. But Old Alton Bridge, the Goatman's Bridge, remains still open to foot traffic. To continue reading from the video description: Back to my video This one here is the first of 2 videos that for several years, if you were to search Goatmans Bridge on Youtube , only 3 results appeared -Leland-s, and the 2 you are about to watch in this series. The main highway bypasses it now, but the 135-year-old structure is still visible from the main road. Though it is called the Old Alton Bridge the community of Alton had already dispersed by 1884. Other strange happenings recorded at the bridge include strange lights appearing in the surrounding woods, along with reports of visitors feeling hands grab at them in the dark, o a rain of rocks pelting them as they cross the bridge. Dentons most famous spectre is a story handed down for generations with a few variations, and thats the haunted Goatmans Bridge. When approached, the woman is said to vanish. 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. 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. us, which seems the perfect opportunity to revisit one of Dentons most However, the location of the second county seat also proved to be unfavorable due to a lack of potable water, and the state legislature soon directed that the site be moved again. A few years later, Washburn, having become known as a dependable and honest businessman and dubbed the "Goatman" by locals, displayed a sign on Alton Bridge reading "This way to the Goatman". Authorities don't believe Harrod was harmed by a stranger. With vehicle traffic removed, the bridge became an important link connecting the Elm Fork and Pilot Knoll Hiking and Equestrian Trails. [7], This article is about the Maryland creature. The ground was damp and hoof prints should have been obvious, but I couldnt find any!. I think he deleted it previously and then recreated it and then deleted it again. havent been able to find mentions of Oscar Washburn prior to 2008. A second spirit is often said to keep the Goatman company, that of a young mother crying out eternally for her lost child. Harrod got married on June 29, a month before his disappearance, and his new wife, Fontelle Heeter, was about to move in with him, but he vanished before she arrived. So this is a person who perhaps at one point in his life felt very inspired by Godsmack, see you can just use that to paint a mental picture in your mind palace of what this person might be like. But all of this is Internet talk, without corroboration, Blair explains. We walked down one of the paths, and I swear something started chasing us! The slavers then watched in horror as the headless body raised itself from the creekbed mud, animated by voodoo, and ripped off the head of a nearby goat to replace his own, still dangling in the noose! Though the fledgling town had begun to grow, the location of the county seat was still unsatisfactory for the majority of Denton County residents, who soon petitioned for yet, another county seat one that was more centrally located and again, one with better water. The tale continues that when travelers crossed the bridge at night with their headlights off, they would meet the Goatman on the other side. Around 2:30 p.m, his son in-law drove off to Home Depot to pick up supplies. theYear=theYear+1900 Last updated June 16, 2017; two pictures added, details of disappearance updated. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. Most notably, one that occurred November 15th 1967. It hasnt been proofread, so please excuse typos. 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. Though Commissioners were appointed and directed to lay out a town and sell lots, no records were ever done, and no public buildings were ever erected. 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. [5][6], The Goatman lore has isn't as well known but there have been some adaptations such as the slimy alien version in the game, Goatman's revenge. A half a century later a legend of a monstrous half-goat, half-man demon was born. So who knows maybe this series will appear on his channel, Ill try to keep an eye on it and I will update you if there is any movement there. His family doesn't believe he would have left without warning. In 2014, after Harrod's family had him declared legally dead and inherited his home, Heeter was evicted. Copyright 2008 - Some say his spirit still haunts these woods. 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. Some people have seen a half-man, half-goat figure, similar to a satyr; this odd account of after-death transformation (if this is indeed the Goatman) bears some semblance to the tale of the Donkey Lady Bridge or La Llorona. The Denton newspaper at the time did an article on a car found abandoned on the bridge." On July 25, 2008, someone who Im going to call Leland (not his real name) posted a 2-minute youtube video telling the story of the Old Alton Bridge. There have been four known lynching events of white people in Denton County since its founding, and the reason for white lynchings was typically horse theft. 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. 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. Wow, what a cliffhanger! Their luck with this second townsite was also short-lived; in 1850 they moved once more, to a location five miles from present-day Corinth. According to local lore, the historic Old Alton Bridge marks the entryway to the territory of a malevolent demonic force known only as the Goatman. Some even believe that crossing over the bridge at certain times of night can unlock a portal into Hell itself. Oh, also, it seemed like he tweeted a lot in early-to-mid June 2022 and hasnt tweeted since, which also matches the pattern. legendary ghost stories. November 15th 1967: police discover an abandoned car beside Old Alton Bridge, five miles south of Denton, Texas. [4], According to University of Maryland folklorist Barry Pearson, the Goatman legend began "long, long, long" ago and were further popularized in 1971 when the death of a dog was blamed on Goatman by local residents. Photo from ReneLibrary. Numerous reports tell of unholy glowing eyes that burn red from the darkness, eerie glimpses of a large snarling Goat-headed man-beast stomping in the wooded shadows, or a frightening apparition of a maniacal Satyr carrying the heads of goats or humans in his hands. The bridges architectural composition is known as a truss, a visually distinct structure of connected elements forming triangular units. I bet youre excited to find out what happened next! The Big Book of Texas Ghost Stories by Alan Brown, published in 2012, doesnt mention the Old Alton Bridge. Others report seeing a ghostly man herding goats over the bridge, while others say they have seen an apparition staring at them, holding a goat head under each arm. Often the growl will be accompanied by the words, "Get off my bridge!" There have been some idiots who go out there and dabble in what they think is satanism and try to summon things . [1], According to some variations of the legend, Goatman is said to have once been a scientist who worked in the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. There are no definitive records of Washburn or Kendall, but as a Denton local said, that doesnt mean its not haunted.The bridge is seven miles south of Denton, if you ever get the urge to visit just keep your headlights on and dont knock on the bridge, unless you want to visit with the Goatman. and help keep the future of the Observer, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our. 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. However, given the condition of remains, the deaths may more likely have been the result of passing trains. This legend results in the area around Old Alton Bridge being popular among paranormal investigators,[5] such as the crews from Ghost Adventures and BuzzFeed Unsolved: Supernatural. This series is the true story ofhow I became The Goatman. Old Alton Bridge aka Goatmans Bridge,' is a now infamous old haunted bridge near Denton Texas. If you park outside the bridge at night and honk your horn three times a goatman will appear. 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. There is a Plano Goat Man legend dating to at least the 70s or 80s which she mentions in the book, but in the subsection about the Old Alton Bridge Goatman, theres no date given for when that legend began. Washburn was never seen or heard from again or was he? According to Micah Carlson Crittendens University of North Texas masters thesis published in May 2020, The Tall Grass West Of Town: Racial Violence In Denton County During The Rise Of The Second Ku Klux Klan: Due to shifts in the public perception of white criminality and lynching as a violation of due process, white lynchings in Denton County stopped in 1880 and never resumed.This meshes with some other older reports I found on the bridge, in which the goatman seems to be white (or at least his race isnt mentioned). And sure enough, my friend was like, oh yeah, that person was my next-door neighbor when we were growing up, and were friends. And luckily for us, the video description was a wall of text almost 900 words long. Alton, now Cooper City, has long been abandoned. The new townsite was located on a high ridge between Pecan Creek and Hickory Creek and was called Alton. Today, the Baptist Church and the Alton cemetery are all that remains of the Alton village. Oh also, when I originally wrote a lot of this, Bob had deleted his YouTube channel, but as of today, August 6, 2022, he seems to have reactivated his YouTube channel. It just seems to be the story that captures everyone's imagination.". Heeter was packing up her belongings at her home in Missouri in order to move in with Harrod in California, and he was preparing for her arrival and looking forward to it. Texas Hill Country. 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. Apparently, in 2010, there was a person who commented on a bunch of websites, basically anything that mentioned the bridge that year. He may have done that before 8/6, but thats just when I noticed it, while finalizing the script for this episode. Updated 3 times since October 12, 2004. Our Washburn was gone and was never seen again. 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. Legend has it that a demon that's half-man and half-goat haunts the bridge. Take I-35E S/US-77 S to exit 463 and merge into the I-35 Frontage Rd. The historic Old Alton Bridge,which connects the towns of Denton and Copper Canyon, has a complex and haunted history. 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. Becky Vickers is the author of the book The Secrets of Goatman's Bridge. But its wild that those details have congealed into this almost monolithic urban legend nowadays. Heavy loads were exactly what the bridge was intended to support when the King Iron Bridge Manufacturing Company commissioned it in 1884. Legend further holds that the Goatmans Bridge provides a gateway into Hell. According to locals, Washburn's story is likely an urban legend. This video titled Paranormal Activity at Goatmans Bridge and its follow-up response Still Dont Believe? quickly went viral and became the top search results for the following couple years. I would spend countless hours there and watched all this happen every night from the bridge. The legends and mysteries of Goatman's Bridge (including the infamous story of a goatman roaming the forest in search of those who killed his family) and the reports of abandon cars and missing persons make this place one of the most sought-after locations for those in the paranormal field. The legend goes that he had a wife, who died mysteriously and that one night a group of drunken cowboys found the old man out crossing the bridge, herding his goats and drove the animals off the bridge, killing them in the fall. Id like to loop back to some of the trickster stories I mentioned in the first episode of this series. [2] This bridge is the subject of several ghostlore stories featuring a vengeful ghost. More articles and blogs were being published online about the legendary Goatmans Bridge and they all said the same copy/pasted Legend along with some other ones mentioning of it being currently under surveillance by DAPS aka Denton Area Paranormal Society (never heard of or saw them the 1000s of days and nights I would spend obsessing over this place, but ok DAPS). The person said: "There have been several disappearances on and around Old Alton Bridge. Some believe the Goatman remains dormant for years at a time and awakes only to hunt for prey. His son-in-law went to the store and when he returned at 1:00 p.m., he found the housekeeper locked out and waiting on the porch, and Harrod missing. 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. Ghostly figures and strange lights are said to appear in the surrounding woods, as well as reports of visitors being touched, grabbed, and having rocks thrown at them. 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. This creature has large glowing red eyes, and large goat-like horns. On March 4, 2022, a reddit user who I will call Bob (not his real name) posted 23 links to a video and/or a playlist containing a video that he claims contains the real story behind the Goatmans Bridge. Pearson relates that "bored teenagers" keep the Goatman legend alive by repeating the story and suggesting that the creature attacks couples, frequenting the local lover's lane, subsequently stirring interest in sites like Fletchertown Road. [1][2], Goatman stories originated in the early 1970s but some of its legends are set in the 50s, within Prince George's County, following the disappearances and/or deaths of multiple dogs, which were later attributed to the creature. Back in The Day is an ongoing WDDI contribution from Shaun Treat, founder of the Denton Haunts historical ghost tour. 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. I dont know whether that has anything to do with my series here, since Bob had deleted his YouTube video impulsively as well, but if youre listening to this, Bob, hello! In addition to Washburn's story, the Ghost Adventures crew investigated reports of demonic activity on and around the bridge. Nature lovers and paranormal enthusiasts alike will love checking out this remarkable historic landmark and the beautiful scenery surrounding it, just be sure not to cross after three a.m. https://www.dallasobserver.com/arts/buzzfeed-supernatural-investigators-visit-denton-bridge-to-see-if-its-really-haunted-by-a-half-goat-half-demon-10051546, https://www.legendsofamerica.com/tx-alton/, https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/goatmans-bridge, https://wedentondoit.com/blog/2013/10/18/back-in-the-day-goatmans-bridge, https://texashillcountry.com/goatman-bridge-history-hauntings-denton-alton-bridge/. They wanted to put up a reward for his safe return, maintain his home and pay his bills. (, from his website: November 15th 1967: police discover an abandoned car beside Old Alton Bridge, five miles south of Denton, Texas. 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. Notably, the article mentions neither Oscar Washburn nor a disappearance in 1967. 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. These units are usually stressed from tension, compression, or both in order to support heavy loads. More tales of strange noises have also been described, including the sounds of horses hoof beats on the bridge, splashing in the creek below, maniacal laughter, and inhuman like growling coming from the surrounding woods. Ghost Adventures first premiered in 2008 and has aired over 250 episodes, including specials. The new site retained the name of Alton and submitted an application for a post office. Its fascinating to me that the video links to a paranormal investigation site that doesnt really back up its claims. And in the trunk of her vehicle was her cold, bloodied, and decomposing body. But the success of a black man was still unwelcome to many, and, in August 1938, Klansmen in the local government crossed the bridge and kidnapped Washburn from his family. On a dark night in the late 1930s, a lynch mob of Kluxers stormed Washburn's shack and dragged the screaming Goatman to their noose waiting on the bridge, tightened the rope around the begging Oscar's neck, then mercilessly flung him over the side. 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. The Charley Project is NOT a registered non-profit organization and any donations will NOT be tax-deductible. Goatman's Bridge was built in 1884 to connect the towns of Alton and Denton. Old Alton Bridge, also known as Goatman's Bridge, is a historic iron truss bridge connecting the Texas cities of Denton and Copper Canyon. 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