The Legends of Hogsback Road
Hogsback Road is built along a narrow winding glacial esker. The road is a gauntlet of sharp curves and steep hills. It is a treacherous drive rumored .jpg)
to have taken many lives, infamous for the steep drop-offs on either side as it winds through a dreary stretch of woods. Hogsback Road is not only known for being dangerous but is the home of several disturbing local legends. The most prominent of these campfire tales is that of the murderous Goatman with reported sightings in the area dating back to the 1870s.
One of the earliest stories of Goatman describes him as half man, half goat – the upper body a man with horns and sharp fangs, the lower body of a goat with long, stringy red hair. He stalks broken down travelers and back .jpg)
road lovers, brutally mangling his victims and leaving their bodies swinging upside down in the trees like gruesome wind chimes.
The legend of Hogsback Road goes like this: It's believed to be haunted by a gentleman called "The Goatman". Supposedly this man died while on this road and his soul has not been able to rest. It's also believed that the area is an active occult site and that the members will not let this man's spirit leave the area, so he now walks the stretch known as Hogsback Road at night carrying a goat's head to scare people into driving off the road and crashing down the gully on the right side of the road to their death. Once there, the souls of these people are taunted and desperately try to grab on to the living that come to investigate the area. It is said that evil energy has also left with people and have taunted them in their own homes, as well as while they are out there, through voices and shadows walking around.
According to another story, in the 1870s a newlywed couple dared to travel Hogsback at night. Their wagon broke down leaving them stranded. The man left to seek help leaving his young bride alone. Night trudged onward without his return. Suddenly she saw a creature covered in red hair with a horned head and goat muzzle. When daylight arrived, the young lady followed the creature’s footprints and found the mutilated remains of the man she just married.
While Goatman legends are an odd blend of urban legends and actual eyewitness sightings, Hookman is firmly established as a perennial Lovers Lane urban legend. Where kids park to make out, you’ll hear stories of a crazy hook-handed killer lurking just beyond the treeline. Here is a story from a Washington County resident: Back in the early 1980s there was an urban legend on Hogsback Road called the Hookman. Now deceased, his 
small cottage was at the end of a narrow gravel driveway thickly lined with trees on both sides. A group of freewheeling friends loved to drive about. One night one of the guys wanted to show off his new Buick so the group drove on Hogsback Road and decided to park the car by Hookman’s old cottage. It was a blustery night with a full moon. Each time the wind would blow they would lose the moonlight. They could hear the wind whistling through the trees even with windows up. The friends were laughing and talking about nothing in particular when they heard a loud “screeee” noise scraping against the left rear window. In the light, one guy saw a distinct 4-inch gouge in the window that was clearly visible in the moonlight. They all just totally freaked! A really strange thing about that gouge is it seemed to gradually fade out of the window the same way a scratch heals itself on someone’s arm.
A more recent event implies that Bigfoot may also be a resident of the Hogsback Road area. In 2006, a large bearlike animal with canine characteristics dragged a dead deer from the back of a county contractor’s pick up truck. The authorities recorded the encounter as a “yeti sighting” and started a minor media frenzy, attracting Bigfoot Hunters from as far away as California. Following the Bigfoot clamor, numerous eyewitnesses came forward with sightings of various strange animals ranging in description from the infamous Bigfoot, to odd bear/wolf hybrid creatures.
Some people feel while they are on Hogsback Road, they get a funny feeling and not just that of being scared or upset, but that of being watched by something all around them. Is there a Goatman on Hogsback? What about Bigfoot or the Hook Man?
Excepts from Goatman: Flesh or Folklore? by J. Nathan Couch and various websites and blogs
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