The Pope Lick Monster
Under a railway trestle near Louisville, a goat-man is said to lure people onto the tracks, and the legend has led to real deaths.
What was reported
The Pope Lick Monster is said to be a creature, half man and half goat or sheep, living beneath a high railway trestle over Pope Lick Creek, in eastern Louisville. Stories say it lures people onto the trestle with hypnotic voices, or leaps down onto cars passing beneath.
Drawn by the legend, people have climbed onto the trestle, and several have died there, struck by trains or falling, which led to fences and warning signs.
Explanations offered
There's no evidence for the creature; the danger is the trestle itself, which is still used by trains and leaves nowhere to escape one. Going onto it is illegal. The legend is a sad example of a story with real consequences.
- When
- Told since the mid-1900s
- Where
- Pope Lick Creek, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
- Witnesses
- Local storytellers
- Status
- Urban legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.