Goatman’s Bridge



The Goatman is believed to be the spirit of a man named Oscar Washburn, a black goat farmer. About fifty years after the Alton Bridge was constructed in 1888, he brought his family to North Texas and moved them in to a house nearby. He soon came to be known as a dependable, honest businessman, earning the nickname “Goatman”. Unfortunately, successful black men were still not welcomed in the 1930s. Klansman in the local government became outraged when he displayed a sign on the bridge: “this way to the Goatman”.
 
One night in August 1938, Klansman turned their headlights off and crossed the Alton Bridge. They burst in to his home and drug the Goatman away from his family to the bridge. Standing him on the side, they fitted a noose over his head and pushed him over. The Klansman peered in to the water to examine their handiwork when panic set in. The rope was still there but the Goatman’s body disappeared. The Klansman rushed back to the house and slaughtered his family. Oscar Washburn was never seen again and was presumed dead.

Since his attempted murder, strange occurrences have taken place on the bridge. Some believe the Goatman haunts the bridge and nearby woods. If you crossed the bridge with your headlights off, you would meet the Goatman on the other side. An alarming number of abandon vehicles and disappearances led to the construction of a new concrete bridge. The old red iron one remains accessible to the public by foot.

Comments

The Goatman said…
Ive heard several noices coming from the nearby trees next to the bridge. Ive heard if you visit the bridge during the dusk just about sundown you can hear the moaning cries of a goat among the trees...Never cross the bridge after darkness sets in!

Joe R. Lansdale wrote a mystery novel covering recent sightenings. In the book, "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.


Visit www.Goatmansbridge.com
10:43 PM
Anonymous said…
I live not far from here and have been a dozen times, and alot of them were at night time, and I've never heard or seen anything, and I'm not skeptic in ghosts at all, I believe in them as much as I believe that the sun rises each morning, but nothing has ever happened. I was actually there today (it was super cold btw) taking pictures with the group of friends I hang out with, and alot of other people were there taking pictures and fishing and what not. On the last Friday the 13th, though, a group of people did a seance, and sacrificed a goat but someone else came by with their friends and called the cops and it was this huge legal thing, but there is still a HUGE blood stain in the middle of the bridge. I will admit it's LITTLE creepy, mostly because of the stories, but also because its so old. But, I don't think anything is there. The version of the story I heard is that the people hung his wife and daughter from the bridge, and then murdered him. (The obvious false part of the story that I heard is that the people who killed his family cut off his hands and feet and made him walk around like a goat, I don't see how some people think that is true.) Old Alton Bridge haunted? Nope.
8:25 PM
Unknown said…
I went there this past 4th of July at about midnight. Before we were even in sight of the bridge, it smelled like goats. There were about 10 people with us and we all smelt it. So we decided to cross the bridge and walk around in the forest, because we heard that there used to be an insane asylum in the back of the woods. We got about half way through the woods when my mom felt something sort of shove her forward. She was scared to walk in the back of the group, so she told me to. After about 30 seconds I felt something shove me forward. We were freaking out and decided we should go back to the car. All of a sudden, a chill came through us. And my mom started taking pictures, to see if she could catch anything. When we got home and looked at the pictures, we got a photo of a fog, about the size of a human, and about 50 orbs floating around it.. So that was a pretty interesting experience.
1:10 PM
Anonymous said…
Got a class A EVP a couple of weeks ago there in the woods saying don't come back here ...very creepy
10:38 PM
Josh said…
I use to live near there and frequently visited the bridge as a teen when you could drive on it.There were so many of us there and so much activity we would have never known if something did happen.Ive never heard of these stories until the other day and decided to check it out.June 22,2014, Just got back from the bridge and experienced the goat screaming from the trees and a lot of orbs that seemed to like my daughter. In almost every picture of her there is a huge orb above or next to her. After the goat screaming from the trees we didnt stay to hear or see anything else. And I do mean screem, it was loud enough the cars driving by on the nearby rd. could have heard it.I dont know if its truly haunted but if you heard what we heard you may be reluctant to visit again.
11:29 PM
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