Overview and Evidence[]
Lodi's Blue Mystery Thing was an anomalous humanoid allegedly witnessed by a resident of Madison, Wisconsin known only as 'Michelle'. The account comes second or third-hand from the authors of the 2005 travel book Weird Wisconsin: Your Travel Guide to Wisconsin's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets, a part of the popular Weird series of travel books. Michelle allegedly encountered the strange being on August 22, 1999, while hiking back to her car along the Ice Age Trail in Lodi, Wisconsin.
While making her way down the trail towards the Lodi Cannery, she saw a quick blue flash approximately 50 or so feet ahead of her, obscured by the trees in the way. Assuming it was a cyclist (despite the trail being ostensibly off-limits to bicycles), Michelle stood to the side of the trail to allow them to pass. However, much to her surprise, the creature abruptly made a harsh turn to the left (Michelle's right) and flew into the thicket, a long blue appendage akin to a feather boa or scarf waving behind its head all the while. The creature then disappeared from view.[1]
The author of the Weird Wisconsin article briefly mentions the hypothesis that the entity was a spirit or wraith in passing, but such suggestions are highly unfalsifiable. If the story is truthful and not a hoax, then the creature was most likely a misidentified animal. The difficult task is finding a culprit. Blue-colored fauna in Wisconsin is extremely rare outside of small birds or insects, but the entity was evidently large enough that Michelle's first thought was 'cyclist'. One possible culprit would be the great blue heron. Its blue coloring is certainly subdued and more of a bluish-gray, but its large 'eyebrow' feathers could explain the flowing appendage seen by Michelle.[2] Of course, it is also certainly possible that it was indeed a cyclist who lost control of his bicycle and was thrown off the trail. However, online searches don't reveal any records of cyclists who died in Lodi near that date, although the lack of obituaries would of course be a non-issue if the cyclist survived.