The Dark Truth Behind Texas’ Most Haunted Bridge

The closer Halloween gets, the deeper I spiral down internet rabbit holes about paranormal activity. My current obsession is the most haunted bridge in Texas, which is said to be home to the legendary Goatman.

Legend says if you knock three times on the Old Alton bridge in Denton, Texas, you’ll summon Goatman, who haunts the area. People brave enough to visit the bridge claim to have seen the Goatman and heard screams coming from the nearby woods.

A bridge haunted by dark history.

According to WeDentonDoIt, the legend traces back to the 1930s when a local African-American goat farmer named Oscar Washburn was lynched by the Ku Klux Klan near the bridge.

Washburn was known for his high-quality goat products and proudly hung a sign that read “This Way to the Goatman.” This would ultimately lead to his brutal murder.

Shaun Treat, a former professor at the University of North Texas, a local historian, and a ghost tour guide in Denton provided some disturbing information about what happened next, "They(KKK) couldn’t believe the audacity for this African American entrepreneur to be hanging his pseudonym right up on the bridge and so that’s what prompted them to come engage in the killing, to make an example of him.”

Washburn’s body was never found, and that’s where the legend begins. Ever since, people claim a vengeful spirit has haunted the bridge, appearing when someone knocks three times or honks their horn at midnight.

Some Texas legends fade with time, but this one lingers because its roots are buried in real dark history.