The Maryland Goatman

As strange or lame as it sounds, tales of 'The Goatman in Maryland, has been occuring since the 1950's. This creature has been a scare or even considered a night terror since.

Several years ago a friend that grew up in Maryland shared his tale of the 'Goatman'. I laughed and finally commented that it sounded like a cheap horror movie. He remained very serious and continued his tale. After my initial reactions of laughter and disbelief, I began to wonder what this was originated from. So I did research on the 'Maryland Goatman' to find that there are alot of sightings and fearful tales of this creature. I couldn't believe all I was finding.

The 'Goatman' has been described as having a mans upper body, with horns on his head, red eyes and being hairy. The bottom portion of this man creature was goat like, only bigger. This creature is said to stand at approximately 7 feet tall and has long claws and considered to be fast.

No one is sure how this creatur come about, but there are speculations as to experiments gone wrong by a scientist for the National Agriculture Research Center, to speculation of experimental treatments performed on patients of a tuberculosis sanitarium.

Some say the 'Goatman' uses an axe, some say he uses his claws, but either way the creature stalks parked cars in the lonely rural roads around the woodland or forest , scratching on them leaving a sign of its being there. This creature is also considered to be a predator of farm dogs and dogs considered to be peits, mutilating these dogs in the night that are left on chains or in dog pens at night.

One story suggests that there was a couple that went down a rural road to park and make out. They heard something scratch on the car, thinking it was their friends trying to scare them, the male gets out. Hours passed and as it is becoming daylight, the girl gets out of the car to find her boyfriend mangled in the tree they parked beneath, blood dripping on the car.

I was unable to find any confirmed deaths by the 'Goatman', there are so many more creepy tales of this creature.

At the heart area of the woodland or forest there is a bridge, people claim if you stop late at night, you can hear the shrill braying of the 'Goatman'. As with all the sightings, pet mutilations and damaged cars, there were even sightings of a creature by a group of constructions workers. There seems only to be the word of  people with sightings and possible, circumstantial proof of the existence of this creature, no solid proof.

Is there denial of the 'Goatman' to prevent frenzy or hysteria, dangerous mobs of dangerous hunters searching for the creature, or crowd situations...or is this just a tale used many years to scare kids?