Encounter Atlas
Maryland's Goatman is a hairy, man-shaped creature with a goat's horns and legs, said to lurk in the woods of north-east Prince George's County. Stories say he attacks cars with an axe, howls at night and kills dogs.
A University of Maryland student recorded the legend for a folklore project in 1971, and that October the Prince George's County News placed the Goatman on Fletchertown Road near Bowie, linking him to the nearby Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. One popular version says he was a scientist there whose goat experiment went wrong. Another says he was a hermit who lived in the woods.
Teenagers still drive Fletchertown Road at night looking for him. Goatman stories also turn up in Kentucky, Texas and elsewhere, each with its own local twist.
What witnesses report
- A man-sized figure with horns and a goat's legs
- Bleating or screaming in the woods at night
- Dogs found dead or missing
- An axe-wielding figure near the road
Famous cases
- 1971Folklore project records the legend
University of Maryland, College Park - 1971Newspaper places him on Fletchertown Road
Bowie, Maryland
Seen the Goatman?
Tell us what happened. Every report is read by a person before it goes on the map, and you can stay anonymous.
