Goatman’s Bridge in Denton, Texas—officially Old Alton Bridge—is an 1884 iron crossing over Hickory Creek, now used by pedestrians and trail visitors. Its dark woods, isolated setting, and stories of a human-goat apparition have made it one of North Texas’s best-known allegedly haunted places. But the real history of the bridge is far more firmly documented than the frightening story most people repeat about it.
Separate from the ghost stories, documented deaths and murders have occurred in the area. The article below examines the evidence for the body-dumping-ground rumors and the satanic ritual legends while respecting the real people involved.
During a LiveSciFi investigation, Tim Wood and the team reported unsettling activity in the surrounding woods and at the bridge: touch-like physical sensations, strange and apparently disembodied sounds, possible EVP responses, and unusual voices interpreted during ghost-box sessions. At moments, the atmosphere felt oppressive or dark to participants. Those experiences deserve to be examined, but they do not by themselves identify a ghost, a demon, or a specific historical victim. Below, you can watch the actual footage and jump to the moments discussed.
Location: Old Alton Bridge, Old Alton Road south of Teasley Lane (FM 2181), Denton County, TX 76210. GPS: 33.129290, -97.104271 (approximate historic-bridge pin). See the bridge on Google Maps. Official name: Old Alton Bridge. Reported activity: voices, shadows, touches, unusual ghost-box audio and possible EVPs. Evidence status: bridge history documented; paranormal interpretations unverified.
Goatman’s Bridge at a Glance
| Historic name | Old Alton Bridge (Goatman’s Bridge) |
|---|---|
| Location | Old Alton Road over Hickory Creek near Denton, Texas |
| Year built | 1884 |
| Builder | King Iron Bridge and Manufacturing Company |
| Structure | Approximately 145-foot Pratt-truss iron bridge |
| Historic designation | National Register of Historic Places (1988); Recorded Texas Historic Landmark |
| Present use | Pedestrian and trail crossing; not open to cars |
| What is verified? | The bridge and architectural history. The Goatman origin story and alleged supernatural encounters have not been historically or scientifically proven. |
The Real History of Old Alton Bridge
1884: A bridge built for travel, not a haunting
The Old Alton Bridge was built in 1884 by the King Iron Bridge and Manufacturing Company of Ohio. Its iron Pratt through-truss carried travelers over Hickory Creek on a route connecting Denton with communities to the south. Denton County identifies it as its oldest surviving bridge of this type, approximately 145 feet long. Its truss design, historic ironwork and survival at its original site make it significant even without the ghost stories. Denton County’s historic iron bridges overview and the National Register record establish those basic facts.
The bridge’s name comes from Alton, an early Denton County community and former county seat. The name is a reminder of transportation, settlement and changing county priorities—not evidence that a supernatural figure gave the bridge its original identity. Horses and wagons crossed before cars became common; as vehicles grew wider and faster, the narrow old crossing became less suitable for road traffic.
1988 to 2001: Preservation and a new bridge
The original crossing entered the National Register of Historic Places on July 8, 1988 for its engineering significance. Vehicular traffic eventually moved to a replacement crossing nearby, and by 2001 the historic bridge was no longer a route for cars. Visitors now approach it by the trail system. The Texas Historical Commission lists the Old Alton Bridge historic marker in Old Alton Bridge Park, east of Old Alton Road and south of Teasley Lane. The current pedestrian use is a preservation success story: visitors can experience a 19th-century iron structure rather than just reading about one. Texas Historical Commission marker record.
Real Deaths and Murders Near Goatman’s Bridge: What Local News Confirms
There are documented deaths and homicide cases near Old Alton Bridge, independently of its Goatman legend. This history matters—but accuracy matters even more. Some incidents were reported on adjoining roads, parking areas or creek banks rather than on the 1884 bridge itself. The cases below involve real people and families; none of the cited investigations establishes a paranormal or ritual motive.
November 2018: Lermont Stowers-Jones found dead in Hickory Creek
Lermont “Mont” Stowers-Jones, 17, a Denton High School student, was found in Hickory Creek near the Old Alton Bridge in November 2018. Early reports described a search after a teenager was said to have entered the creek. The Denton Record-Chronicle published reporting about the autopsy; KERA’s September 2022 investigation reports that Texas Department of Public Safety records classified the death as accidental drowning. His parents questioned discrepancies in the search, accounts of how he reached the water and the overall investigation, and asked for further scrutiny. Their concerns deserve to be reported accurately, without declaring a homicide that authorities had not established. KERA reported no charges in connection with the death. It happened after LiveSciFi’s October 2018 investigation, and there is no established connection to that recording or a haunting.
December 2023: Alan Wilson’s shooting near the Old Alton Bridge trail
On December 5, 2023, Alan Wilson, 42, of Denton, was discovered shot in a gravel parking area off Old Alton Road, between Copper Canyon Road and the historic bridge, near a Mitsubishi SUV. FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth reported the shooting on December 7, identifying a head wound and describing the death investigation as a possible homicide. Cross Timbers Gazette reported on December 18 that the Tarrant County Medical Examiner had formally ruled Wilson’s death a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the head. This was a documented killing near a trail parking area, not an established murder on the bridge deck. These sources did not establish a connection to satanic practices, the Goatman legend or an alleged curse.
2023: Jonathan Alexander Lozano Cruz murder near Old Alton Bridge
Jonathan Alexander Lozano Cruz, 18, was murdered in the vicinity of Old Alton Bridge in 2023, according to Denton County: Unsolved, a Denton County Crime Stoppers project. Its April 20, 2026 account describes his case as unresolved and requests information that could help investigators. The page includes a photograph of an approximate crime scene, but does not establish that the historic bridge itself was the killing site. Nothing in this account establishes a supernatural or occult explanation.
Was Goatman’s Bridge a body-dumping ground?
Some urban legends characterize the surrounding woods and Hickory Creek as a body-dumping ground. The documented discovery of victims in the area makes it important to check those claims, but finding a body near a bridge is not proof it was transported there or deliberately dumped. The reviewed reports establish two 2023 homicides in the wider area and a separate 2018 death ruled accidental drowning. They do not establish a serial body-dumping operation, a documented pattern of ritual murders, or a crime scene linked to the Goatman. Without police records demonstrating those additional claims, they should remain labeled as allegations or folklore.
Why Is Goatman’s Bridge Supposedly Haunted?
The goat-headed figure and the three-knock legend
Some visitors tell of a half-human, half-goat figure watching from the trees, noises under the bridge, eyes reflecting in the darkness, or a presence approaching after someone knocks on the bridge three times. Those themes vary dramatically from telling to telling. In some versions the entity is a murdered farmer’s spirit; in others it is a demonic creature, a woman, or something attached to alleged occult rituals. The inconsistency is characteristic of a developing local legend—not a verified list of events.
A bridge in a dark creek corridor is an effective place for these experiences to feel real. Wildlife, moving branches, visitors on adjacent paths, sound reflecting across water, and eyeshine can all change what a person hears or sees. None of those possibilities means a witness invented their experience; it means the origin of an experience requires more than the frightening appearance of the scene.
The Oscar Washburn lynching story: a serious historical claim
The most widely repeated account places a successful Black goat farmer named Oscar Washburn near the bridge in 1938. According to the legend, white supremacists abducted and lynched him at the bridge, his body disappeared, and a haunting followed. Some retellings add the murder of his family. That is an accusation of a specific atrocity against identifiable historical people—and it must not be rewritten as established fact simply because many ghost websites repeat it.
In 2015 the Denton Public Library reported that local historians had searched for supporting records. Researchers found a different, white Oscar Washburn who had married in Denton County and moved elsewhere, but not documentation identifying the person in the legend or verifying the 1938 bridge incident. They also searched August 1938 editions of the local newspaper without locating the purported event. The library was careful to acknowledge that contemporary reporting of violence against Black residents was incomplete. The accurate conclusion is unverified historical claim, not a confident declaration that racist violence did not occur in the region.
Denton County’s Historical Commission later stated in its Winter 2023 Retrospect newsletter that the familiar, highly specific version appears to have become popular in the 2000s and that its curator could not trace a historical foundation. This is an important correction to articles that give precise dates, perpetrators and deaths as though a police report or death certificate had established them.
Satanic Ritual Legends, Pentagrams and Unusual Symbols in the Woods
Goatman’s Bridge is associated with stories of satanic ceremonies, sacrifices, occult gatherings, black magic and a demonic portal. Those tales are part of the modern local folklore: Atlas Obscura describes the Satanist version as a variation of the legend, and KERA interviewed Denton residents who discussed the area’s reputation for rituals and racist violence. Describing a rumor in a news story confirms that the rumor exists; it does not verify the alleged ritual or a related crime.
LiveSciFi also documented what appeared to be a pentagram-like marking and an unusual twig or branch arrangement in the wooded area. These photographs belong in the record because they show what the team encountered. But a pentagram can have multiple meanings, and the objects’ creators, intended purpose and connection to any other activity are unknown. Neither photograph, by itself, proves organized satanism or a sacrifice.
There are also stories of Ouija experiments, mysterious voices, ritual sites and an alleged portal to another realm. In the episode, investigators discuss a makeshift area and test a Ouija board; they do not document a historically verified crime or the identity of a supposed entity. Visitors should not assume that every mark, candle or piece of debris is evidence of a dangerous ritual group.
LiveSciFi’s Goatman’s Bridge Investigation: Dark Experiences, EVPs and Ghost-Box Voices
LiveSciFi investigated in two connected recordings made in October 2018. Part 1 is primarily a search through the woods and flooded, muddy trails near the bridge; it is not accurate to describe all of these sessions as occurring on the bridge itself. Tim, Bonnie, Kristin and companions used a PSB7 spirit box, an Ovilus-style word device and a Ouija board as they explored. Part 2 returns to the bridge for more direct questioning, recorder sessions and reports of sounds and movement.
Original LiveSciFi investigation · October 2018
Watch Goatman’s Bridge — Part 1: Woods, Spirit Box & Ouija
This is the original 91-minute first episode, filmed in the woods before the investigation continues on the bridge. The thumbnail opens the full LiveSciFi episode and its key-moment links.
Watch Part 1 and examine the evidence · Watch Part 2 on the bridge
Part 1: Key moments from the woods and approach
- 17:02 — Passing light in the camera frame: the team reports a light whose origin is not established in the footage notes.
- 28:00 — First ghost-box questions and 30:56 — Strange radio wording: listen to the PSB7 scanning session and what investigators interpreted as unusual or ominous responses. Radio scanning can also produce accidental words and fragments.
- 33:14 — Ovilus output interpreted as “aggression”: a word-device output, not an independently verified message from a spirit.
- 35:27 — Breathing difficulty reported and 37:43 — Swirling sensation: physical experiences described during exertion in the wooded area; heat, terrain and other conditions must be considered.
- 50:26 — Name-like word-device response: a name interpretation needing original context.
- 52:24 — Ghost-box session after a reported leg touch: the team reports a touch-like sensation, then continues seeking a response.
- 54:10 — Name-like ghost-box response and 55:41 — Woman-like scream reported: sounds that felt relevant to participants, with the speaker or source not independently established.
- 1:04:14 — Eye-like reflections: a nighttime visual report; animal eyeshine and reflections remain possible explanations.
- 1:20:35 — Ouija exchange and name interpretations: the group examines board movements and messages near a makeshift area.
The team’s impression of an oppressive or dark presence forms part of its firsthand narrative. But “dark energy” is a description of how the environment felt, not a measured physical quantity or proof of a particular entity. The video also documents crickets, wind, insects, other visitors and changing batteries—important context for interpreting sound, video and physical sensations.
Part 2: EVP questions, reported scream, candle movement and footsteps
The second episode continues the investigation directly at the crossing. Key moments include 12:14 — EVP recorder questions, 18:47 — Scream-like sound near the bridge, 36:16 — Comparison with recorder audio, 48:19 — Candle movement reported, and 50:19 — Footsteps reported. These are timestamped reports or recording sessions, not verified voices of deceased people. A careful EVP evaluation should preserve the unaltered recording, distinguish nearby speech and radio signals, and consider whether words are perceived more clearly only after a listener is prompted.
Watch Goatman’s Bridge Part 2: Group Ouija, EVP Questions & Candle-Movement Report. For the complete series, browse In Search of the Paranormal LIVE episodes.
Is It True? The Goatman’s Bridge History and Haunting Claims Fact-Checked
The bridge is real and historically important; the famous origin story of the Goatman is not historically verified. LiveSciFi investigators reported touching sensations, unusual voices, possible EVPs and unsettling events, but the footage does not establish that a supernatural entity caused them. Here is what can be distinguished from legend.
| Claim | Evidence-based assessment |
|---|---|
| Old Alton Bridge was built in 1884. | Documented. Supported by Denton County, the National Register and the Texas Historical Commission. |
| The bridge was built after a demonic curse. | Unsupported. The historic construction and its purpose were ordinary transportation engineering. |
| Oscar Washburn was lynched here in 1938 and became the Goatman. | Unverified legend. Denton Public Library’s historical research found no contemporary record establishing the named person or alleged bridge murder. |
| Knocking three times summons a half-goat creature. | Folklore. No controlled evidence establishes that knocking causes an apparition to appear. |
| Ritual murders, a portal or documented demonic sacrifices occurred here. | Unsubstantiated folklore. Specific criminal claims need verifiable records; symbols or markings in the woods do not establish them. |
| People were murdered in the Goatman’s Bridge area. | Documented. Alan Wilson’s December 2023 shooting death was ruled a homicide, and Denton County Crime Stoppers reports that Jonathan Alexander Lozano Cruz was murdered near Old Alton Bridge in 2023. These incidents are not evidence of occult activity. |
| A teen’s 2018 death at Hickory Creek was a confirmed murder. | Not established. Official DPS records classified Lermont Stowers-Jones’s death as accidental drowning. His family questioned the investigation and asked for answers; their concerns do not change the documented official classification. |
| Old Alton Bridge was used as a serial body-dumping ground. | Not verified. Bodies have been found near the creek and parking areas, but the cited records do not establish that victims were systematically transported there and discarded. |
| The LiveSciFi team encountered eerie sounds, possible EVP responses and physical sensations. | Reported on camera. Witness accounts and recording sessions are documented; the supernatural explanation is not proven. |
Why unusual noises and ghost-box responses are hard to classify
A disembodied voice is a label for a voice-like sound heard without an obvious speaker. It is not proof that the sound had no human, animal or electronic origin. An outdoor recording around Hickory Creek can contain insects, wildlife, people on nearby trails and sound carried from unexpected directions. A spirit box intentionally sweeps through radio frequencies; an apparent spoken word can come from a station or a brief audio fragment. EVP interpretations also vary among listeners, especially when replayed with a suggested phrase.
LiveSciFi’s conclusion: the team experienced several events that felt threatening or anomalous, and their footage is valuable as a first-person investigation record. The best way to respect the evidence is to let viewers hear and see the events in sequence, while refusing to turn an undocumented story into a fact. A real paranormal mystery does not need an invented death or ritual history to be compelling.
Visiting Goatman’s Bridge: Address, GPS and Safety
Official landmark: Old Alton Bridge, Old Alton Road south of Teasley Lane (FM 2181), Denton County, Texas 76210. There is no conventional street-number address for the historic bridge. GPS: latitude 33.129290, longitude -97.104271, as shown in Denton County’s historical commission map. Open map and directions. Do not confuse Old Alton Road with Old Alton Drive.
The bridge has been preserved for pedestrians and trail users, not vehicle crossings. The surrounding trails can be muddy after rain, dark after sunset, and uneven near the creek; avoid entering floodwater or going down unsafe banks for a photograph. Bring a charged flashlight if visiting near dusk, remain on established public routes, respect other visitors and wildlife, and follow any current county or trail signs. The location’s historic designation does not grant permission to trespass on adjacent land, damage the bridge, or hold unauthorized events.
Before traveling, consult Denton County’s historic bridge information and the Texas historical marker record for the correct site.
Goatman’s Bridge: Frequently Asked Questions
Is Goatman’s Bridge really haunted?
Old Alton Bridge has a long-standing reputation for ghost sightings, strange voices, shadow figures and unsettling experiences. LiveSciFi recorded witness reports, spirit-box interpretations and possible EVPs, but none of these observations independently proves a spirit was present. The famous Oscar Washburn origin story is unverified according to research by the Denton Public Library and Denton County historians. The original investigation footage and evidence discussion let visitors assess the reports for themselves.
Where is Goatman’s Bridge in Texas?
It is the Old Alton Bridge over Hickory Creek on Old Alton Road near Denton, Texas, south of Teasley Lane. GPS: 33.129290, -97.104271. The bridge is also associated with the Copper Canyon area of Denton County.
When was Goatman’s Bridge built?
The original Old Alton Bridge dates to 1884 and was built by the King Iron Bridge and Manufacturing Company. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Was a man named Oscar Washburn really murdered there?
No verified contemporary historical record has established that the Oscar Washburn of the popular 1938 lynching story existed or was murdered at the bridge. The story should be clearly labeled folklore, not reported as historical fact. Lack of evidence for the specific legend does not erase the wider history of racial violence in Texas.
Were there actual murders near Goatman’s Bridge?
Yes. Alan Wilson’s December 2023 shooting death near the trail parking area was officially ruled a homicide, and Denton County Crime Stoppers documents Jonathan Alexander Lozano Cruz’s murder in the surrounding area during 2023. Neither case has a documented connection to the Goatman legend. Lermont Stowers-Jones’s separate November 2018 death was officially ruled an accident, although his family questioned that conclusion.
Was Goatman’s Bridge a body-dumping ground?
The body-dumping-ground description is a local claim, not a verified finding of a pattern. Reports of deaths and bodies recovered near the bridge must be examined as individual cases without assuming where or why victims died.
Did satanic rituals take place at Old Alton Bridge?
Stories of satanic rituals and an occult portal circulate in local folklore, and LiveSciFi documented unusual markings and objects nearby. Those photographs do not establish who created them, what they were for, or whether any crime occurred.
Can you watch the LiveSciFi Goatman’s Bridge ghost hunt?
Yes. Part 1 follows the woods walk, spirit-box sessions, reported sensations and Ouija experiment; Part 2 continues with EVP questions and reported noises on the bridge. Use the timestamp links above to jump to individual moments.
Is the bridge open to cars?
No. A newer crossing replaced the road function, while the historic iron bridge remains for pedestrians and trail use.
More Haunted Locations and LiveSciFi Evidence
For another original Texas investigation, explore the Haunted Hill House in Mineral Wells, Texas, where LiveSciFi examines the property’s history, reported hauntings, and firsthand experiences.
Explore the LiveSciFi Haunted Locations database, where each researched location has a history, visitor location, GPS coordinates, and an “Is It True?” assessment. For another first-person investigation paired with carefully examined local legends, see our Old Washoe Club guide and its EVP and physical-sensation moments. The Clown Motel and Old Tonopah Cemetery article examines historic grave damage and reported EVPs without asserting a supernatural cause.
Historical Sources and Investigation Footage
The sources below distinguish archival records and official history from local news reports, firsthand field recordings and folklore. Later criminal incidents are discussed separately from the older Goatman urban legend.
- FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth (December 7, 2023): Alan Wilson found shot near Old Alton Bridge.
- Cross Timbers Gazette (December 18, 2023): medical examiner rules Alan Wilson’s death a homicide.
- Denton County Crime Stoppers / Denton County: Unsolved (April 20, 2026): Jonathan Alexander Lozano Cruz murder near Old Alton Bridge.
- Denton Record-Chronicle: authorities release autopsy of teen found near Old Alton Bridge.
- KERA News (September 26, 2022): Lermont Stowers-Jones’s official accidental-drowning ruling and his family’s questions.
- Atlas Obscura: local Goatman and Satanist variations as folklore.
- Denton County — Historic Iron Bridges (Old Alton Bridge and preservation history).
- Texas Historical Commission — Old Alton Bridge historic marker, Atlas No. 5507016364.
- National Park Service — National Register of Historic Places asset, NRIS 88000979.
- Denton Public Library, November 4, 2015 — “The Goat Man and a Name” (Oscar Washburn folklore research).
- Denton County Historical Commission, Retrospect, Winter 2023 — “The bridge with a storied past” and county GPS map.
- LiveSciFi — Goatman’s Bridge Part 1, recorded investigation and saved chapter moments.
- LiveSciFi — Goatman’s Bridge Part 2, bridge investigation and saved chapter moments.