An attempt to trace the current tales of the Goatmans Bridge to their source: a 2008 YouTube video that contained seemingly new information about the urban legend, including some information that linked the story to the Mothman legends. Whenever a sighting of this ghastly figure occurs, a string of mysterious disappearances is sure to follow. So, just to be clear: If you google this and find people mention the person who supposedly uploaded the video, that information is incorrect. Also, heres a weird synchronicity. contribution from Shaun Treat, founder of the, historical ghost tour. Turn right at Lillian Miller Pkwy and go 0.8 miles, where the road becomes Farm to Market Rd 2181/Teasley Ln, continue 3.2 miles, and turn right at Old Alton Rd. According Driving into the city of Dallas, its stunning skyline immediately catches the eye. They wanted to put up a reward for his safe return, maintain his home and pay his bills. A rash of mysterious disappearances are becoming alarmingly routine on a. One of the most famous local ghost stories though, and one of the more terrifying, is the legend of Goatman's Bridge. Some reports describe the Goatman's fur as a deep, fiery red, while others describe his coloring as black as night, so black you can hardly see him as he moves through the edges of the trees. Other legends circulating about the demon focus on his name. The tiktok account just has the two videos, and it has like five followers so you are missing anything there. November 15th 1967: police discover an abandoned car beside Old Alton Bridge, five miles south of Denton, Texas. [1][3], As well, Goatman was rumored to reside in a makeshift shelter in the wooded region of northwestern Prince George's County near the vicinity of Bowie. If his name is uttered during the day, he is awakened and is often even more vicious due to the disruption of his sleep cycle, or so the story goes. According to urban legend, Goatman is a creature resembling a goat-human hybrid often credited with canine deaths and purported to take refuge in the woods of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. And its not lost on me that theres a connection between the two legends: both involve a animal man hybrid as well as a bridge. I would laugh and think to myself (Another one bites the dust I guess) Many times however, I would get lucky and not have a single other person come visit the bridge, OR even a car drive by for an entire night. A fan-favorite episode in which the crew took on Goatman Bridge will be featured on Ghost Adventures: Screaming Room. The bridge was built in 1884, by the King Iron Manufacturing Bridge Company. Please treat the episode audio as the final product. and help keep the future of the Observer, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our. My paranormal experiences became a local sensation in Denton, TX and remained the most viewed videos for awhile , even after others began to upload their own experiences. "It's like all urban legends because there are actually legends similar to it all over the country," Ghosts of Denton tour guide Shelly Tucker told Discover Denton. Due to the great number of unexplained happenings at the Old Alton, the bridge has been the subject of a number of investigative paranormal shows, Ghost Adventures, and Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural among them. The KKK apparently kidnapped and killed Washburn by throwing him over the bridge. Signs found around the area clearly denote the special place the bridge and surrounding woods have in the communitys hearts, including one which reads I have many memories of the Old Alton Bridge and I love every one of them, a quote attributed to Wayne Stuart Ryan. There are news reports of abandoned cars on the bridge from the 1960s for sure.. Other than that, Bob made a twitter account in June and hes tweeted a lot about an invocation of Zalgo, which I guess is a creepypasta from 2004. But like I said, theres more than one version that attempts an explanation for a century of recurring frights and sights encountered at the bridge. There is little remaining of the old townsite today, except for the Hickory Creek Baptist Church and the old Alton Cemetery, which contains graves that date back to 1852. Some folks online have given a name for the person who supposedly uploaded this video. us, which seems the perfect opportunity to revisit one of Dentons most Several other reports tell of numerous abandoned cars that have been found near the bridge, with their occupants missing. independent local journalism in Dallas. In this version, an experiment on goats backfires and the scientist mutates into a half man, half goat creature who begins aggressively attacking cars in the vicinity of Beltsville, Maryland. 714-993-8164. Today, the Baptist Church and the Alton cemetery are all that remains of the Alton village. Goatman's Bridge is an old wood and steel structure spanning a small waterway between Denton, Texas, and neighboring town, Copper Canyon. I want to say that he screams, but I don't remember. Some of the posts he commented on were about the Old Alton Bridge, Texas Hauntings, or similar topics. A similar tale to Washburns predates the building of the bridge, in which a group of cowboys lynched a goatherder called Jack Kendall. They would pull into the parking lot, get out, turn on all the flashlights and slowly walk towards this bridge to see what this was all about. Some reports describe the Goatmans fur as a deep, fiery red, while others describe his coloring as black as night, so black you can hardly see him as he moves through the edges of the trees. There have also been reports of inhuman screams coming from the nearby woods, or maniacal laughter sounding. The legend goes that Kendalls body reanimated through the power of voodoo, ripped off the head of a nearby goat, and replaced his head with the goats as the astonished cowboys watched in horror. When approached, the woman is said to vanish. document.write(theYear) Nothing has been posted, there are no playlists, etc. So its just a strange, unlikely coincidence that theres a connection between the dates of the moth man siding and this supposedly disappearance near the goat mans bridge. Finally, in May 1859, its post office doors closed forever. The historic Old Alton Bridge,which connects the towns of Denton and Copper Canyon, has a complex and haunted history. When they looked down to see if he had died, the noose was empty. The ground was damp and hoof prints should have been obvious, but I couldnt find any!. But all of this is Internet talk, without corroboration, Blair explains. The story of the Goat Man himself can't be factually confirmed, but there have been several disappearances and tales of abandoned cars found in the area going back to at least the 50's, and documented by the local police departments. Oh, also, when people delete their accounts on Reddit, their comments often still appear on the platform and it just says deleted under their username, but I was able to confirm that at least some of the comments that he had posted under his old username were also deleted. But its wild that those details have congealed into this almost monolithic urban legend nowadays. Become a member to support the independent voice of Dallas According to this story, a black goat farmer by the name of Oscar Washburn and his family moved into a home located just north of the Old Alton Bridge. Years later, in 1884, long after Alton had died, an iron through-truss bridge was built over Hickory Creek on Copper Canyon Road, south of the old townsite. THE HISTORY of goatman's bridge: November 15th 1967: police discover an abandoned car beside Old Alton Bridge, five miles south of Denton, Texas. Ive been told that if I were in a horror movie, A look at a place full of cemeteries, ruins, and ghosts of, http://www.randomconnections.com/paranormal-activity/, https://web.archive.org/web/20100920155235/, http://www.asup-inc.org/oldaltonbridgecase.htm, https://web.archive.org/web/20100617152737/, The Trickster and the Goatman (Goatmans Bridge Series), I went to Goatmans Bridge (Goatmans Bridge Series), This Way to the Goatman (Goatmans Bridge Series), Death at the Goatmans Bridge (Goatmans Bridge Series), Who is the Goatman? In an account that may go back as far as the 1860s Texas Troubles, some Copper Canyon cowboys lynched a Creole slave goat-herder named Jack Kendall from a tall creekside tree near where the bridge now stands, but ineptitude separated the runaway slaves head from his body. Today, it is a popular location for nature enthusiasts and photographers. When Denton County was formed in 1846, the first pioneers chose a place along Pecan Creek for the first county seat and named it Pinckneyville in honor of Texas first governor, James Pinckney Henderson. The main highway bypasses it now, but the 135-year-old structure is still visible from the main road. Built in 1884 by the King Iron Bridge Manufacturing Company, it originally carried horses and later automobiles over Hickory Creek at a location that once was a popular ford for crossing cattle. Supposedly the video series was going to answer everything, but it never happened, and you cant watch the video this description went with, since it was deleted the day after it was posted, having garnered 39 views when it was archived by the wayback machine. The bridge was built twenty-five years later and dubbed the Old Alton Bridge.. When she found out, she threw herself from the bridge, and her spirit has haunted it ever since. Our Built by the King Bridge Company of Cleveland, Ohio, the 145-foot long bridge would serve area travelers for more than a century. He may have done that before 8/6, but thats just when I noticed it, while finalizing the script for this episode. Earning his living raising goats, he was soon called the Goatman by the locals. KKK, Illustrated in Harpers Weekly, 1872. Now, this person said that he didnt upload the video. Kathy Weiser-Alexander/Legends of America, updated June 2021. If you park outside the bridge at night and honk your horn three times a goatman will appear. Ironically, if you search Bobs username on youtube, the cached metadata on Duckduckgo says USERNAME is resurrected from the digital grave. which is really ironic. local news and culture, I want answers. Alton, now Cooper City, has long been abandoned. Throughout the years multiple origins for the Goatman have spread but the one that remains consistent is the feeling that the demon is watching.<br /><br />Listen to all the origins and find . In July of 1988 at just over 100, the Old Alton Bridge landed a coveted spot on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as recognition as a Texas Historic Landmark. He had no known medical conditions when he disappeared, although he did have some short-term memory problems like being unable to remember phone numbers. Passing over any bridge as antiquated and creaky as the Old Alton, its normal to feel a little unsettled. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD8iUdp33PqTsix2sGblEQZ8m5FQycC5DDoes a demonic entity . An honest businessman, his goat raising business was a success. The Denton County location is notoriously haunted by the spirit of Oscar Washburn, or "Goatman," who was believed to be a former goat farmer. November 15th 1967: police discover an abandoned car beside Old Alton Bridge, five miles south of Denton, Texas. [6] The 16-minute, $6,000 film premiered on December 29, 1988 at the Uptown Theater. My sense is that this was the moment when one version of the story was codified into something resembling the truth, at least as far as the internet was concerned. It didnt earn the Goatman title until half a century later, when an African-American named Oscar Washburn settled in the area. Despite the warmth the community displays toward the bridge, another feeling altogether permeates the hot summer air when wandering down the Old Goatmans Bridge at dusk; a feeling of deep, almost primordial terror of what lurks beneath. . Ghost Adventures: Screaming Room will take viewers out of the actual haunted location and into a casual conversation with the Ghost Adventures crew. Harrod had planned to put Heeter's name on some of his assets, including some of his properties, but he disappeared before he could do that. Most ghosts are given names because we need to feel like we can know them. However, it wasnt so well-known for a long time. Details of Disappearance. As of 8/6/22, he had deleted his account completely. https://web.archive.org/web/20100920155235/http://www.asup-inc.org/oldaltonbridgecase.htm. Harrod was last seen at his residence in the 500 block of Carnation Drive Placentia, California sometime between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on July 27, 2009. . Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. In a panic, the Klansman returned to the Washburn residence, and killed his family in cold blood. With cars and all their noise safely out of the way, the Old Alton Bridge was free for hikers and nature lovers to pass safely. A rash of mysterious disappearances are becoming alarmingly routine on a chilling stretch of road. Locals tell the story and follow it with a warning: those who cross the bridge with no headlights will be met on the other side by the Goatman. With vehicle traffic removed, the bridge became an important link connecting the Elm Fork and Pilot Knoll Hiking and Equestrian Trails. Travelers to the Old Alton Bridge, built in 1884 as a busy thoroughfare, have long reported frightening encounters and ghostly experiences with supernatural creatures that have made it a legendary spot for Texas ghost hunters and a topic for numerous books. Over the years it gained more notoriety as I began to uncover and post more of the mystery, opening thousands of peoples minds in person who came to visit and happened to stop to have a chat with that ghost hunting guy and his beagle always at the bridge. Washburn was gone and was never seen again. Bagans, Goodwin, Billy Tolley and Jay Wasley watch the subject episode and add candid commentary about behind-the-scenes moments. . A vicious and hateful group of Klansmen working in the local government began to conspire against him, waiting for Oscar to slip and give them some excuse to be rid of him. There are also some other mentions of the bridge hauntings, which arent part of the popular legends now: Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, the secondary visits have raised more questions than they might otherwise have answered, including additional photographic anomalies and cold spots on bright, sunny days where the physical environmental data would suggest it impossible. Regardless of which origin gets told, old timers warn that knocking three times on the trusses of the bridge is an invitation to judgment, since the ghastly Goatman only spirits away those with the bloodlines of Klansmen or slaveowners into the woods for his terrible revenge. DISCLAIMER: Im providing this version of the script for accessibility purposes. However, descriptions differed on whether Goatman greater resembled a hairy humanoid or a human with the lower portion of a goat similar to the fauns of Greek mythology. Called the Old Alton Bridge, sometimes the Argyle bridge, and is better known amongst the locals as Goatmans Bridge, it was first built to carry horses but would later carry vehicles across the creek. I chatted him instead. If history is the self-congratulatory narrative of a community written by its victorious elite, then our ghosts will often problematize and haunt such tidy romanticisms of back in the day. But heres what I can tell you: I just searched for him again and I have discovered that he made a Tiktok back in July and hes posted two videos, both of which show a shirtless man wearing a cow mask and hanging out in the woods. Heavy loads were exactly what the bridge was intended to support when the King Iron Bridge Manufacturing Company commissioned it in 1884. The Hickory Creek Baptist Church, which continues to stand, was organized in 1855. They hung a noose on Old Alton Bridge and, after securing it around his neck, threw him over the side. Locally, the bridge is known as Goatman's Bridge, as it is said to be haunted by a half-man half-goat figure called Goatman. The bridge was built in 1884, by the King Iron Manufacturing Bridge Company. Old Alton Bridge was included in the National Register of Historic Places on July 8, 1988. He never answered. They also relive terrifying encounters and reflect on each discovery from a safer environment. He also mentioned the bridge in a handful of his tweets, but the tweets werent coherent enough for me to glean anything from or for them to be worth reading from here. Put to a vote in November 1856; the county seat was moved again to Denton. In addition to Washburn's story, the Ghost Adventures crew investigated reports of demonic activity on and around the bridge. Years later, in 1884, long after Alton had died, an iron through-truss bridge was built over Hickory Creek on Copper Canyon Road, south of the old townsite. For the Kentucky creature, see, Last edited on 23 February 2023, at 17:27, "Legend of Goatman Survives Despite Lack of Evidence", "Maryland's Goatman Is Half Man, Half Goat, and Out for brains", "Famed Goatman Forever Held In Dusty Room", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Goatman_(urban_legend)&oldid=1141159056, This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 17:27. Maverick Kyrie Irving Has a Lot To Learn, Like the Earth Is Round, Dinosaurs Lived and Antisemitism Is Bad, Equal Representation at Center of Dallas' District 1 City Council Race, Students Fight To Change 2 Building Names at UT Arlington, Two Dallas City Council Seats Destined for New Blood, Texas Democrats Double Down on Defending Public Ed. Also, for the record, there have also been reports of the lynchings of white people in the area, so I have seems some older stories that seemed to claim that a white goatman had been lynched. havent been able to find mentions of Oscar Washburn prior to 2008. It was just me, my equipment, my dog and the Spirits.. who grew more accustomed to my energy presence the longer I spent out there and got to know what this place was, how beautiful it truly was at night, when the rest of the world just came looking for a quick jump-scare or half-man half goat/ghostly headlights/knock 3 times to summon the demon/goat hooves sounds/shadow figure etc (the Legend quickly began to spin and soon I would realize I set events in motion that nobody EVER couldve expected. In February 2022, a "six-foot goat man" was supposedly seen near a village called Staverton, in Northamptonshire. You wont find the names of Oscar Washburn or Jack Kendall in any historical records. Many believe that the Goatman haunts the overpass and the nearby woods. It is under surveillance by the Paranormal Investigators of North Texas and the Denton County Paranormal Investigators.\r\rOscar Washburn was never seen again and has been presumed dead since his attempted murder.\r\rhttp://www.asup-inc.org/oldaltonbridgecase.htm He was working on repairs with his son-in-law between 11:00 a.m and 12:00 p.m in preparation for his newlywed wife's arrival. The Klansmen, however, did not exactly follow the due process of the law. Often the growl will be accompanied by the words, "Get off my bridge!" 2023 Copyright Dallas Terrors. So, anyway, starting from this initial rumor that was immortalized in the form of a YouTube video, the new version of the legend started to spread widely. Lermont Stowers-Jones' body was found in a Denton County creek in 2018. Continues to stand, was organized in 1855 similar topics discovery from a safer environment, him... 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