GOATMAN -The Pope Lick Monster
A monster that has long been rumored to be seen standing atop a 100 foot high rail road trestle in the eastern partof Louisville for many years, people have reported seeing the creature that many now refer to as the Pope Lick Monster on the trestles over Pope Lick Creek. It is said to be half human and half goat. The encounter with it is so startling that anyone daring to brave the walk across the trestle would rather fall the 100 foot drop to the paved road below than to stay in its presence a second longer.
The stories and legends behind the Goatman origins are as varied as the sightings of the creature itself. It is said that the monster was the offspring of a farmer who had unnatural relations with his animals. Another legend states that the Goatman was a farmer who practiced Satanism and would sacrifice his goats for power, when he was close to death he swore to live again. He was then resurrected as a half-man, half-goat being, which is fated to walk the trestles.
Louisville and Jefferson County, as with any area that has it's fair share of scary tales. In 1984, a low budget movie featuring the Goatman story was produced and filmed on location near Pope Lick. It received mixed reviews. Younger people were ecstatic that one of their favorite urban legends had been brought to life, so to speak. Older adults were worried that interest in the movie would lead people to venture out onto the trestle and risk their lives in pursuit of nothing but a good scare….
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| Atavistic painting by Austin Osman Spare [1886 – 1956] |
Numerous urban legends exist about the creature's origins and the methods it employs to claim its victims. According to some accounts, the creature uses either hypnosis or voice mimicry to lure trespassers to the tressle to meet their death before an oncoming train. Other stories claim the monster jumps down from the trestle onto the roofs of cars passing beneath it. Yet other legends tell that it attacks its victims with a blood-stained axe. It has also been said that the very sight of the creature is so unsettling that those who see it while walking across the high trestle are driven to leap off.
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| ''Sabbatic Goat'' A Drawing of an Alchemical Sphinx Eliphas Levi [1810 – 1875] |
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