The Denton newspaper at the time did an article on a car found abandoned on the bridge.. Along with hikers, bikers, and horseback riders, the Old Alton Bridge and surrounding wooded areas have become a popular destination for bird watchers and nature photographers. Road 2181), Denton, Texas. On February 19, following a community-wide search, Cathy's 1990 Toyota Corolla was found abandoned in the Placentia Linda Hospital parking lot. If I can just summarize the research I did, which I talked about in ep 1 of this series: the Old Alton Bridge and the Goatman werent mentioned in the older books that I have access to about the paranormal or urban legends in Texas: I have two books by folklorist J. Frank Dobie, Legends of Texas Volume II: Pirates Gold and Other Tales, and Tales of Old-Time Texas, and the only stories they have about the area are about Sam Bass. My understanding is that the legend had been circulating for some time, but as I talked about in the first episode of this series, there was a clear difference between pre-July 2008 stories about the Goatmans bridge, and post-July 2008 stories. 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. There has been no activity on Harrod's bank accounts or credit cards since he went missing. Id like to loop back to some of the trickster stories I mentioned in the first episode of this series. 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. (Goatmans Bridge Series), I Seen the Devil (Goatmans Bridge Series), Satanic Rituals at the Bridge (Goatmans Bridge Series). Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. The Big Book of Texas Ghost Stories by Alan Brown, published in 2012, doesnt mention the Old Alton Bridge. [3], Media related to Old Alton Bridge at Wikimedia Commons, Last edited on 22 December 2022, at 05:16, U.S. National Register of Historic Places, National Register of Historic Places portal, National Register of Historic Places listings in Denton County, Texas, Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Denton County, List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas, "National Register Information System(#88000979)", "Denton Urban Legend Put to the Test on Buzzfeed Web Series", "Old Alton Bridge - The Trails of Denton County", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Old_Alton_Bridge&oldid=1128827248, This page was last edited on 22 December 2022, at 05:16. I have since been able to independently confirm that the youtube channel belongs to someone who he knew, but that it wasnt him who uploaded the video. Most ghosts are given names because we need to feel like we can know them. There are news reports of abandoned cars on the bridge from the 1960s for sure.. 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. 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. They returned to his home and slaughtered his family, according to the legend. Built by the King Bridge Company of Cleveland, Ohio, the 145-foot long . He never answered. if (theYear < 1900)
Its original purpose was to carry horses and automobiles across the river. Then he talks about his videos that he posted in 2009: I take issue with his claim that no legend at all existed, but I have been able to confirm that it seemed to be a much lesser known urban legend (for example, I lived there for years and had never heard of it), and the stories of hauntings seemed more scattershot. 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. Local high schoolers often trek there at night, the. No Goatmans Bridge legend ever existed or was ever mentioned in any of your Texas legend/myth or ghost story books (even those published as late as the early 2010s.). Highlights include: Thoughts about how the internet transforms and changes urban legends A little digital gumshoeing Some Mothman easter eggs. Whenever a sighting of this ghastly figure occurs, a string of mysterious disappearances is sure to follow. Join the Observer community and help support 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. Unfortunately, I wasnt able to watch the video that he posted, but I was able to read the video description on the Wayback Machine. 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. Four women with personal reports of demonic attacks were featured on the episode. Some folks online have given a name for the person who supposedly uploaded this video. There are many spirits calling this place home, but . But for this particular bridge, those feelings may be more grounded than not. 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. They also relive terrifying encounters and reflect on each discovery from a safer environment. Many who have crossed at night. The episode claimed Satanic rituals had been performed under the notoriously-haunted bridge. Though the community is no more, the name remains. The couple had met and become engaged in 1950, but they were separated when Harrod joined the military and eventually both of them married other people. The Hickory Creek Baptist Church, which continues to stand, was organized in 1855. 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. 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. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in July 1988 and closed to vehicle traffic in 2001. Several other reports tell of numerous abandoned cars that have been found near the bridge, with their occupants missing. "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. We discuss the high amount of suicides that have happened at the bridge and more! 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. On a dark night in the late 1930s, a lynch mob of Kluxers stormed Washburns shack and dragged the screaming Goatman to their noose waiting on the bridge, tightened the rope around the begging Oscars neck, then mercilessly flung him over the side. Goatman's Bridge was built in 1884 to connect the towns of Alton and Denton. Around 2:30 p.m, his son in-law drove off to Home Depot to pick up supplies. Others were totally unrelated, and just seemed to have a keyword that made it come up in a search. Dentons most famous spectre is a story handed down for generations with a few variations, and thats the haunted Goatmans Bridge. I want to say that he screams, but I don't remember. For decades, the Goatmans remained as consistently in use as it had in the 1880s. It didnt earn the Goatman title until half a century later, when an African-American named Oscar Washburn settled in the area. The bridges architectural composition is known as a truss, a visually distinct structure of connected elements forming triangular units. havent been able to find mentions of Oscar Washburn prior to 2008. With vehicle traffic removed, the bridge became an important link connecting the Elm Fork and Pilot Knoll Hiking and Equestrian Trails. There have also been reports of inhuman screams coming from the nearby woods, or maniacal laughter sounding. Their chance finally came that summer. According to legend, those who dare speak the Goatmans name while crossing his bridge unwittingly summon his spirit. His family doesn't believe he would have left without warning. 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. Another variation of the legend holds that Goatman himself was an old hermit who lived in the woods and often could be seen walking alone at night along Fletchertown Road. "For the last several years I've given ghost tours on the Square, usually on the weekends. The Charley Project is NOT a registered non-profit organization and any donations will NOT be tax-deductible. Supposedly this was near the location of the bridge. But all of this is Internet talk, without corroboration, Blair explains. His hobbies include fishing and playing slot machines, and he left behind three daughters, a grandson and three great-grandchildren. A half a century later a legend of a monstrous half-goat, half-man demon was born. While the Goatman is said to sleep beneath the Old Alton during the day, he habitually creeps out from under it to hunt for food at night, returning only at the sound of his name. Become a member to support the independent voice of Dallas Dallas' independent source of We are your resource for Hill Country travel, things to do, places to eat, Some say his spirit still haunts these woods. I really get into it in this one! And what you guess it, both videos were posted on July 17 and there have been no new videos since then, which seems to be a pattern for Bob. On the other hand, the book Haunted Plano, Texas by Mary Jacobs, which was published in 2018, has a whole section about the Old Alton Bridge, even though it isnt in Plano. In Denton County, Texas near the ghost town that once was Alton a bridge was constructed at the Hickory Creek in 1884. . The Denton newspaper at the time did an article on a car found abandoned on the bridge." Watch the new and 7th season of BuzzFeed Unsolved: True Crime! The Old Alton Bridge is a historic iron bridge that spans over the muddy waters of Hickory Creek and connects the city of Denton to the city of Copper Canyon, a little less than an hours drive from Dallas. Copyright 2008 -
Running across the bridge back to the car and then on that gravel is damn scary. Before he got involved with Heeter, he had been seeing a younger woman. Travelers say that if you cross the bridge without your headlights, the Goatman will meet you on the other side. us, which seems the perfect opportunity to revisit one of Dentons most [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. Show more 0/2000 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/. 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. The Old Alton derives its name from the now-abandoned town of Alton, which from 1850 to 1856 served as the seat of Denton County. Heeter contested the conservatorship application, moved into his home and changed the locks. The Ghost Adventures crew is in Denton, Texas, investigating 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. According to the most circulated version, an African-American entrepreneur named Oscar Washburn and his family tended a farmstead goat herd near the bridge that was renowned for quality meat, milk, cheeses and hides. 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 The Goatman the Ghost town that once was Alton a bridge was listed on the bridge was built 1884... 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