The Waterford Sheepman is an abominable creature that terrorized the small rural town of Waterford, Pennsylvania in the early 1970s. It lurked in farm fields, stalking the unwitting animal in a desire to tear it apart and feed on its flesh and blood. Hundreds of people witnessed this creature, it's also referred to as the Goatman.
Marylin knew of the Goatman legend as a teenager in the '70s, but along with the stories, she had also seen it with her own eyes on more than one occasion. “I lived on Baghdad Road and I saw this figure running across the dirt road at one point near the old sawmill.” She remembers that at the time there was much talk about the legend, with many people catching a glimpse of the creature darting across the road or into the brush along farm fields. She had a second encounter with the monster when she was 17, “He was there that one night I drove home and right before I turned into my driveway, there he was, running across the road and into the woods.”
Waterford native Richard Galbraith knows the legend well, and as a child he was told, “Don’t let the Sheep-man get ya!” He was warned to avoid the area of Pennsylvania Route 19 on the outskirts of the city at night, or else the same fate would befall him that happened to so many unwitting animals; the blood crazed Sheepman would tear him apart. Richard was wise to take the warnings to heart; for there were many alleged incidents of the Sheepman violently attacking humans as well as ravaging livestock.
Herb Kinney, a Waterford native and businessman, knew the terror of the Sheepman firsthand. He had a friend who was a victim of the ungodly creature as it lay in wait for him on top of the Waterford covered bridge on Niemeyer Road that spans LeBoeuf creek. Herb recounts the story in his own words:
“It was always said the sheepman lived in a cave on Baghdad Road. He was known to frequent the covered bridge south east of town on East Street. He was said to hide up in the rafters of the old bridge and jump down and terrorize young lovers that had parked in the bridge.
Two couples from Erie were traveling into the bridge late one summer night in a dark blue Ford Mustang convertible with the top down. It had started to sprinkle so they pulled inside the bridge, to put the top up, when they were attacked. The boys fought off the creature and peeled out, filling the bridge with smoke from the burning rubber of their tires. The roof to the car was damaged, ripped, torn, and mangled to the point it had to be replaced. All four of the young people insisted the incident really happened, telling the tale to their parents. The parents fearing embarrassment and would not allow any police report to be filed.”
Nevertheless, the countryside surrounding Waterford was abuzz in the 1970s with stories and sightings of the creature known as the Sheepman. It seemed the legend faded with the decade for there have not been any sightings of the creature since the close of the '70s.