The Bowie Goatman; Prince Georges County, MD
This is another aspect of Maryland folklore, that seems to be shared with the other 49 states in America. The goatman legend is most prominent in Bowie, MD ; and is the talk of many local teenagers, especially around Halloween.
The legend starts with a man that is half goat, have man, resembling a satyr. He is said to have large horns on his head, and carries an axe with him to use on his victims. Others say that he is all human form, with only a goat head.
The legend usually starts with the classic teenage couple copulating in the back seat of a car somewhere in Bowie. The goatman, then attacks the car with his axe, and the couple either A)Drives away in fear or B)Is slaughtered and eaten by the goatman.
The Goatman is also known to slaughter dogs if a human victim can't be found. Whenever a strange dog death occurs in Bowie or surrounding areas, the Goatman is usually blamed. People claim that the goatman is anything from an experiment of a scientist at the National Agriculture Research Center gone wrong to the actual devil. (Although, I highly doubt either would find Bowie the perfect place to set up shop)
According to www.marylandghosts.com: This is not a ghost haunting but is a haunting of another sort. Goatman is a strange creature who has haunted the outer limits of Prince George's County for the past few decades. This creature has haunted the lonely backcountry roads, the areas filled with dark forest. The creature likes to hang out in the area of Fletchertown Road in old Bowie and Lottsford Road in Mitchellville and Tucker Road in Clinton. Newspaper articles have been written about this creature for the last few decades. The Washington Post ran an article on the Goatman on November 30, 1971. The article detailed the mutilation of April Edwards' dog Ginger. The only remains of the dog were the head, which was found by Willie Gheen and Ray Hayden. Then John Hayden encountered the creature on Fletcher Road when he saw it in the field that is located across from the railroad track. The creature was 6 foot tall, hairy and walked on two feet. It made a high-pitched squeal. The next morning Hayden and Gheen found the head of Ginger the dog. The dog's body had been eaten. People wanting to research Goatman can look at articles written in the Washington Post, Prince George's County News, The Washington Evening Star and the Washington News. The newspapers have all carried articles about this creature for the last few decades. Some people believe that Goatman is really a bigfoot.
For more Goatman articles:
The Goatman legend of Prince George’s County by John Lawson