It’s always sad to read stories like this, where someone dies as a result of investigating the paranormal. But it also makes me angry. Of course these people do not deserve to die, but it does upset me when people trespass or just engage in ill-advised behaviors in their search for the unknown. Because in most cases, the injury or fatality could have been avoided. Usually it’s ghost hunters we hear about when it comes to these tragedies, where amateur investigators go into some abandoned or condemned building and end up falling or getting injured or killed, because the building is in such poor condition.
But in this case, an Ohio couple was investigating the urban legend of the Goatman, and ventured out onto an active train trestle, perhaps not realizing how frequently the trains used the trestle. Apparently there have been many accidents on this bridge by legend tripping paranormal investigators, as most don’t realize that the bridge is actually still in use. It’s tragic, but at the same time, a little preparation, research and common sense may have saved this girl’s life.
Roquel Bain died while searching for the Pope Lick monster, or Goatman
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – An Ohio couple in search of a local urban legend found something else; a train barreling at them while they are on a trestle. One woman was hit and killed by that train near the 3100 block of South Pope Lick Road Saturday evening.
Many may look at trestle and think that it’s not active, but it is. Trains go by constantly. The foot traffic in the area has also picked up since the Parklands of Floyds Fork has expanded.
Ron Crouch has seen more people walking the Louisville Loop, but he also knows why people come out to the area. They come in search of the urban legend, the Goatman.
“I guess you do have some people who are paranormals and want to explore those things,” Crouch said.
That’s what Roquel Bain, 26, and her boyfriend were in search of on Saturday. They came to Louisville to check out Waverly Hills Sanatorium for a haunted tour.
“Ms. Bain was scheduled for Saturday night 10 p.m.,” Waverly Hills owner Tina Mattingly said.
But, they didn’t make it. Waverly Hills staffers were saddened when they found out why.
Bain and her boyfriend decided to come out to Pope Lick Road before their tour at Waverly to see if they could find the Goatman.
According to the coroner, Bain and her boyfriend made their way to the train tracks when the train surprised them. The coroner said Bain’s boyfriend told him they realized they couldn’t make it to the end of trestle so they decided to hang off the sides but, Bain couldn’t move fast enough. She was hit by the train and fell about 100 feet to the ground
“Trains can weigh several thousand tons that can be moving at 20, 30, 40, 50 miles per hour,” Norfolk Southern spokesman Dave Pidgeion said. “It’s just not worth risking your safety or your life.”
Bain’s boyfriend did survive. Norfolk Southern, which operated the train, said no myth is worth the risk.
Those in area know that well.
“You would think people would know better than to do that because it’s a long trestle,” Crouch said. “If you get caught out in the middle you don’t have time to go back.”
Bain was a resident of Dayton, OH. Police have not released her boyfriend’s name. Norfolk Southern said people can be charged with trespassing if they are accessing railroad property illegally.
The Goatman of course is a cryptid that is described as being half-goat and half-man, almost like the satyr or Pan of Greek mythology. It’s usually referred to in the context of a “lover’s lane” monster or urban legend, as many reports have the Goatman attacking young couples parked in cars at secluded lover’s lanes across the country. In Kentucky, the Goatman is referred to as the Pope Lick monster, and it is said to reside under the Pope Lick Trestle, luring its victims onto the trestle.
In Texas, it’s known as the Lake Worth monster, where it attacks couples in cars, often leaving scratches and dents on the vehicle. It’s been reported in other areas as well, including Maryland (allegedly an axe-wielding mad scientist who was transformed into a goat by experiments gone awry), Wisconsin, Oregon, and even in England (said to be the result of a farmer mating with a goat, and inhabiting local railway tunnels). In this tragic case, it seems like the legend alone was able to lure the couple out onto the tracks.
Saw a show where some teens were killed on this trestle. So sad that it is almost always going to end with death. You are no match for a train. Some trestles were built with a space for water barrels because the steam locomotive would catch them on fire. There was one in Illinois that a couple got caught on, and ran out on the little space. It collapsed as it hadn’t been used for many years and killed them both. The simplest thing is don’t trespass. The railroads have their own private police force and they have the authority to arrest and prosecute any trespassers.
If this is the trestle I am thinking of, it has a curve just before and you can not see the train until it is too late. Most train near towns run up to 50 MPH. You are not going to out run it. Please do research before you go into any area. Also ask permission before going on any lands. Yes, the answer may be “no”, but at least you will be alive.
Saw a show where some teens were killed on this trestle. So sad that it is almost always going to end with death. You are no match for a train. Some trestles were built with a space for water barrels because the steam locomotive would catch them on fire. There was one in Illinois that a couple got caught on, and ran out on the little space. It collapsed as it hadn’t been used for many years and killed them both. The simplest thing is don’t trespass. The railroads have their own private police force and they have the authority to arrest and prosecute any trespassers.
If this is the trestle I am thinking of, it has a curve just before and you can not see the train until it is too late. Most train near towns run up to 50 MPH. You are not going to out run it. Please do research before you go into any area. Also ask permission before going on any lands. Yes, the answer may be “no”, but at least you will be alive.