I spent around three years in Denton, Texas. It’s a small town full of liberals, and has a university that I’m grateful towards. But whenever I go out on Halloween, I can’t help but notice the way people talk about a certain bridge that’s been in the city for a while, a bridge that’s held people’s attention for a long time, so much so that even Buzzfeed had to cover it. That bridge is called Old Gaton’s Bridge, and is the site of the dark and mysterious Goatman.

The Goatman has a mysterious history that leaves much to the imagination. According to local legend, a black businessman named Oscar Washburn and his family had a goat farm that enabled them to sell all sorts of things, from meat, to cheese, to milk. Unfortunately, their success infuriated the Ku Klux Klan. When they found out he'd put up a sign that advertised his business, they lynched him, and attempted to hang him. However, his body was flung over the bridge, and just like that, he was gone. Afterwards, the Klansmen set his home on fire with his family still trapped inside. People say that Oscar’s vengeful spirit roams the bridge today, looking for the perpetrators that dared kill him and his family.

There have been other versions of the story. Some say that the Goatman was really a demon that a group of Satanists managed to summon. Others say that the Goatman was originally a slave goat herder who was killed by a bunch of racist cowboys. Of course, there are ways for the Goatman to appear. If you knock on the bridge three times at midnight, or honk your car horn three times, you might just be able to summon the Goatman’s spirit.

The story itself is incredibly intense. You have an irrational hatred that has burdened innocent people, as well as a corrupt society that carelessly looked the other way when it came to these social degradations. You have someone knocking three times to summon the Goatman, which, in other works, would represent the trinity. However, in this case, it mocks the holy Trinity. You have a revenge story that will never be satisfied, no matter how much they try. And finally, you have the local legend, a legend that has yet to be proven true.  

Of course, with a legend like this, there have to be some inconsistencies. Historical records show no man named Oscar Washburn so the story could be suspect. Either that, or someone’s covering it up. But either way, the legend still sticks with us to this very day, and is something that will always fascinate the locals.

It’s these types of mysteries that fuel the interest in the paranormal. Horror, thriller, and mystery writers alike often find a macabre commonality in their interest, me included of course, and embrace the legends, all the while wanting to know more about what lies in the shadows.