Post by Joanna on May 16, 2014 23:56:54 GMT -5
Numerous Urban Legends Tell of Louisville's Goat Man
The scene is picturesque beneath an old but very active railroad trestle across Floyd’s Fork Creek in the Fisherville area of Louisville, Kentucky.
“This is the old trestle for the Northern Suffolk Railway,” explains author and historian David Domine. Legends of the paranormal have turned this site into the center of fear and the home of a renowned creature: “The goat man of Pope Lick as he’s known. They say he’s part man, part goat maybe even part sheep.”
Numerous urban legends exist about the creature’s origins. According to Domine, “The goat man arose as a tale of a local farmer back in the day. Tortured a herd of goats for Satan and signed a contract with him and forfeited his soul. In the process, he was converted into this terrible creature that was sent to live under the trestle seeking revenge on people!” Another popular legend claims, “A circus train was crossing the trestle one day and it derailed and in one of the cars there was a kind of circus freak.”
Whether it is a farmer who made a deal with the devil or a so-called circus freak seeking revenge, there is one thing everyone agrees on when sharing tales about the Goat Man, and that is what he looks like. Domine slowly describes the beast, “The legs are muscular and covered with course dark hair. He’s got the same dark hair on other parts of his body. His face is alabaster, they say, and he has horns as well.”
The legends don’t stop at his gruesome features, they also focus on the methods he employs when claiming his victims. He is said to have powers to draw you to your death by either hypnosis or voice mimicry. “The goat man supposedly is a very sly creature and he does all kinds of things to try and trick you into going up onto the trestle. He’s been known to mimic the voices of children calling for help,” Domine insists. Once you’re on the tracks, there’s no way to escape death from an oncoming train.
Then the smirk leaves Domine’s face and he becomes serious: “It’s a very dangerous location. Many people think that this trestle is not used, but trains cross here every day.” There have been a number of deaths and accidents at the trestle since its construction, although signs warn thrill-seekers to keep out!
“In the late 80s,” he continues, “a movie was made by local filmmaker, Rod Schildknecht. Other people have come out here and done documentaries. He’s appeared on several national networks in documentaries and programs about strange creatures and hauntings across the United States.”
The legend of the Kentucky Bigfoot is also alive and strong today, but according to Domine, the “Kentucky Sasquatch, that’s a whole other thing from the description from people who have seen him. It doesn’t sound like the same thing at all. The strange accounts still pour in, to this day.”
Believe it or not, the Pope Lick Monster has his own Facebook page.
WARNING TO THRILL SEEKERS: There is an 8-foot fence with chains, bolts and “Keep Out” signs to keep people off the trestle.
Source: Dawn Gee, WAVE News, May 9, 2014.