“I Seen the Devil”: A deep dive into strangeness associated with the Goatman’s Bridge, featuring weird stories that I found on forums and comment sections, including a devil sighting, a ghost driver, lights turning red, terrifying laughter, Bigfoot-type phenomena, and more.

Highlights include:

• A ghostly driver redirecting a car to a cemetery
• Disembodied voices
• Will-o’-the-wisps
• Glowing eyes

Episode Script for “I Seen the Devil” (Goatman’s Bridge Series)

DISCLAIMER: I’m providing this version of the script for accessibility purposes. It hasn’t been proofread, so please excuse typos. There are also some things that may differ between the final episode and this draft script. Please treat the episode audio as the final product. 

Intro for “I Seen the Devil” (Goatman’s Bridge Series)

• This time, I want to talk about the specific phenomena that people have claimed to have witnessed at Goatman’s bridge.
• I’ll be going through the list of the typical phenomena that the legends list, and I’ll include some accounts I found online from reading through old forums and comment sections.
• But just to start us out right, I want to read my favorite comment that I found.
  • Heather S. Google reviews https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=old%20alton%20bridge#lrd=0x864dccb9ff3e525b:0x427c899463ab2996,1 5 years ago I was heading to the game store walking from hickory. Visiting a cousin. It was late at night. Ill never go back. I swear i seen some unhuman like furry man on the edge of that water edge. A good 40-45 feet away. Looked like he had horns too like a goat. I swear i seen the devil. Ill never go back. Never
    • I forgot to write this down, but I’m pretty sure she gave it a 2 star review.

Rumored Phenomena

• • The most famous supposed phenomena, which you can tell was popular prior to the new bridge being opened, is that if you visit the bridge at night, stop your car, and honk twice, you’ll see the Goat Man’s glowing red eyes in the darkness.
    • Of course, if you wanted to cross the bridge at all back then you needed to honk at least once, so you really wouldn’t be going out of your way to end up “summoning” the goat man in this situation.
      • I’ve also read on some websites that this only works if you do it on halloween.
    • Some stories say that if you cross the bridge at night without headlights, the Goatman will meet you on the other side of the bridge. That’s supposedly because the Klansmen crossed the bridge without headlights on when they came to lynch Washburn.
    • There’s also a rumor about how if you knock on the bridge’s trusses 3 times, you’ll summon the Goatman.
    • I read a couple different places that the Goatman will only appear to descendants of the KKK members who murdered Washburn, though the majority of accounts don’t make that claim.
      • https://www.austinchronicle.com/columns/2017-10-27/day-trips-old-alton-bridge-denton/ 
  • Some paranormal rumors include:
    • People seeing a shadow of the Goat Man holding two goat heads in his arms, the goat man herding ghost goats across the bridge, and a sort of cryptid-type appearance of someone who’s half-goat, half-man, with glowing eyes and horns. 
    • I’ve actually found a number of people claiming to see glowing eyes, which definitely could be eye-shine from animals, potentially (and I’ll get into more depth on the wildlife in a later episode). But here are some accounts I found about glowing eyes or glowing lights in the woods.
      • Allan G.
        • https://goatmansbridge.blogspot.com/ https://goatmansbridge.blogspot.com/2010/07/goatmans-bridge-paranormal-activity.html July 12, 2011
        • I grew up on Teasley Lane..not very far from Old Alton Bridge….I have only encountered “The Goatman” once. I was a 10th grader in Oct of 1996, me and some freinds were hanging out by the bridge late at night,and heard horrible laughter and saw glowing eyes from the woods(we had all cut our teeth hearing the stories/legend since our childhood)…Trust me we ran like hell and didnt stop until we reached “Southridge Baptist Church” parking lot. But ever since that night I cant help but get goose bumps and cross myself every time I pass by that Bridge…an after thought does anybidy know where I can find more info on the weeping woman mentioned on this site?…anyway very cool website..glad I found it!!
      • Yanira V Youtube comment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEZfGlyLQnA 1 month ago
        • A lot of my family members have seen this same entity , some with “fire eyes “ or “red glowing eyes “ im not sure what it could be but its best not to fear what we cannot understand
      • mahee Google reviews https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=old%20alton%20bridge#lrd=0x864dccb9ff3e525b:0x427c899463ab2996 ,1 2 years ago
        • “DONT GO. THERES A GOATMAN, HAUNTED!
        • No one will believe me but he apparently takes it victims and micics their voices. I was walking alone around 1am to explore and i heard voices saying “”you can run?”” And i looked around and didn’t see anything except glowing ball? Eyes maybe? And theres no way something over 6 feet with glowing eyes be human, so i ran. BE AWARE, BE CAREFUL“
      • Blong L
      • Google reviews https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=old%20alton%20bridge#lrd=0x864dccb9ff3e525b:0x427c899463ab2996,1 2 years ago This place is haunted, DO NOT bring your Family here!!! There’s something Dark & Evil lurking around here!!! Don’t attempt to provoke whatever dark entity is there! Ghost Adventure crew has been attacked here and even other ghost investigators as well. It is a strong evil spirit here, if you’re lucky you might not spot it. Something tall and malicious is stalking this area almost everyone who came here says so when they experience the horror… People got attacked and throw off their feet by unseen force at night. You don’t believe me then go there and investigate it for yourself you’ll regret it! Not going there ever anymore! I only went there to explore and hike with my family but when we came back it was getting dark and we were joking around about the ghost stories and urban legends of the bridge and had our fair share of poltergeist when a branch was thrown towards us when no one is around that late. We just ran when that happen and my sister saw a glowing orb of mist hovering by the tree lines and it was not a fire fly. Because it was moving so fast it faded out slowly away towards the water and glowed for like a good 8 second, and fireflies blinks their lights and they don’t hold it on like that. Plus there were no fireflies the whole entire time there during mid Fall. That was the only light orb we saw and it happened after the branch was thrown.  Be safe than sorry, please learn more about staying here late before you go there! It can be bareable during the day but it still gives you the goosebumps! Don’t provoke whatever is there, unless you want it to attack you. Non believers go ahead and dare yourself to stay overnight if you want, you will be physically be attacked or touched by an unseen being. Alot of people had experiences there and you can find many stories from the locals nearby their own scary encounter.
    • Reminds me of a will o the wisp: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will-o%27-the-wisp 
    • Some people say that car doors lock and unlock and that they experience other electrical problems with their cars or other equipment that they bring out there (a lot of drained camera and recorder batteries, which is pretty standard haunted location stuf).
      • Edward https://goatmansbridge.blogspot.com/ https://goatmansbridge.blogspot.com/2010/07/goatmans-bridge-paranormal-activity.html August 7, 2012

• “I graduated from Lewisville High School in the early 80’s and a visit to Goatman’s Bridge was virtually part of the curriculum. Had an interesting incident there in 1986, while taking my girlfriend and two other friends from Dallas to the bridge late one night:

• As we approached the bridge from Copper Canyon just onto Old Alton Rd., I slowed down and began telling the legend to the three girls. After 30 yards or so, the headlights on my ’80 Mustang suddenly went out–completely on their own. A little spooked, I jiggled the switch to no avail as the girls laughed at what they thought was part of the act. Thinking I was going to have to backtrack to find some external light to see what I was doing while trying to get the headlights working, I put the car into reverse and crept backward. After about 5 feet, the lights came back on by themselves! I exclaimed “”that’s really weird”” and confessed that I wasn’t responsible for the lighting aspect of the show, then stopped the car to forge ahead on our adventure toward the bridge. I put the car in gear and lunged forward a few feet and THE LIGHTS WENT OUT AGAIN! At this point, the girls were screaming and I was sufficiently creeped out myself, so I backed up to leave…AND AGAIN THE HEADLIGHTS CAME ON! Without any semblance of an explanation and more than a little terrified, I peeled out of there with the shrieking girls as fast as I could get the car going on the (at the time) gravel road.

• • • • • I am sure there is a scientific explanation for the events that night, but I have never found it. I had never had difficulty with the headlights on that car before or after that night. Do I believe that there was some sort of paranormal activity surrounding my car’s electrical system? No. I don’t think I’ve ever been more frightened though. To this day, the events of that evening are a real mystery.“
      • Here’s a fun Old Alton Bridge story  I found posted on a forum in 2007:
        • “I’ve been to Goatman’s many of times. I live right off of Swisher about 2 miles from the bridge. I haven’t been there in years but trust me, there’s something or someone there! My friends and I used to go there all the time back in high school. [This was when you could still drive over the bridge.. there was no new bridge yet] Now, I’ve never seen the “Goatman” but I’ve witnessed and experienced many other strange happenings. For one, whenever we would start getting close to the bridge, [while driving], the dashboard lights would start getting dimmer and dimmer, then go out completely, including the headlights. The locks would start locking and unlocking themselves. There was a couple of times, and if I hadn’t been there myself I wouldn’t believe it, but the truck we were in seemed to be and WAS driving itself! My friend who was driving was freaked out and lifted his feet up on the seat and you could see the gas pedal going up and down. When he let go of the steering wheel it was jerking itself back and forth really hard. I was there. I saw this happening! and finally it “drove” us into a ditch and we were stuck. All the while, the inside overhead light was glowing bright red as if there was a red lightbulb inside. Then, while we were stuck, [the truck wouldn’t start], we starting hearing this kind of popping sound. I don’t know how to explain it, it was really weird. It kept getting louder and closer but we couldn’t tell where it was coming from. Finally, the truck started and we got the hell out of there.

• “Another time, [and don’t ask why we kept going back], we were going from another direction, through Flower Mound. Going that way you have to pass an old graveyard to get to Goatman’s. All of a sudden the truck was “driving” itself again and pulled into the graveyard on it’s own. It pulled in and the engine started reving and the horn started honking. Then it just reversed itself and MADE US go the direction towards the bridge. It was jerking back and forth and the red light was glowing again inside the truck. Ok, this was when that “Offspring” c.d. with that “You gotta keep ’em seperated” song was really popular. We had that in and it was turned all the way down. In the intro it says something along the lines of “…music good enough to calm the savage beast…”… well, the radio started turning up and it was skipping over and over again, saying “savage beast… savage beast… savage beast…” and getting louder and louder. The headlights turned out and the door started locking and unlocking again. That’s when we left!

• “The most recent time I went, it was still daylight.. the sun was just starting to set. The new bridge was there so we had to get out and walk over the old one. I took a friend with me and we just wanted to walk across the bridge and back again. Well, we walked across and then I started hearing a banging underneath the bridge. Under my feet. There’s no man in the world tall enough to reach the top of the bridge from underneath it. So, we started walking back across. As we walked, the banging followed us further and further and louder and louder. It remained right underneath our feet as we walked [then ran] back to the car. I haven’t been back since. Not because I’m scared, but because I’m a mother now and I haven’t had a chance. I have a few friends than are non-believers and will be taking them soon. If you’re a believer and in for a true haunted place. I suggest Goatman’s Bridge.”

• • • • • https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/topic/60089-goatmans-bridge-denton-tx-with-pics/page/2/#comments 
      • Here’s a story from a forum 2008:
        • “Wow, it has been a long time. I was just messing around on the computer and typed in Goat Man’s Bridge and this was here. Just for ****’s and giggles I can share with you my knowlege and experiences. Before I go further, I will tell you that time has passed and I have seen online current pictures of the bridge along with the new concrete one next to it. Even the scenery has changed. It looks like the lake it right there over the trees. There appears to be less forest area around the bridge itself, but sure enough this is the bridge. If anyone has past and/or current daytime pics, please post them.
        • I no longer live in Texas, but I did grow up there and went to High School there. I lived just down the road from Goatman’s Bridge in Highland Village. I attended Marcus and Lewisville High Schools. I used to party down by Goatman’s in high school and my friend and I also would go hunting in and out of the woods surrounding the bridge and the local area. Growing up, I too had heard the legend and all the stories. I never “saw” anything strange, but did experience some strange things. It was in the mid 1980’s while in high school. Now I don’t want to sound like a story teller and I am not trying to set the scene for a scary story. During the day the place looked just like old back road country. At night the place was darker than hell, and it didn’t help that there was an old cemetary near by, and the old dirt roads were enclosed by trees covering over you like a long tunnel of darkness. It was kind of scary and it added to the stories. Nothing ever out of the ordinary other than hearing strange noises that were either night creatures or our minds just playing there roles in being scared. Except, one night my buddy, his girlfriend, and I drove out there during the summer break to party. No one was there, just us. It was a warm, but not too hot summer night, and as usual it was pitch black. We had drove around the area looking for other party people, but no luck. We had drove over the bridge several times during our search. Since we couldn’t find anyone, my buddy just pulled his girl’s pinto hatchback onto the bridge and we parked there in the middle. We just chilled, talked, and went over the stories about the bridge that night, we parked there with the radio on low. We all got out of the car, sat on the hood and continued talking. My buddy told a story that if you pee’d of the bridge that it would never hit the creek water below and there would be no sounds of splashing. He tried it, and sure enough, no noise. The bridge is not that high above the water so we should have heard something. As we chilled there, some strange noises in the distance started getting louder, like the were getting closer. Then we heard some rustling out in the woods. (As I write this, I find myself thinking that anyone reading this probably thinks it’s some Blair Witch BS story, but it’s not). Then, the temperature dropped to not freezing, but cold enough that we had fog coming from our mouths as we talked. At this point, we were starting to get spooked and scared. We decided to leave. We got in the car but now it wouldn’t start. Could have been the battery, I don’t know. After all, we did have the radio on low. We kept trying to start the car, but no luck. The sounds around us started really scaring us. His girlfriend was telling him to quit screwing around, and he said he wasn’t. Finally, the car started and we drove off the bridge, but as we drove away we all noticed that the temperature started rising back to being warm like it had before it dropped.
        • Anyway, that is the only thing that I had ever experienced at Goatman’s. Strange enough for me, but true. It is on you if you believe me or not, but I was there and experienced it. There was another, strange thing that happened near there while I was hunting with my friend in the backwoods. We heard what sounded like a man moaning, like he was in pain or something. No words, just moaning. We couldn’t tell were it was coming from, but it spooked us out there by ourselves. That did not happen at the bridge, but wasn’t too far from it. I, myself, when told of stories like this try to keep an open mind because of my own strange experiences. At times, I ask myself was it real and I think about the song from the Ghetto Boys – My Mind Is Playing Tricks On Me.
        • I live in California now, but would like to hear what others have experienced or witnessed regarding Goatman’s. Also, like I mentioned above, pics would be great.
        • Racer X”
        • https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/topic/60089-goatmans-bridge-denton-tx-with-pics/page/2/#comments 
    • People have heard growls, hoof beats, mysterious laughter, and other sounds.
      • Al M. Youtube comment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEZfGlyLQnA 7 months ago I grew up here and been here all my life… the story has it that there was a black man in the 20s or 30s that was know in town as the goat man because he sold goats to everyone he lived on the other side of the bridge. He put a sign up that said this way to the goat man. White town folks didn’t like that so they went one night to his house and pulled him from his family. They hung him from the bridge. next day they went to pull his body down but it wasn’t there. So they went to the family and killed them all thinking they were the ones that moved the body. Now, Goat man haunts the woods and the bridge. Said to be a ghost that is half goat and half man. There are other stories of people disappearing. its been said that you would go to the end of the bridge and turn off your lights, as the town folks did the night they killed him, he would appear at the other end and something bad would happen. Now they have placed barricades so no one can drive out to it. People go out there and party and to seek thrills and try to have super natural experiences. When we were kids we would kinda party there we would hear things like splashing in the water like someone fell in but no one was around. we would hear hooves on the wooden bridge and nothing would be there. we could hear chains being dragged but could never pin point were it came from. 
      • disaster308 unexplained-mysteries.com https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/topic/60089-goatmans-bridge-denton-tx-with-pics/ 2006
        • “””my friends and i read about the goatman bridge the other night and decided to explore it for ourselves… oh man. we went at about 10 or 11 at night, so it was really dark, and really creepy. we just stayed and sat on the bridge for a while, and we did hear the splashing in the water, although we didnt think much of it (maybe frogs? or fish jumping?). the one realllllly creepy thing was we heard laughing. and it wasnt normal laughing, it was like evil, menacing laughing coming from multiple directions. we had a dog with us, and even the dog was freaked out. we left shortly after that.
        • i didnt grow up around here, but i was telling a friend that had our story later, and he told me that he knew of the bridge. definatley a place to go check out.
        • does anyone know of any other local haunted places?? i’d love to know and go check them out.”””
      • This person described a super weird sound
        • deej89 unexplained-mysteries.com https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/topic/60089-goatmans-bridge-denton-tx-with-pics/ 2006
        • “””So I just stumbled on this thread from google. Tonight my room mates and I went to the goat bridge. I’ve been there once before and needless to say it was creepy, but nothing out of the ordinary happened.
        • Tonight was definitely different. My room mates and I went out to the bridge at about 9:30. We parked down the drive and started walking. We walked across the bridge and nothing seemed strange. Then we continued down the path venturing into the woods- and once again nothing was strange. We did have a flashlight but we didn’t use it. So we headed back across. We head back to the car then notice a path off to the right. If you’re heading towards the bridge from the drive it on the left. The path is blocked by a low metal bar so four wheelers can’t get on it. Anyways, we start walking. After maybe 40 or so feet down the trail we all get a pretty weird feeling. Just a real eery feeling. We stopped for a while but continued on. The trail opens up out of the woods and curves to the left. We rounded it and found ourselves about a 15 minute walk behind a brightly lit building (the one you see when you make the sharp right turn heading to the bridge). The entire time we had the creepiest feeling that someone was watching us. We heard this faint noise that sounded like water trickling and continued to walk. We soon realized that the noise was in no way water trickling. It was kind of indescribable. It sounded like wood being slap together mixed with a very crackling fire noise- something I’ve never heard. We kept walking and it got louder. We stopped and it still got louder. That was when we decided it was time to leave. The walk back was nerve racketing, but nothing happened.
        • So has anyone heard anything about the woods around the bridge? I would like to go back out there with some equipment (I’m an RTVF major at UNT and have some nice camera and audio equip.). Anyone up for getting a little group together?”””
      • locobolio unexplained-mysteries.com https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/topic/60089-goatmans-bridge-denton-tx-with-pics/ 2007
        • my last trip to goatmans. we were about 3/4 mile from the bridge, where the road was blocked at one point in time(i believe its opened up now to the bridge, and in use) standing around our vehicles that were parked on the side of the road. in our conversations we kept hearing a strange noise, way off in the distance. we would hear it about every five minutes, and each time we heard it, it was a little bit closer. this occurred several time, and then all of a sudden this noise sounded like it was right behind us. that was enough to scare the mess out of a few of us, and the others followed and jumped into the cars, and took off.

• upon looking a little bit later, we came across a bigfoot scream online, which sounded just like what we heard! no-one could beleive it….did we really have a bigfoot encounter? and is this really another part of the goatman story?

• • • • has anyone heard of or experienced any of this at goatmans bridge?”
    • John B. Google reviews https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=old%20alton%20bridge#lrd=0x864dccb9ff3e525b:0x427c899463ab2996,1 4 years ago Okay this place is haunted. No other way to say it. My girlfriend and I went a little bit before 3am, there were 3 groups one was leaving and the other appeared to be high school kids. We walked to the bridge with the high schoolers, they were being loud so we decided to walk to the end of the bridge away from them. When we went back to the bridge they were gone, so we stopped in the middle of the bridge and listened for a minute. This is when it all started happening. We heard some voices coming from the woods it was clear but we couldn’t make out what they were saying. Then we started heading to the end of the bridge and stopped again. That’s when we heard a voice that sounded like it was underwater, it was really loud and continuous and sounded like it was coming from all around us. We ran to the car and waited there for a minute or two then heard it again from the trail we were just on and it was getting louder and closer so we got in our car and left. I had my GoPro on recording the entire time. When I reviewed the footage I heard a voice that said “DON’T RUN” so naturally we’re going back.
    • This story is just weird, because I don’t know what this person was doing out and about so late at night with their niece. Who knows if this is made up or what. ca mpy Google reviews https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=old%20alton%20bridge#lrd=0x864dccb9ff3e525b:0x427c899463ab2996,1 2 years ago Was really disturbing, I went here for a peaceful midnight stroll with my 10-year-old niece.  It was around 12am when we got there, And we started to walk on the bridge, but as soon as we did.  We heard a growling noise in the background . She got really scared, so we hurried up; I saw glowing yellow eyes in the trees, I didn’t tell my niece because it would freak her out. I’m not sure what happened but I am never going back. i’m not sure what happened but I am never going back
  • Folks have said that they heard a voice saying to get off the bridge, or have had sudden violent urges while visiting.
  • There are also rumors of bad smells. Oh, and since I read that bigfoot-related comment, I guess it’s worth mentioning that bad smells often accompany bigfoot sightings. 
    • Maddie R. Youtube comment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEZfGlyLQnA 3 months ago
      • i actually live in Denton and ive been here many times, i believe this tale bc of the things ive experienced once i smelt sulfur which is a sign of a negative energy. rly cool place tho!
  • There are also a lot of reports that I can only really describe as “bad vibes”
    • Joshua S. Google reviews https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=old%20alton%20bridge#lrd=0x864dccb9ff3e525b:0x427c899463ab2996,1 1 year ago Was there for less than 20 minutes, constantly felt like I was gonna pass out, and someone was watching me. I thought I heard a growl at one point. Pretty sure this place was on Ghost Adventures lmao.
  • People have claimed to be touched or to have rocks thrown at them.
    • I found a bunch of stories about this online, though here are a few.
    • Lauren j Youtube comment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEZfGlyLQnA 2 months ago
      • I literally never comment but when I went to college in denton me and my friends used to go there a lot to hang out and the bridge has graffiti all over it. It was always super creepy and when I was sitting on it once I felt something push my back and there was no one close to me

Sources consulted RE: 

Visit the series page for additional sources.

Sources consulted for 

Don’t miss past episodes:

• The Trickster and the Goatman (Goatman’s Bridge Series)
• I went to Goatman’s Bridge (Goatman’s Bridge Series)
• This Way to the Goatman (Goatman’s Bridge Series)
• Death at the Goatman’s Bridge (Goatman’s Bridge Series)
• Who is the Goatman? (Goatman’s Bridge Series)