editor Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 As a former resident of New Jersey I sometimes grow nostalgic for all the strange creatures, demons, and phenomenon that seem unnaturally compressed into that small corner of the world. That's why I'm an avid fan of Wierd NJ, the web site that became a magazine, a song, and now a book. Well, they've expanded the operation to encompass the entire country as Wierd US. The latest issue of their newsletter talks about something I've never heard of before.-------------------Beware the Lake Worth Goatman!Though not well known in the history of sasquatch-like, hairy biped reports, the summer of 1969in Lake Worth, on the edge of Fort Worth, Texas produced one of the most well attested eventsof that nature. In the wee hours of July 10th, Mr. and Mrs. John Reichart and two other couplesshowed up at the Fort Worth police station. They were so plainly terrified that, as unlikely as theirstory sounded, the officers had no problem believing the six had seen something well out of theordinary. As their story went, they had been parked along the edge of Lake Worth around midnightwhen a huge beast leaped out of nowhere and landed on the Reicharts' car. It was, they related,covered with both fur and scales and looked like a cross between a goat and a man.Four police units raced to the scene only to find nothing. However there was an eighteen inchscratch running alongside the witnesses car, who swore it had not been there before and was sureit was a scratch from the monsters claws. In the preceding couple of months other reports of amonster had been received but were attributed to pranks. The officers assumed that the Reichartshad been similarly victimized, but the frightening, aggressive nature of the attack made them takethe incident much more seriously. Almost exactly twenty-four hours after the incident, Jack Harris, driving on the road to the LakeWorth Nature Center said he spotted the creature crossing in front of him. It ran up and down a hilland was soon being watched by thirty to forty people who had come to the area hoping to catch aglimpse of it after the Fort Worth Star Telegram had run a front page story "Fishy Man-Goat TerrifiesCouples Parked at Lake Worth." Within moments police from the sheriff's office were on the scene aswell observing the fantastic sight. But when it seemed as though some of the spectators were goingto approach it the creature threw a cars wheel at them, wherefore it escaped into the thicket onceagain.In the weeks ahead parties of armed searchers made nightly forays into the woods and fields nearthe lake. Most thought it resembled a "big white ape." It left tracks that were unfortunately notpreserved, that were reported as being eight inches wide at the toes and sixteen inches long. Onone occasion when men fired on it they followed a trail of blood to the waters edge. Another threemen claimed the monster jumped on their car and only jumped off after the vehicle collided with atree. A different three people spent a week tracking it without ever seeing it, although they heardits cry and smelled the foul odor that was associated with it. They also came across several sheephalf eaten with broken necks that they felt was the handiwork of the monster. Reports of the creature continued for years after but the last sighting of 1969 came from CharlesBuchanan. He said he had been sleeping in his sleeping bag in the back of his pick up truck when hewas attacked by the monster. Buchanan shoved a bag of chicken at the creature. The beast stuffedit into its mouth and jumped into the lake and swam towards Greer Island. This occurred on November7th. Several theories were offered from the preposterous to the problematic. One given by park rangerHarroll Rogers was that the creature was a bobcat -- absurd by any stretch of the imagination. Otherssay it was a prankster, yet considering how many gun toting people were looking to bag it, and the factthat it had been most likely shot at least once leaves this theory with a hole or two in it as well. - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 I remember stories of the Lake Worth goatman from my days as a prosecutor in Ft. Worth. A fellow prosecutor lived in an old house on the shores of Lake Worth. After several drinks, he could always be counted on to dredge up the story of the goatman, though he had never seen it, nor knew anyone who had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heights2Bastrop Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 Last I heard, the goat man was killed by a chupacabra. But, then, that may just be a rumor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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