Goatman
Goatman (Maryland)
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The Goatman is a hominid cryptid most commonly associated with Maryland in the USA. It is described as a hybrid creature; part man and part goat.[1] Some claim it is a relative of Bigfoot. Its appearance is similar to the satyrs or the god Pan of Greek mythology, or to the Devil.
The Goatman of Maryland is often associated with Governor’s Bridge Road, Lottsford Road and Fletchertown Road, in Prince George's County, and with the nearby Glenn Dale Hospital, the former site of a state tuberculosis sanatorium. It is reported to have attacked a number of witnesses and to have damaged property.[2] It has also been reported to have killed family pets.[3]
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Urban Legends
3 Cultural references
3.1 Footnotes
4 External links
[edit] History
Reports of the Goatman began in 1957, with sightings occurring in Upper Marlboro and Forestville, Prince George's County, Maryland.[4] From there, sightings spread to other states; with reports of the Goatman being made as far south as Texas in the 1960s, Washington and California during the 1980s, and as far north as Ontario, Canada and Cannelton, Indiana during the 1990s.[citation needed]
Alleged sightings have now been reported in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and Wisconsin.[citation needed] The largest concentration of these sightings has been around Bowie, Maryland.[citation needed]
[edit] Urban Legends
Since the 1970s, the Goatman has become the subject of a number of popular urban legends in Maryland and beyond.[1] Legends vary, but the Goatman preying on courting couples[5] in a similar fashion to the Hook legend,[6] or attacking cars parked at the side of the road, are both common themes. It has also become part of the urban legend of “Crybaby Bridge” (Governor’s Bridge Road, Prince George's County).[1] As cryptozoologist Loren Coleman points out in Weird Virginia, the "Bunnyman" sightings from Prince George's County, Maryland, are a variant on the Goatman encounters.
Florida sightings are sometimes attributed to the Skunk ape, another Florida legend.
Urban myths (as opposed to urban legends based upon actual sightings) often put secret genetics programs forward as a possible source of the Goatman. Experiments by the federal government and the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Maryland, have both been suggested as possible Goatman origins. There is no evidence to support either.
[edit] Cultural references
In the Joe R. Lansdale mystery novel The Bottoms young Harry Collins discovers a mutilated black woman's body hidden deep in the woods followed by more murders. He suspects the murders have been done by the Goat Man, and local legend of the creature says the creature resides in the local bottoms of East Texas.
[edit] Footnotes
^ a b c Moran Mark, Sceurman Mark (2004), “Weird US: Your Travel Guide to America's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets”, Barnes & Noble, ISBN 0-7607-5043-2
^ Opsasnick Mark (1994), "On the Trail of the Goatman", Strange Magazine Issue 14, ISSN 0894-8968
^ "Residents Fear Goatman Lives: Dog Found Decapitated in Old Bowie”( November 10th, 1971), Prince George's County News
^ Newton, Michael (2005). "Goatman". Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide. McFarland & Company, Inc.. pp. 176. ISBN 0-7864-2036-7.
^ Halloween web: The Maryland Goatman, (October 2006)
^ Snopes: The Hook
Blackman W Haden (1998), “The Field Guide to North American Monsters: Everything You Need to Know About Encountering Over 100 Terrifying Creatures in the Wild”, Three Rivers Press, ISBN 0-609-80017-5
[edit] External links
