information they provided states:

I was at my little brother’s house Friday June 10th and my sister-in-law was watching Fox News. (She’s madly in lust with that Sean Hannity guy). A short segment came on about “the Beast of Bray Road”. Hannity then played a clip from a film named…”The Gable Film”.

Sirens went off in my head.

Our only uncle was a film nut in college, back in the seventies. He was always making home movies and beer commercials. He was even hired, (not for pay), to help the Michigan Department of Natural Resources investigate and document a bear attack, just north of Bellaire. (Our Grandmother worked in the Antrim County Courthouse,…. she had a hand in getting him the gig). The victim’s name was Aaron GABLE.

…..GABLE!!!

My mother tells us that after filming the attack scene, our Uncle John was so distraught that he packed up his stuff and moved to Florida, two weeks later!. Mom says his behavior was becoming very psychotic, he couldn’t sleep at night and he kept going on about how “bears have FIVE toes,….. dogs have four”!. Just a week after he left, a DNR officer hand-delivered the film that Uncle John made to my Mother’s house. It’s been in a box in the basement ever since.

Now, I seem to recall that these films usually lasted about five minutes or so, but the film we have is only about a minute long… and the end of it was obviously torn off, not cut clean. I wonder just how much is missing? We almost threw this film away just a couple of years ago, but I wound up buying a vintage projector on eBay, just to see what was on this film. (Boy, was I suprised). NOW,….. I find that there’s this “Gable” film out there?

I wonder if these two films are related. I’ll see if I can get it in better resolution, other than with Wifey’s camera-phone. (It might be expensive,….. but I’m sure it’ll be worth it).

One thing’s for certain, whatever it was on that clip that they played on Fox News,….. it sure didn’t look like no Bear.

Now, I warn you..The video you are about to see is gruesome if real. It shows the upper-half body of a victim after a bear attack. Interesting to point out, the video has some similarities to the Gable film.

Strong images

Right away you will notice that the film seems to be taken from an older camera. Much like the Gable film, it’s vintage look is what stands out right away from the beginning.

Lets break down the information provided by the uploader.

The YouTube user stated that their uncle was hired by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to investigate and document a bear attack, and that their grandmother who worked in the Antrim County Courthouse had gotten their uncle the job. According to what was written, The victim’s name of the bear attack was Aaron Gable.

Besides the obvious uncertainties (ie. is the video real, was it a bear attack, is it related to the Gable film) what is unknown is how many victims there were in the attack, where it was shot and where the actual camera man is.

Now, let’s talk about what stood out to me from watching the video.

First, we take a look at the vehicle in both of the films.

In both films, the trucks (which seem to be a 1968 Ford f250 model) seem almost identical.

image: classicautorental.com

I can be mistaken about the model, since my knowledge of automobiles and their make extends to me taking my car to JiffyLube and checking the “SUV/Black” box.

The next similar object of both films is the camera. There is a handheld camera laying on the ground of the bear attack video which has some form of resemblance to the one of the Gable film.

I don’t have a clue as to what type of cameras these could be, but judging from both images, they look similar in regards to size and hand grip. Maybe some of you reading this have a better clue as to what types of cameras these are.

It’s odd how we see the camera on the Gable film when the camera man shoots him/herself through the truck’s side mirror, and then we see a similar camera laying on the ground of the new film.

Coincidence?

The other similarity between the films is the most disturbing one. The person who is chopping wood in the Gable film has an uncanny resemblance to the dead victim in this new film that has surfaced. The hair style and body type seem very similar to each other. Although not a strong poing, the style of clothing seems to be similar as well.

I really hope this new film that has surfaced proves to be a hoax, the unnerving images of a bear attack victim are very graphic.

There is also a different version of the Gable film out there that has been slowed down a bit and cleaned up.
gable film high quality with slow motion

What can we conclude from the images and videos above?

To me, the explanation of the creature on the film being a man in a suit is not plausible for the reason that you can see it take off running on all for legs. The position of the body when charging and the straight, flat back of the creature is something that would be almost impossible for a human to pull off.

Now let us think about the so called “Case number MPO-41177-1” that the Gable film had on it’s canister. Can the “MPO” stand for some form of case number? Like a civil lawsuit against a state park or a case for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources?

Since it’s surfacing, the Gable film has brought on a lot of speculation of what really is portrayed on the film. A cryptid creature attacking a person or a known animal attack a person. No one can clearly come up with evidence to the contrary, but to me, it looks like a video from a bear attack investigation that was forgotten over the years only to be found and spawn a new urban legend.

Your take on this?

Note: Linda Godfrey will be speaking at Paranormal L.A. 2009 next month alongside Loren Coleman and Barry Conrad. If you are in California, check out the event.