The Goatman is an urban legend that has terrorized residents of Princes George’s County for decades. The most common origin story is that a scientist at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center was experimenting with goats when something went wrong and the scientist himself turned into the goat man. The earliest sightings of the Goatman reported that he resided in a strange house behind St. Mark Evangelist School in Hyattsville, or near a bridge that is referred to as “Cry Baby” Bridge in Bowie; he has also been seen in the College Park area.

While the Goatman is an interesting story, it’s not a very believable one. We are having a hard time imagining the image of the Goatman and there is not enough evidence that shows us that the Goatman exists. Also, most of the evidence proving the Goatman’s existence is from the 70s, which may not be credible enough. We believe the story of the Goatman might have just been a tale for children to make them behave, like the Bogeyman. We agree with Mark Opsasnick, historian and ERHS alumnus, who said he can’t believe in something until he sees it himself, but it is possible that the people he interviewed actually saw something. Perhaps the people saw a very huge animal, scared themselves into thinking they saw something when nothing was there, or allowed the story’s national popularity to cloud their judgment.