The Maryland Goatman is described as a hybrid creature; part man and part goat. According to those who claim to have seen it, the legs and feet resemble that of a goat, the upper body of a man with a horned head, and a body partially covered by fur. A height is generally described as 7-8 feet and a weight at 300-350 pounds. Below are a few of the documented sightings:
June 1963 - Huntington, MD - A young couple was walking on Zug Road when they observed a peculiar creature staring at them from the edge of the woods. The woman described it as a "tall, ragged animal with human-like features."
April 1971 - Huntington, MD - A farmer near Fletchertown Road reported seeing a large, man-like creature eating the remains of a pig. When the farmer approached the scene, the creature ran off.
September 1976 - Woodmore, MD - A landscaper at the Woodmore Country Club finds unidentified remains on the golf course, near Lottsford Road. While attempting to dispose of them, he hears a low growl. He looks up and observes a large, unknown animal.
October 1985 - Glenn Dale, MD - Police respond to a report of teenagers making noise at the old Glenn Dale Hospital site. While investigating, the officer hears unknown sounds but is unable to locate the source.
August 1990 - Hyattsville, MD - During a birthday party at McGruder Park, a boy runs into the woods after a ball. Moments later, he screams. When adults arrive, they find him visibly shaken. The boy tells his mother, “It was the dark thing with the red eyes who stands in the corner of my room at night.”
May 1998 - Bowie, MD - A group of teenagers are hanging out near a local bridge when they notice something moving in the weeds nearby. Two of the teens go to investigate and describe seeing a tall, human-like animal running into the forest.
July 2007 - Glenarden, MD - A camera crew for WRC-TV (Washington, DC) is on location to cover a local golf tournament when they notice a strange animal moving in the trees nearby. The cameraman manages to capture a few seconds of video before the animal disappears.
It is often associated with several locations throughout Prince George’s County, MD (listed above) including Glenn Dale Hospital, the former site of a state tuberculosis sanatorium. It is reported to have attacked and possibly killed several witnesses. It had also been connected to damaged property and the deaths of several family pets.
The Piscataway native people believed a magical creature in the same area in Maryland could shape-shift into various animal forms. This was noted and written in 1666 by a Jesuit priest, in which the illustration of a Bigfoot-like creature standing on two legs appeared in the document.
The sightings began in 1957 when a young couple were parked alone on a lonely country road (Zug Road) when they suddenly heard something banging on the hood of their car. Looking up they were startled to see a goat-like humanoid staring at them, waving what looked like an axe. The creature instantly turned and dashed into the surrounding woods. There were several more rumored sightings over the years.
Then in the Summer of 1962, the Goatman was accused of killing fourteen people, including twelve children and two accompanying adults, who had been hiking too close to its apparent lair. The survivors, who, not surprisingly, remained anonymous, claimed that the Goatman violently hacked its victims with an axe while uttering horrid screams. According to the account, when the local authorities arrived on the scene all that was left in the carnage were half-eaten limbs and a bloody trail leading to an ominous-looking cave. BTW, the Prince Georges County and Maryland State Police have no written record of this incident. It was obviously a ruse and urban legend.
Then in 1970, a woman heard her pet dog barking wildly outside, peering through a window she saw the shadowy figure of the creature moving about where the dog was tied up. Being too afraid to go outside in the dark she decided to remain in the house. The next morning she discovered that the dog had been decapitated.
In the November 10, 1971 edition of the Prince George’s County News the headline on the front page declared “Residents Fear Goatman Lives: Dog Found Decapitated in Old Bowie” with a photo of the remains of the mutilated pet. The canine belonged to April Edwards and had disappeared after she and friends had reported hearing strange noises in their yard on the night of November 3, 1971. When they went to investigate they saw a large creature moving in the dark. The article also stated that reports of an “animal-like creature that walks on its hind legs” had been seen by other residents in the area.
The Prince George’s County News coverage of the Goatman ended with one last front-page story on November 24, 1971. It focused on Mrs. Evelyn Johnson, who lived on Fletchertown Road and mentioned the trouble and harassment she and other neighbors received from Goatman hunters. This included 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 to drive home.
So what are the actual origins of the Maryland Goatman? Some reports involve escaped mental patients and others satanic rituals...but the most popular legend is that the Goatman is the unfortunate result of an experiment involving one Dr. Stephen Fletcher that went horribly wrong at his U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratory in Beltsville. The doctor confessed to creating the Goatman by crossing the DNA of a goat and his assistant William Lottsford, but the experiment went terribly awry and the result was a genetic nightmare. It's obviously a manufactured tale, but many people claim that this scenario is valid.
Many of these Goatman sightings and reports closely correlate to Bigfoot sightings that have been reported in the same general area of Maryland for generations, including the numerous property attacks by the Sykesville Monster in the early 1970s. Bigfoot-related sightings continue throughout Maryland and the surrounding states. In my opinion, the Goatman is simply an urban legend though, a Bigfoot or any other cryptid hominid with an axe would be a life-altering event.
Sources:
americanmonsters.com
unknown-creatures.com
phantomsandmonsters.com
goatmanhollow.com
nbcwashington.com
cryptidz.wikia.com
Monsters of Maryland: Mysterious Creatures in the Old Line State
The Weiser Field Guide to Cryptozoology: Werewolves, Dragons, Skyfish, Lizard Men, and Other Fascinating Creatures Real and Mysterious
Chimeras, Hybrids, and Interspecies Research: Politics and Policymaking
Genetic Turning Points: The Ethics of Human Genetic Intervention (Critical Issues in Bioethics)
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