THE GOATMAN

In northern Prince Georges County, Maryland, Goatman is described as looking like a creature that is half-man and half-goat with the legs and hooves of a goat, the upper body of a human being, and the horns of a goat. Add a beard you get something much like the ancient Greek and Roman god of nature Pan, or of those wild natured spirits called satyrs. It also sounds very much like one of the common descriptions of The Devil.

This story has some urban legends qualities though...The normal goatman story goes like this, A couple drives out to the nearest "lovers lane" get all snug with the lights low. When suddenly out of nowhere the G-man himself rushes out of the foliage and starts pounding on the hood of the car with his double head axe(did I mention he carried an axe?).

Opinions vary on where the Goatman came from. Some local scholars believe it is just the area's repressed subconsious feelings about the devil and religion that are manifesting themselves in these sitings. Other believe they really are seeing the anicent spirits of the satyrs and Pan. While the last theory seems to have the most interesting qualities. A scientist who worked at the National Agricultural Research Center, which just happens to be located in Prince Georges County, was supposed to have been doing some kind of research with goats. Then something went wrong with the experiments, and the scientist slowly turned into the half-goat, half-human monster now know. Goatman retreated into the woods where he hides most of the time. The Goatman also devolped an intense hatred of man and other animals.

Although no people have ever been killed by the Goatman, several dead dogs in the County are attributed to the Goatman. Its sort of a passing joke(or fear) that whenever a dog dies from unknown circumstances its common to say "Goatman did it".

Goatman on the Rampage:

Because of articles like these and corresponding reports, the legend of the Goatman soared to mammoth proportions. The creature's main hunting grounds, the Fletchertown Road in Bowie, emerged as the County's most popular tourist attraction, quickly becoming a mecca for local high school students who made nightly pilgrimages to this murky hotspot to catch a glimpse of the strange animal.

Because of the burst of interest in the phenomenon and also possibly because of the potentially dangerous crowd situations which were developing, the Prince George's County News coverage of the Goatman climaxed with one last front-page story on November 24, 1971. Focusing on Mrs. Evelyn Johnson, who lives on Fletchertown Road, the article mentions the trouble and harassment she and other neighbors received from Goatman hunters, including an incident where the road was blocked off by two cars and one truckload of people who claimed they had the creature trapped. Mrs. Johnson had to call the police in order to reach her property.

Reports like the ones above have made the Goatman one of my favorite mysteries. Some parts of the story seem unbelieveable while others make you listen for every bumb as you take out the garbage. Don't let skeptism make you overlook all the facts though. Below are some links to help you find the answers.

Goatlinks
The motherload of Goatman information, check out this site before you see any other.

Tasmainian Wolf's Cryptozoology Site
A nice little piece about Goatman, outlining some of the basic facts.

Goatman Travels
A comical approach about the Horned one...and his world travels?

Back