September 11, 2025 • 44 mins
Welcome To The Oddity Shop, Where The Bizarre is Always on Sale. This week, your Curator Zach brings a strong warning, Stay off The Pope Lick Trestle.
The terrifying legend of the Pope Lick Monster has claimed more lives than any other American cryptid. Not through supernatural attacks, but by luring thrill-seekers to their deaths on a deadly railroad trestle. Standing 90 feet above Pope Lick Creek in Fisherville, Kentucky, this active train bridge has become the site of dozens of tragic accidents spanning generations.
We take you deep into the dark history of this notorious local legend, exploring the origins of the Goatman. The most chilling aspect of this episode isn't the monster itself, but what happens to those who seek him out. We hear from those affected by the tragedies, including the heartbreaking testimony of a train engineer who personally witnessed 43 accidents during his career.
As we debate the ethics surrounding the annual Goatman Festival and the responsibilities of storytellers, railroads, and thrill-seekers, we're reminded that sometimes the most dangerous part of any legend is human curiosity. Whether you're fascinated by urban legends, cryptids, or the psychology behind risk-taking behavior, this exploration of the Pope Lick Monster offers a powerful warning about the thin line between folklore and fatal attraction.
References:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Lick_Monster
- https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pope-lick-trestle-bridge
- https://www.islands.com/1727666/pope-lick-trestle-bridge-haunted-railroad-kentucky-thrilling-tale-folklore-eerie-legend/
- https://u.osu.edu/popelickmonster/reality-in-legend/
- https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2016/05/14/pope-lick-monster-mythical-dangers-real/83667728/
- Hulus: OUT THERE: Crimes of the Paranormal S1 E3
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
I want to dance with the mothman At the ID shop,
bathed in the moonlight At theID shop.
Creep through the graveyard Tothe ID shop.
The door's always open At theID shop.
(00:36):
Welcome back to the Oddity Shop, my little oddballs.
I'm your curator, cara.
This is your wonderful curator,zach, and this is the podcast
where we tell you creepy, odd,weird, strange and bizarre
stories from everywhere.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, yeah, how are you?
Speaker 1 (00:51):
I'm great.
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I am doing pretty good.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Okay, good to hear.
Good to hear Okay.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
So, in case anybody wasn't sick of Kentucky last
week, you and I must have hadthe same ideas, because I also
wrote a Kentucky-based episode,but I know I'm skipping ahead.
But we almost forgot to telleverybody about the unexpected
highlight of the trip the bestpart about the whole trip the
thing that we might quit thepodcast to start our own
(01:19):
franchise of Just kidding.
We would never do that, but wewere tempted.
Do you want to tell them, sinceit's on your shirt?
We still could do it yes.
We could, we could do both.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
We're at Cave Hill Cemetery and I know that Zach
kind of saw it first but I sawit, but I don't think it
registered to what it was andit's PG&J's Dog Park Bar.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Listen, they need to rip that sign down and rename it
, because it is just heaven onearth.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
So basically, it is so cute.
We go in there and I do havesome videos.
But you go in there and you, ifyou don't have a dog, you have
to sign a little waiver.
And what did she tell us?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
That they might bite your phalanges off.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yeah, and you have to be OK with that.
So we signed a little waiver.
Then they have a little gatesystem.
So you open one gate, you getin, you wait until you can go
and you open so that no dogs aregoing to get out.
And there are dogs runningeverywhere, free roam everywhere
and it's a bar A beautiful bar.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
It's an indoor bar.
It's so cool, with literally adog park and splash pad and like
toys and everything in the back.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
That's all outdoors, yeah, outside.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
So there's like two parts of it.
Listen, the bartender couldn'tmake a drink without throwing
ice on the ground for dogs tojust chew on.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Shout out to Ashley.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
One person's job was just to like spray dogs with
hoses and play with them.
It was the best case I've neverI've seen such happy workers in
a customer serviceestablishment in my entire life
be workers in a customer serviceestablishment in my entire life
.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Because how could you even be mad?
And if I'm sorry, if you'regoing there, you're a good
person, you're going to be in agood mood because you're
bringing your dog there oryou're going to see dogs, so I
don't even think you could havea bad customer either.
No, I don't think you can havea bad day there.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
We sat down.
We're like we're going to havetwo beers, then we have.
And then a couple hours went by, three and a half, and we made
friends with humans and dogs.
It was that was just amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
I'll have videos up everywhere because everyone has
to experience this place.
People were DMing us from likeour stories, like where are you?
I would never leave.
Or like why do you think wemissed half of the event we were
supposed to be here for?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I missed a drag show.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Okay, which?
Speaker 2 (03:24):
is one of my favorite events and we were.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
We had every intention of going.
But how we met so many dogsconrad and leroy banks and
parker, the little old, seniorone, and shout out if any of you
pups are listening oh god, itwas incredible.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
But then, in case anybody hadn't watched the guest
episode, we did with Ken Boggle.
We told him we were coming tohis neck of the woods and he
took us out for dinner and wegot to meet his partner and mom,
his well, his chosen mama, hischosen mother and her new
partner.
Oh my god, they were just sowonderful in person.
Listen if you thought Ken hadbig energy, if you listened to
(04:03):
our episode like through arecording oh my god, that man
has an air about him.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
He does.
But when you say big energy, Ithink that can be construed as
bad.
It was such a lovely, intimatebeautiful, oh my god, yes, and
we had so much fun.
Ken ordered every literallyevery appetizer on there except
for like two, I think, and wejust shared all the appetizers
and we ate our food.
We we got so full and we justhad such a.
That actually is probably oneof my favorite moments of like
that really was.
It was just so cool that it wasjust such an intimate little
(04:32):
dinner.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Right, I loved it.
No, I loved it.
I loved every second of thattrip, obviously, since this is
now our second episode coveringthings about it- I swear when I
finally do the TikTok of a dayin Kentucky with us.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
That is the longest day of our lives.
We did so many things that oneday, one day, you know.
Did you ever watch what hadAmerican Summer?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Oh, that's the summer camp one right.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
It's an indie movie.
Yeah, it's become bigger aswe've gotten older.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
It is so good.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yeah, but that had like everybody in it it did, but
none of them were good and itwas at like a festival, summer
film festival.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Was that really?
Yes, that's where BradleyCooper, like, got his start.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Yeah, but none of those people were known then.
And anyway, that whole movietakes place in one day.
It's like the longest day ever,and that's what I feel like.
Our day was Cemetery, dog parkdinner with Boggle, then we went
, went to a.
We kind of saw a drag show fora little bit we went yeah, we
did.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Then we went downtown louisville and like saw all
kinds of stuff, oh my gosh, yeah, no, louisville, honestly one
holy.
I know we were there for anlgbt event, but the entire city
is way more accepting than Iwould have thought for the south
, and that's just myclosed-mindedness of like what I
thought.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Every new friend that we met told us that they don't
tell people that they live inKentucky.
They say that we live inLouisville.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Right, right, yeah, no, it was it.
Honestly, that city kind of bitme like I could go spend, so
much more time.
Oh, yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
All right.
Should we open the shop, though, for another Kentucky?
Speaker 1 (06:01):
episode.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Do you have a question for me?
I do have a question for you.
Okay, and I feel like this islike a very fatherly question.
If your friend jumped off abridge, would you fair?
Now, with that being said,never follow your friends up or
down bridges or trespassing,because I've got a story for you
today, also obviously from wellnear louisville, it is from
(06:28):
fisherville, kentucky, and thisis where myth and, unfortunately
, mortality have collided overthe years.
So the legend states that ahorned beast waits atop a
trestle bridge made for trainsthat waits to lure victims to
their demise.
So tonight, cara, for you Ihave the story of the Popelik
(06:51):
Bridge, its very own monster,and a huge word of warning for
you.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Okay, I do know a little bit of this.
I'm not going to lie to youguys.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
But I don't know all the deets.
So here's the deal.
Deal is we decided we weregoing to do kentucky episodes
before we went to kentucky.
Yep, then we were going tovisit the sites yes however,
life had a different way with usand, uh, recording got pushed
back.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
So now we've gone to the places we were going to
write about and write about themafterwards Okay, which is kind
of cool, though.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
You know, honestly, it gave me a little bit of a
different perspective,especially on this one.
So here's the caveat before weget going is the place that we
are actually going to talk aboutis extremely, extremely,
extremely dangerous.
And if you're going to go, gofor the right reasons and stay
(07:46):
only where it is safe, which ison the ground and not crossing
any fences.
Okay, perfect in the 1800s.
A trestle bridge is built inthe north, or built north of the
popelik park in je County,kentucky, and it services a rail
crossing to get across what wascalled the Popelik Creek, which
(08:09):
is, like it's, just a fewminutes outside of Louisville.
The bridge itself is over 90feet tall and spans 772 feet.
It's made out of mostly steel,with the wooden bars.
Where the train tracks are it'sreally really thin, so like
passing trains actually likehang off the edges of it,
(08:29):
because the bridge itself is notvery much wider than a train
track at all.
Maybe what?
Six inches on each side?
Yes, yeah, and it's just kindof like a creepy looking
structure so it really is, it'svery e.
It's definitely eerie.
Like you, you feel an eerinesswhen you walk up to this thing.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
I feel like when you look at it, you don't know what
it is.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
No, I feel like the local legend now, like those
people know.
But yeah, you just see like asteel structure through, like
dense trees.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
I would have never known what that was.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Absolutely.
And when we say it's a trainbridge, the trains are still
active.
So yes, they are friends beforefisherville kentucky got built
up or anything um, or all theother little towns around there,
or the rail itself.
It was, of course, native land,and the poplar creek was really
, really special to them becauseit brought resources like fresh
(09:21):
water and tons of animals tohunt because there was lots of
resources.
That means it also brought inthe settlers and they started to
fight over the land.
Of course, as everything elsein america, the settlers
eventually take the land fromthe natives with a ton of
fighting and bloodshed along thecreek, which kind of gave rise
(09:41):
to a legend that the land wascursed.
Okay, so let's get into thelegend of the monster.
Let's go okay, uh, the name ofthe monster is one we've
actually heard before, but it'san entirely different beast with
its own legend.
So it is another goat man, okay, but this is the goat man of
(10:02):
pope lick creek, otherwise knownas the Popelik Monster.
Okay, nobody really knows forcertain where the monster came
from, where the origin story was, but we do know at least it was
pre-1930s or started around.
Sorry, excuse me, startedaround the 1930s, okay.
Which is after the constructionof the trestle, at least that's
(10:23):
as far back as we know mestarted around the 1930s, okay,
which is after the constructionof the trestle, at least like
that's as far back as we know.
So it seems like, okay, thebridge was built and then the
stories kind of came around, butit's, you know, shoddy record
keeping of now.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
If you're gonna get into this, then you can just
tell me to shut up.
But do we think that because ofthe building of the bridge it
like lured him out, or we justwe, I'm, I will get into it.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
I have a couple of the building of the bridge it
like lured him out or we, we I'm.
I will get into it.
I have a couple of the differentpossible origin stories and
then kind of a right twist inthe middle of all this okay,
let's go the description of thebeast is that he is over 10 feet
tall, with long fingers, sharpnails, the body of a man, but
(11:05):
from the knees down it is goat,and hooves, yeah, and then the
head of a goat with its bright,glowing, hypnotizing eyes and
short, sharp horns raising fromits head.
Okay, not something that I wouldever want to cross in the
middle of the night, not reallyreally.
What you were saying, rightlike, yeah, we, we've known its
(11:25):
popularity at least took off inthe 30s, but he really got
popular from the 30s to the 80s,before there was internet or
really anything.
So there's a lot of differentorigin stories, so the most
common one I could find is thathe is actually an escaped
sideshow freak that was anattraction on a traveling circus
, and one day the circus istraveling through kentucky by
(11:48):
train and it mysteriouslycrashes and derails near the
trestle.
Oh pon derailing, the half man,half goat creature escapes and
is said to have taken upresidence in the woods around
popelik, getting revenge on thehumans who captured him, laughed
at him, and in this story hewields an axe.
(12:09):
Okay, like, chase you throughthe woods the second, this one
kind of reminds me of our ummontauk monster that he was a
government experiment gone wrongand that he is the result of
secret military experiments or aincorrectly uh, executed
bioengineering test that wassupposedly deep in the woods of
(12:32):
kentucky.
And now this monster bred forwarfare wonders, free, unstable
and violent.
And then there is anotherclaiming that he was a demonic
entity or manifestation of Satanhimself, summoned through
occult rituals performed in thearea, and now he waits to lure
people, to drive them insane orpossess them.
(12:53):
Okay, and the last one, and Ithink, if there's any any truth
to this story at all, this isthe one that kind of does it for
me.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
But Okay, because I don't like any of those other
ones.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Right, they just seem like your typical lore stories.
You know, like your, yourcrybaby bridge, your woman in
white.
You know, like those legends,that might not be real, but we
fed them enough energy.
Another one says that the goatman actually was indigenous to
the land well before anybodylived there, yes, and that he
(13:24):
was a protector of the area,that he was actually very
peaceful at the beginning and,as you know, the settlers
started to fight the natives andthere's fighting over the land.
He went from humble andfriendly protector to this more
sinister hateful of humans being.
Over time, that's like you'vedestroyed all the nature.
(13:45):
For what?
yeah, that's what I wouldobviously go with I mean that
one at least I feel like it.
Like the sideshow, theengineering, those all just seem
like, you know, local lore typeof legend.
But yeah whatever he truly isand whether he even exists at
all.
He is noted as being decryptedwith the highest confirmed kill
(14:06):
count and this is like, not like.
Oh, he's killed hundreds of,like you know, noted.
We have noted many wellresearched, well documented okay
, I'll leave my thoughts forlater.
Yes, so this is due to the fact,though, that what the legend at
least the surviving legendstoday say that the pope, like
(14:29):
monster, lurks through the woodsat night waiting for its next
victim, where, through hypnosis,it lures the unsuspecting onto
the trestle bridge.
And maybe this hypnosis sets inwhen you look into his eyes, or
maybe after hearing itsunnerving cow-like noises.
But whatever it is, once you'reon those tracks and looking
into the eyes, all sound goesquiet, your vision is fixed and
(14:59):
his eyes get larger and larger,until, all of a sudden, the
sound comes back.
The next moment, the beast isgone and you're staring at a
train barreling right towardsyou, with no options to either
get hit by the train or to jumpoff of the trestle.
I think you can all see wherethis is going to go, and it is.
It's going to get pretty darkand pretty sad from here.
Um again, you can also see howthis has all those bits of a
(15:23):
story that me this would havegot me.
As a teenager, I would havebeen interested in going up on
the tracks.
What I'm going to say is don't,simply don't.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Well, it's just not.
There's nothing in it that'sworth it.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Absolutely.
It's at best an adrenaline rush.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
If you're, if you're going off of the legend, then
you don't have a choice, Right,because he's luring you, yeah,
which I don't think he is.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Then just steer clear of the thing.
Anyway, just don't walk out inthose woods.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Right, it's not worth the risk, just don't do it.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Unless you go during the daytime, and there's plenty
of people biking like we did,okay, unless you go during the
daytime, and there's plenty ofpeople biking like we did, okay.
So locals of present day thoughFisherville which is that
suburb that's right near thetrestle they know very well the
tragedy that comes with it.
However, it hasn't stoppedlocals, for over 70 years, from
going out to have theirthrill-seeking adventure to look
for the creature.
(16:18):
It's only gotten more popularas the internet's taken off and
we have literally people likeourselves and pushing the story,
um, everyone looking to have agoatman experience.
I know we we're a little bitjust online personalities,
people who post everything outthere.
At least we're saying from thetop, in the middle and at the
end and a couple more timesthroughout don't do this shit,
(16:40):
but yeah.
So over the years, though, many,many people have climbed up
there going ghost hunt ormonster hunting, thinking the
tracks are abandoned, becausethat's also another local rumor
and dozens of people have losttheir life, so much so that when
we were there, you can see theentire bottom of the support is
a memorial for one person.
(17:02):
So sad, but there's a.
You know we were, we werewalking up and we had.
We had talked about gettingflowers too and unfortunately we
could not find them.
But we were walking up and wewere reading and looking over
the memorial and somebody wentby on a bike and just shouted
and it was so eerie, she goes.
The moral of the story is justdon't go up there like yeah,
(17:22):
it's a heavy place, whetherthere's a monster or not.
Okay, yeah.
So just to go over a couple ofthe victims uh, 1968, charles
bam, 17 years old.
He was struck and killed by anoncoming train as he and two
friends attempted to cross thetrestle on a dare.
1984, sean fleishman, 20,.
(17:43):
He survives but had severeinjuries after a fall because he
was dodging a train.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
How did he fall that and survive?
Speaker 2 (17:51):
I don't know.
I mean it's 90 feet into treesand water.
1985, the next year, john List,age 30, he was struck by a
train on there.
He was up on the trestle with afriend.
They had been trying to irk thegoat man by shooting crows.
His friend was able to hang onto the cross ties while the
(18:15):
train passed.
John List, though, was within30 feet of the end of the bridge
when he was struck, 1986,.
We have Davidid bryant uh,another one who survived
originally and then, within sixmonths, passed from his injuries
oh my god another, charles bam.
Charles bam, the second, alsoaged 17, like the first one.
(18:37):
Almost 20 years later he wasstruck.
1992, we have Grady 19, who wasa University of Miami student,
who was up on the trestle atabout 2 in the morning and when
they saw the train coming, triedto hang on to the edge but lost
their grip.
Yeah, 1993, christina Butt wasup there with two other friends
(19:01):
and three young men.
They had thought it wasabandoned.
See a light coming from anoncoming train.
All tried to run but Christinatripped and fell.
Yeah, she thankfully made itout better than some of her
friends, but she, after she fell, laid off the side and actually
had to be rescued, holding onso tight and watching some of
(19:23):
her friends not make it I don'tthink everyone has to look at
pictures of this, because Idon't even understand how you do
survive, because there'snowhere for you to go.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
So how?
Speaker 2 (19:32):
did they even survive ?
There's nowhere to go, there'sno like I'm confused.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
It's I, I don't know like unless you were lucky
enough to be by the um where youcan literally like kind of
almost throw your body off andlike hold on to the support
beams, like that's the only way.
But they're not.
But even then, they're very farin between.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Trains going by and rattling too.
You know what I mean Wellthat's what I mean.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
I just don't even understand how any of these
people would survive.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
So 1994, james Reiterman of these people would
survive.
So, 1994 james riderman, 2000.
Nicholas jewel, age 19.
James was 35.
Nicholas, age 19, 2016.
Raquel bain she was with herboyfriend.
She fell, he clung to the sideand also again watched his
girlfriend at the time pass away.
And I think, probably the mostrecent one and um whose family
and friends have been the mostvocal about saying we know
(20:27):
there's a legend, we know you'regoing to be tempted to go up
there.
Don't do it.
This would be in 2019, 15 yearold Savannah Bright, who is
knocked off the side by a trainand was pronounced dead by a
scene or at the scene, with her,her friend, being in critical
condition.
So there are so, so many morethan this that it's recorded as
(20:48):
dozens.
Uh, we'll get into anotherstory in a minute of a gentleman
who's really gonna put some ofit into light, but I did find a
video from the surviving bestfriend of savannah, savannah
bright, um, and she says I'm notsure what they knew about the
story of the goat man, but Ipersonally believe that helped
motivate them.
And she says I'm not sure whatthey knew about the story of the
goat man, but I personallybelieve that helped motivate
them.
And she's talking aboutsavannah and her other, she.
Well, she didn't go, she did notgo yeah, okay, that's what
(21:11):
helped motivate them, and that'swhere the thrill seeking comes
into play.
People that go up onto thetrain trestle that look for the
goat man it's supposed, uh.
Or people go up onto that traintrestle to look for the goat
man it's supposed to be silent,and you know he's caught you
when you've seen his eyes thatslowly morph into the train,
hiding behind him the realdanger kind of what you were
(21:32):
saying earlier, though there's.
There's been some hot debate onwhether the monster is real and
it's actually doing some of theluring right, or if it's just a
story that's been passed downthrough the years, and there's
two big camps on that, but allof them agree there's been too
many tragedies.
I was really only able to findone who had some like an
(21:56):
experience that could lead tothe goat man being more real,
and sorry, you were going to saysomething.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Oh, I was just going to say, I guess at, at this
point it doesn't fucking matter,it doesn't matter just don't go
no.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
So lexi vance she says she actually had an
encounter with the real lifemonster.
So she was having troublesleeping and went for a walk by
the bridge not on the bridge,she's walking down the road
surrounded by cornfields and shestarts to hear what she
describes as a low, auto-tunedcow noise.
Okay, so she was like pulled tolook to her, right into the
(22:27):
field and she sees the giantbeast with the body of a man,
the hooves, the head of a goat.
But it wasn't looking at her,it was shoveling some sort of
creature remains just into itsmouth.
She just stood there like withboth hands eating.
She states that in that momentshe's never felt more human or
immortal and was convinced shewas going to die, knowing that
(22:47):
she was looking at the predatorof the legend.
So she knew of the legend, shesaid.
She became as quiet as shecould.
Her only thought was to not letit see her and she quickly made
her way back home.
So that's at least someevidence that there might be
something lurking around in thearea, but kind of that right
hook that I told you was coming.
So Ron Shieldnecht he was alocal filmmaker and he spends
(23:11):
two years in the 80s, learningall that he could from all the
different origin stories andtalking to people, and he's you
know, he's like a college kidbut he decides he's going to
make a film about it.
He's a filmmaker, he spent$6,000 and in two years, and in
1988, he unveils the movie theLegend of the Public Monster.
(23:33):
Now 1988, there's took him twoyears.
There's three deaths on ourlist that happened over the
course of him making this movieokay, yeah, okay so he says most
of it was shot in the localarea, right on the trestle.
He admits, though, that with allof the different stories he put
his own spin on the legend, and, from his own imagination, he
(23:55):
is the one who came up with theidea of the beast having
hypnotic powers and eyes thatlured people onto the tracks
okay, so he's saying that it'salways well before he started
making this film.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
It was a thing but it didn't have.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
It did not have the hypnotism, it was more of the
chasing with the axe, thestalking in the woods.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
So we're to believe at this moment that those three
people went up there before theyknew it could hypnotize you,
just like it could just beyielding an axe and just it
seemed like it was still part ofthe legend that he would be on
the bridge.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
But not the hypnotizing and stuff that's now
, like the, the main story.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Now okay, continue.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
I found a video of him talking about it and he says
, you know, regretfully now, oralmost regretfulness in his
voice, where he says that histake on the story is now fully
ingrained into the legend.
You can really like see pain onhis face when he talks about
this and he says it was not hisintent to have people die
because of highlighting andadding to it.
(25:01):
He was just trying to make afun film or, you know, a horror
film off of a local legend.
One really sad part is he sayshe'd often get calls from the
local news asking to use clipsfrom the film and he always
responded in the same way.
When this would happen, he saidif you're asking to use the
clips, that means anotherperson's died, doesn't it?
And the answer was always yesperson's died, doesn't it?
Speaker 1 (25:25):
And the answer was always yes.
This might be like an unpopularopinion, but I don't know if I
would feel bad if I were him,only because I get where he's
coming from.
But you're making a horror filmlike not a documentary or
whatever, like you're justmaking something about a legend,
right, that happens all thetime and all the time he does
(25:45):
put a rider on the film.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Okay when they before it goes live, but after they
wrap up filming with a messagebecause people died during the
filming saying this is a verydangerous place yeah, don't go
do this, but I just mean, like Iget it, I guess I would feel I
think it's.
It comes from an empathy, youknow like yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
, I don't should he feel bad?
No, but how could you not?
Speaker 1 (26:08):
right, right, but I guess I just like, if they're
already going, right, people arealready going.
This is where this legend camefrom.
This is why this movie startedto be made.
People continue to go.
And then he just added but Iguess, if the movie wasn't out
yet, how did they know that?
That's what he was talkingabout.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
So he put the writer on the film saying it was
dangerous.
But now what he's saying hereis after the film came out.
Oh, when he gets calls from thenews companies.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
No, that's not what I meant.
To use the clips.
No, I meant how did people knowabout the hypnotizing stuff
ahead of time?
But you're just saying that wasjust after the movie.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Right.
So they would say he wouldchase you across it, the whole
hypnotizing turning into thetrain.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got that part, but I thought he
was already telling people thatbefore, but you're just saying
people started then knowing thatafter no, because remember, the
origins of all this in the areastarted in the 30s, so he's
just jumping on it.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
50 years later, he, his movie, just gets popular
yeah being that people diedduring the filming.
He's like, well, we should put,before this goes live, a
warning at the end yeah, no, I'msorry, I thought you were
saying that yeah, so the guiltcame in more later during the
the you know pain came in later,during the news clips yeah, I
don't think he should feelguilty, but I get it.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
I mean whatever.
But anyway, continue on.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
We'll come back to him, don't worry.
So let's talk about the companythat owns the tracks and the
trestle.
So this would be NorfolkSouthern, and at the beginning,
when people were passing awayfrom being up on the trestle,
they did take someresponsibility for the danger of
the track and they would oftenhelp pay for the funerals okay
(27:51):
as more and more people wereinjured or killed.
Yeah, they can't.
They stopped doing that andthey enforced other measures.
Measures such as fences, signs,no, no trespassing notices
everywhere, and it was kind of atheir whole shtick was the
first time you're being removedin trespass, the second time
(28:11):
it's a misdemeanor, which?
Speaker 1 (28:13):
makes sense, but honestly I think you don't.
I think the first timeshouldn't, if you've been in a
misdemeanor, If people are thengoing back.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
No.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Yeah, obviously, though, it hasn't stopped people
.
You can see idiots, uh, withtheir youtube videos, get you
know all very like teenage kidsall getting hyped, all going
across the thing, right I?
There's a really good huludocumentary that covered a lot
of this and even like, uh, theyshow how easy it is to get past
the fences, so it's this.
And even like, they show howeasy it is to get past the
fences so it's secured, but it'snot well secured from Norfolk
(28:46):
Southern, but also like I thinkover time it's gotten like when
you and I were there, it is veryclearly posted and it would be
difficult even to get up there.
So the same documentary alsointerviewed a train engineer who
crossed the bridge over athousand times during the 35
years he worked for NorfolkSouthern.
(29:07):
His name is Bernice WayneGentry.
He is now retired.
This poor man.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
So he states that he's been involved in so many
accidents on the trestle that hetried not to keep count, but
his claim agent told him thatthe number of accidents was 43
at his own hand oh yeah, he didyears of therapy because he was
unable to sleep.
Um, a quote from him.
This is heartbreaking.
(29:36):
At the last second peoplerealize they can't beat the
train and they stop and look upat you.
It never leaves your memory.
It's a scary bridge and I'vecrossed it more than a thousand
times.
The speed limit is 35 miles anhour.
Can you outrun a train goingthat fast?
There's no railing and thetrain hangs off about a foot.
They used to have a barrelstand in the center that was
(29:58):
removed as they found it enticedmore people to cross with a
false sense of safety.
This man amazing.
He now spends his time going tolocal schools to talk to kids
about the danger of playing onor near railroad trucks good for
him with the vital lesson.
And this is so denise coded youmake the choices, you pay the
(30:19):
consequences.
Good for him.
I think he is great.
I think norfolk southern hasdone kind of the bare minimum of
what they could do.
But so that same friend ofsavannah bright who was the last
one to pass she I'm kind ofwith you, I was on the fence
about it, she made a really goodpoint and she says they need to
(30:39):
take the safety more seriously,put up more signs, block it off
a bit better or put the standson the side.
That's the biggest thing for me.
At least put stands up there sopeople have a chance to get off
.
And then it is reasonable to goafter them legally for
trespassing because at leastthey're not dead.
And it's a tough line becauseon one hand, putting a walk on
(31:06):
the side, I just you know.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
I guess you could it's a tough call.
It's a tough call listen, Ithink people are going to come
for me for this, but I don'tthink they should have to do
that now.
I think that because, yeah, youshouldn't be trespassing you,
should I.
I think there's signs for bothof them, if we want to raise
money and we want to help thiscompany do that and petition and
(31:28):
things like that.
That's different, and I don'tthink that that's school or as a
parent.
Hey, that railroad track isactually functioning.
I don't know where you heardthat.
It wasn't, but it's functioning.
I understand that kids aregoing to be kids, but here's the
(31:52):
thing Kids are going to be kidseither way.
So you put that up there.
They're going to be kids.
You tell them parents, teachers, whatever, tell them not to go.
They're still going to fuckinggo.
I don't necessarily think thatthat's the railroad company's
fault, I just don't.
It's the same thing as usbreaking into cemeteries or
breaking into abandonedbuildings.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
They don't have to put things around an abandoned
building so that kids don't gointo them.
I know it's completelydifferent, but it's a
functioning railroad track.
Make it very known.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
There's definitely an argument to be made on either
side, for sure, and I will saylet's just put a pin in it for
now, because I'm ending thiswith a quote that you are going
to love.
Okay, all of everything beingsaid, real or fake, the story is
not going anywhere.
It's been handed down throughgenerations.
Its popularity is onlyincreasing and a lot of people
are just kind of like holdingtheir breath waiting for the
(32:45):
next tragedy.
There is an annual festival inthe Pope Lake Park called the
Goatman Festival, which I amtorn on.
This one On one side.
It brings a lot of tourism tothe town and the event
coordinators say this gives thechance for everyone to have a
safe goat man experience becausethey do a tour from the bottom.
(33:07):
You saw that walk we could dofrom the park to there.
They have a whole thing in thepark.
You know where people dress uplike any other goat man or a
mothman festival or any of thoseothers that you know.
Every local cryptid has afestival.
Now it seems like yeah but thenthere's people on the other side
who are pissed that it justcreates a lot more buzz around
(33:27):
this legend.
That is gonna maybe entice morekids to go up there I guess it
depends on we've never gone tothe festival.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
I guess it depends on how they steer the festival.
If they're steering it as in,this is dangerous as all hell.
But again, kids are going to bekids.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
They already know it's dangerous the festival is
set up in a way that they givetons of warnings and they, their
whole thing is yep, thelegend's here.
We're going to teach about it,we're going to celebrate it,
we're going to have fun, butwe're also going to talk about
what happened.
So, uh, the filmmaker ron, heactually will do screenings at
the festival and then he comesand does a speech about the
(34:06):
danger of it afterwards.
Um, so this is where you weresaying he shouldn't feel bad.
So there's a quote from him.
That's you know, hold on, Iknow I well, it ties into this.
So his, the quote from him,states my perspective has
changed over time.
It's tough that something youdo for the sake of art comes
with real human tragedy.
But not telling the storiesisn't the answer.
(34:27):
It gives you a chance to notonly promote the stories but
also the stories of those whohave passed, as well as the
dangers, which I think is kindof exactly what you're saying,
like you can't feel bad aboutsomething that you've created,
taking lives, but what you cando then right, is still
celebrate what you've createdand have a message that might
keep others safe.
That's not the quote though Itold you you would love.
(34:49):
At the very end, there's onemore coming for you.
Okay, so, mr gentry, ourengineer, sweet sweet man he's
sweet, but he's intense.
Okay, he don't.
He don't fuck around, he don'tmince his words.
You and I could give a warningstatement all we want.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
I don't think it would have the same effect, um I
would say do you want to saveit to the absolute end?
Speaker 2 (35:09):
because I'm not.
Oh, this is, this is no, butI'm not done.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Oh, okay, okay, so do you want to?
No, you go, take it away so howdo you feel about this festival
?
Speaker 2 (35:19):
I?
I am very torn.
I'm here for it and the reasonbeing is because people are
going to want an experienceeither way.
They already know about thelegend At least it's a safe one.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
It's not going away.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
At least this is an outlet that has warnings, that
has guided tours from the bottomand it allows people to maybe
get that out of their system.
I'm okay with it.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Do you know if the families of victims are invited
to come speak or if there's anymemorial or anything for the
victims there?
Speaker 2 (35:50):
They do talk about the victims.
I know a lot of the familiesare very, very against it.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Well, I would imagine they're against it.
I just wanted to know if theywere invited.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
I couldn't tell you that.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Okay.
So my thought is I kind ofthink it's fucking shitty.
I think that it's kind ofterrible that you're going to
have a festival around kidsdying and I know they're not all
kids, but people dying but inthe same sentiment, I think that
if you're doing it tastefullyand we don't actually know
(36:21):
because we've never gone, andyou are being respectful and
you're honoring them and you'retrying to teach people, then I
think that's cool.
I don't think he should showhis film.
I'm going to be completelyhonest.
I think that's kind of shitty.
I think that's actually realshitty.
That's just my opinion, becauseI think that that's what brings
like the excitement to it.
(36:42):
I think that if you are makingit of a memorial and like hey,
you're teaching, like maybe thelesson of him is because we
don't steal land from each otherwe don't steal or we don't the
reason that he was here becauseof this and this I think that
maybe that could be the oneargument I'll make, that I think
it's, and I I looked into thisbecause I was really kind of
(37:03):
pissed about the film at first.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Here's why I like it.
He plays the writer at the endoriginally, and then he comes
out and talks to people and sayI created this part of the
legend.
This is not real, this was frommy imagination.
If the goat man's real, heexists out here, he does not
exist to lure you up there.
No, I like that part, but Idon't know if the goat man's
real he exists out here, he doesnot exist to lure you up there.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
No, I like that part, but I don't know, if the film
necessarily needs to be shown atthe festival I don't know.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
I I think that's just part of also the on the flip
side of it, and this isconsumerist bullshit.
I get it, but there's alsotourism and funds that flow into
the town because of thesethings that they do, and it's
not a very wealthy place.
I it town because of thesethings that they do and it's not
a very wealthy place.
It's one of those things whereyou know, I think if the legend
wasn't as pervasive as italready was, I think downright
(37:52):
awful the fact that they'retrying to find a safer outlet.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
No, I agree with that .
I don't know.
I don't know if I think thatthe festival needs to happen.
I think that maybe it doesn'tneed to be a festival to like be
about.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
Or maybe we move the festival further from the bridge
and just into the area.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
And then just make it like maybe it's not, like I
don't know.
I think maybe it doesn't haveto be anything about the Goatman
.
I think it maybe needs to bemore of the like danger.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
And then we maybe take that time to like teach
people about the dangers of thattype of stuff, because I can
definitely see why the familieswould be so against this and
it's just like despicable incertain ways.
But then I can go on the otherend and understand that, like if
we are truly trying to not justcapitalize and teach people,
which we know that that's notthe reason, though that's the
(38:46):
problem is that capitalism isfirst, and then the oh, let's
just try to teach people.
I think that's what's hard forthe families is that if it was
to teach people first, it wouldmake it would make it better.
Speaker 2 (39:00):
Absolutely.
I will say this.
It's one of the ones where,when I started looking into this
, I didn't realize how dark itwas going to get.
It's tough, and so, again, Ialmost scrapped it about halfway
through and I'm like, well, no,I think it is important to talk
about the dangers of it.
Like I said, we went and visitedit.
We went and stood at the bottom.
(39:20):
We did not pass any sign andjust reading the memorial was
really, I mean, when you standthere, it puts it into such
perspective.
So, protect your life, don't goup on the bridge.
35 trains a day still go acrossit, and better than you or I
could say it.
Here's their quote from theengineer Okay, it's not a who or
what.
That's responsible.
(39:41):
It's an individual choice.
Every time it's not an accident.
You chose to be there, youchose to take a chance and you
risked your life.
Don't go.
Don't go up there.
Oh, that is perfectly sad,because that's how exactly I'm
feeling, and that's where thatquote at the end of this doc
that I watched made me feelslightly better about the film
(40:01):
and the festival and everythingelse, Because at the end of the
day, you have autonomy, you havea choice.
You cannot get up there withoutpassing all these signs that
say it's dangerous and his wholething is you.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
I'm arguing that I don't think that the train track
should be responsible forputting more precautions,
because I just yeah, it'd beawesome if they did.
Don't get me wrong.
But again, you have autonomy.
You went up there.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
But then if you're going to take that stance, you
almost have to say the samething about the festival.
They don't have to be the onestelling you not to go up there
or do it.
You know it's like, yeah, it's,they're enjoying it, they're
giving you a safe outlet.
Speaker 1 (40:48):
We can't say it's a shitty thing for them to do it,
then I don't know yeah we cananytime you have a festival
around the fact that people died, but you're promoting the
quote-unquote legend around it.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
I don't know about that, I just don't I disagree
with you only on the fact thatthe legend is there whether the
festival is or isn't, and ifthey can change more people's
mind and give a safer outlook,I'm okay.
Speaker 1 (41:09):
Well, that's what I'm saying.
I think that if it would havestarted that way which I highly
doubt it did I could be wrong.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
I don't know when it started actually.
Speaker 1 (41:27):
But I don't care when it started, I, I'm just saying
did it start to?
Speaker 2 (41:28):
memorialize these deaths and to teach safety?
Or did it just start becausesomebody wanted to start a
festival?
Speaker 1 (41:30):
about a cryptid.
Oh yeah, it started in 2025.
Speaker 2 (41:32):
Yeah, see I don't think that's cool.
No, I'm not going to trustgoogle on that one, because the
documentary that I watched wasit's all right, you know what
you guys weigh in yeah, we'regoing to debate all night.
Yes, that's the story ofPopelik.
On this one, I'm going to say abridge and the circle with the
slash through it, you know, likethe don't go.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
Well then it would be the don't go first.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
Yes, don't go or no no bridge, no bridge.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Oh, did you hear that thunder?
Speaker 2 (42:01):
that was so loud.
Well, we're finishing just intime.
Then I jumped yeah, we've hadsome crazy storms come through
today.
Um, okay, so that's it on ourtwo episodes of kentucky madness
for you guys.
Let's close the shop up for theday.
What do people need to do, cara?
Speaker 1 (42:16):
I mean, first off, tell us how you feel about this,
because I'm dying to knowneither one of us are right or
wrong, and we're not mad at eachother as much as we debate, but
we'd love to know no one'strying to win here.
I just want to know what youguys think.
Also, give us some stories andgive us some thoughts of things
that you want us to talk about,because we're not running low,
(42:37):
but we're kind of running lowand the most important thing
that you can do for us is tocreeperill your little eyeballs.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
Goodbye, bye.
Speaker 1 (42:45):
And join our Patreon.
Thank you At the Irish Shop.
The door's always open At theIrish Shop.
I want to dance with the mothman At the ID shop,
bathed in the moonlight At theID shop.
Creep through the graveyard Tothe ID shop.
The door's always open At theID shop.
(00:36):
Welcome back to the Oddity Shop, my little oddballs.
I'm your curator, cara.
This is your wonderful curator,zach, and this is the podcast
where we tell you creepy, odd,weird, strange and bizarre
stories from everywhere.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, yeah, how are you?
Speaker 1 (00:51):
I'm great.
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I am doing pretty good.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Okay, good to hear.
Good to hear Okay.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
So, in case anybody wasn't sick of Kentucky last
week, you and I must have hadthe same ideas, because I also
wrote a Kentucky-based episode,but I know I'm skipping ahead.
But we almost forgot to telleverybody about the unexpected
highlight of the trip the bestpart about the whole trip the
thing that we might quit thepodcast to start our own
(01:19):
franchise of Just kidding.
We would never do that, but wewere tempted.
Do you want to tell them, sinceit's on your shirt?
We still could do it yes.
We could, we could do both.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
We're at Cave Hill Cemetery and I know that Zach
kind of saw it first but I sawit, but I don't think it
registered to what it was andit's PG&J's Dog Park Bar.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Listen, they need to rip that sign down and rename it
, because it is just heaven onearth.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
So basically, it is so cute.
We go in there and I do havesome videos.
But you go in there and you, ifyou don't have a dog, you have
to sign a little waiver.
And what did she tell us?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
That they might bite your phalanges off.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yeah, and you have to be OK with that.
So we signed a little waiver.
Then they have a little gatesystem.
So you open one gate, you getin, you wait until you can go
and you open so that no dogs aregoing to get out.
And there are dogs runningeverywhere, free roam everywhere
and it's a bar A beautiful bar.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
It's an indoor bar.
It's so cool, with literally adog park and splash pad and like
toys and everything in the back.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
That's all outdoors, yeah, outside.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
So there's like two parts of it.
Listen, the bartender couldn'tmake a drink without throwing
ice on the ground for dogs tojust chew on.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Shout out to Ashley.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
One person's job was just to like spray dogs with
hoses and play with them.
It was the best case I've neverI've seen such happy workers in
a customer serviceestablishment in my entire life
be workers in a customer serviceestablishment in my entire life
.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Because how could you even be mad?
And if I'm sorry, if you'regoing there, you're a good
person, you're going to be in agood mood because you're
bringing your dog there oryou're going to see dogs, so I
don't even think you could havea bad customer either.
No, I don't think you can havea bad day there.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
We sat down.
We're like we're going to havetwo beers, then we have.
And then a couple hours went by, three and a half, and we made
friends with humans and dogs.
It was that was just amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
I'll have videos up everywhere because everyone has
to experience this place.
People were DMing us from likeour stories, like where are you?
I would never leave.
Or like why do you think wemissed half of the event we were
supposed to be here for?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I missed a drag show.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Okay, which?
Speaker 2 (03:24):
is one of my favorite events and we were.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
We had every intention of going.
But how we met so many dogsconrad and leroy banks and
parker, the little old, seniorone, and shout out if any of you
pups are listening oh god, itwas incredible.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
But then, in case anybody hadn't watched the guest
episode, we did with Ken Boggle.
We told him we were coming tohis neck of the woods and he
took us out for dinner and wegot to meet his partner and mom,
his well, his chosen mama, hischosen mother and her new
partner.
Oh my god, they were just sowonderful in person.
Listen if you thought Ken hadbig energy, if you listened to
(04:03):
our episode like through arecording oh my god, that man
has an air about him.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
He does.
But when you say big energy, Ithink that can be construed as
bad.
It was such a lovely, intimatebeautiful, oh my god, yes, and
we had so much fun.
Ken ordered every literallyevery appetizer on there except
for like two, I think, and wejust shared all the appetizers
and we ate our food.
We we got so full and we justhad such a.
That actually is probably oneof my favorite moments of like
that really was.
It was just so cool that it wasjust such an intimate little
(04:32):
dinner.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Right, I loved it.
No, I loved it.
I loved every second of thattrip, obviously, since this is
now our second episode coveringthings about it- I swear when I
finally do the TikTok of a dayin Kentucky with us.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
That is the longest day of our lives.
We did so many things that oneday, one day, you know.
Did you ever watch what hadAmerican Summer?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Oh, that's the summer camp one right.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
It's an indie movie.
Yeah, it's become bigger aswe've gotten older.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
It is so good.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yeah, but that had like everybody in it it did, but
none of them were good and itwas at like a festival, summer
film festival.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Was that really?
Yes, that's where BradleyCooper, like, got his start.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Yeah, but none of those people were known then.
And anyway, that whole movietakes place in one day.
It's like the longest day ever,and that's what I feel like.
Our day was Cemetery, dog parkdinner with Boggle, then we went
, went to a.
We kind of saw a drag show fora little bit we went yeah, we
did.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Then we went downtown louisville and like saw all
kinds of stuff, oh my gosh, yeah, no, louisville, honestly one
holy.
I know we were there for anlgbt event, but the entire city
is way more accepting than Iwould have thought for the south
, and that's just myclosed-mindedness of like what I
thought.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Every new friend that we met told us that they don't
tell people that they live inKentucky.
They say that we live inLouisville.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Right, right, yeah, no, it was it.
Honestly, that city kind of bitme like I could go spend, so
much more time.
Oh, yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
All right.
Should we open the shop, though, for another Kentucky?
Speaker 1 (06:01):
episode.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Do you have a question for me?
I do have a question for you.
Okay, and I feel like this islike a very fatherly question.
If your friend jumped off abridge, would you fair?
Now, with that being said,never follow your friends up or
down bridges or trespassing,because I've got a story for you
today, also obviously from wellnear louisville, it is from
(06:28):
fisherville, kentucky, and thisis where myth and, unfortunately
, mortality have collided overthe years.
So the legend states that ahorned beast waits atop a
trestle bridge made for trainsthat waits to lure victims to
their demise.
So tonight, cara, for you Ihave the story of the Popelik
(06:51):
Bridge, its very own monster,and a huge word of warning for
you.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Okay, I do know a little bit of this.
I'm not going to lie to youguys.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
But I don't know all the deets.
So here's the deal.
Deal is we decided we weregoing to do kentucky episodes
before we went to kentucky.
Yep, then we were going tovisit the sites yes however,
life had a different way with usand, uh, recording got pushed
back.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
So now we've gone to the places we were going to
write about and write about themafterwards Okay, which is kind
of cool, though.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
You know, honestly, it gave me a little bit of a
different perspective,especially on this one.
So here's the caveat before weget going is the place that we
are actually going to talk aboutis extremely, extremely,
extremely dangerous.
And if you're going to go, gofor the right reasons and stay
(07:46):
only where it is safe, which ison the ground and not crossing
any fences.
Okay, perfect in the 1800s.
A trestle bridge is built inthe north, or built north of the
popelik park in je County,kentucky, and it services a rail
crossing to get across what wascalled the Popelik Creek, which
(08:09):
is, like it's, just a fewminutes outside of Louisville.
The bridge itself is over 90feet tall and spans 772 feet.
It's made out of mostly steel,with the wooden bars.
Where the train tracks are it'sreally really thin, so like
passing trains actually likehang off the edges of it,
(08:29):
because the bridge itself is notvery much wider than a train
track at all.
Maybe what?
Six inches on each side?
Yes, yeah, and it's just kindof like a creepy looking
structure so it really is, it'svery e.
It's definitely eerie.
Like you, you feel an eerinesswhen you walk up to this thing.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
I feel like when you look at it, you don't know what
it is.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
No, I feel like the local legend now, like those
people know.
But yeah, you just see like asteel structure through, like
dense trees.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
I would have never known what that was.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Absolutely.
And when we say it's a trainbridge, the trains are still
active.
So yes, they are friends beforefisherville kentucky got built
up or anything um, or all theother little towns around there,
or the rail itself.
It was, of course, native land,and the poplar creek was really
, really special to them becauseit brought resources like fresh
(09:21):
water and tons of animals tohunt because there was lots of
resources.
That means it also brought inthe settlers and they started to
fight over the land.
Of course, as everything elsein america, the settlers
eventually take the land fromthe natives with a ton of
fighting and bloodshed along thecreek, which kind of gave rise
(09:41):
to a legend that the land wascursed.
Okay, so let's get into thelegend of the monster.
Let's go okay, uh, the name ofthe monster is one we've
actually heard before, but it'san entirely different beast with
its own legend.
So it is another goat man, okay, but this is the goat man of
(10:02):
pope lick creek, otherwise knownas the Popelik Monster.
Okay, nobody really knows forcertain where the monster came
from, where the origin story was, but we do know at least it was
pre-1930s or started around.
Sorry, excuse me, startedaround the 1930s, okay.
Which is after the constructionof the trestle, at least that's
(10:23):
as far back as we know mestarted around the 1930s, okay,
which is after the constructionof the trestle, at least like
that's as far back as we know.
So it seems like, okay, thebridge was built and then the
stories kind of came around, butit's, you know, shoddy record
keeping of now.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
If you're gonna get into this, then you can just
tell me to shut up.
But do we think that because ofthe building of the bridge it
like lured him out, or we justwe, I'm, I will get into it.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
I have a couple of the building of the bridge it
like lured him out or we, we I'm.
I will get into it.
I have a couple of the differentpossible origin stories and
then kind of a right twist inthe middle of all this okay,
let's go the description of thebeast is that he is over 10 feet
tall, with long fingers, sharpnails, the body of a man, but
(11:05):
from the knees down it is goat,and hooves, yeah, and then the
head of a goat with its bright,glowing, hypnotizing eyes and
short, sharp horns raising fromits head.
Okay, not something that I wouldever want to cross in the
middle of the night, not reallyreally.
What you were saying, rightlike, yeah, we, we've known its
(11:25):
popularity at least took off inthe 30s, but he really got
popular from the 30s to the 80s,before there was internet or
really anything.
So there's a lot of differentorigin stories, so the most
common one I could find is thathe is actually an escaped
sideshow freak that was anattraction on a traveling circus
, and one day the circus istraveling through kentucky by
(11:48):
train and it mysteriouslycrashes and derails near the
trestle.
Oh pon derailing, the half man,half goat creature escapes and
is said to have taken upresidence in the woods around
popelik, getting revenge on thehumans who captured him, laughed
at him, and in this story hewields an axe.
(12:09):
Okay, like, chase you throughthe woods the second, this one
kind of reminds me of our ummontauk monster that he was a
government experiment gone wrongand that he is the result of
secret military experiments or aincorrectly uh, executed
bioengineering test that wassupposedly deep in the woods of
(12:32):
kentucky.
And now this monster bred forwarfare wonders, free, unstable
and violent.
And then there is anotherclaiming that he was a demonic
entity or manifestation of Satanhimself, summoned through
occult rituals performed in thearea, and now he waits to lure
people, to drive them insane orpossess them.
(12:53):
Okay, and the last one, and Ithink, if there's any any truth
to this story at all, this isthe one that kind of does it for
me.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
But Okay, because I don't like any of those other
ones.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Right, they just seem like your typical lore stories.
You know, like your, yourcrybaby bridge, your woman in
white.
You know, like those legends,that might not be real, but we
fed them enough energy.
Another one says that the goatman actually was indigenous to
the land well before anybodylived there, yes, and that he
(13:24):
was a protector of the area,that he was actually very
peaceful at the beginning and,as you know, the settlers
started to fight the natives andthere's fighting over the land.
He went from humble andfriendly protector to this more
sinister hateful of humans being.
Over time, that's like you'vedestroyed all the nature.
(13:45):
For what?
yeah, that's what I wouldobviously go with I mean that
one at least I feel like it.
Like the sideshow, theengineering, those all just seem
like, you know, local lore typeof legend.
But yeah whatever he truly isand whether he even exists at
all.
He is noted as being decryptedwith the highest confirmed kill
(14:06):
count and this is like, not like.
Oh, he's killed hundreds of,like you know, noted.
We have noted many wellresearched, well documented okay
, I'll leave my thoughts forlater.
Yes, so this is due to the fact,though, that what the legend at
least the surviving legendstoday say that the pope, like
(14:29):
monster, lurks through the woodsat night waiting for its next
victim, where, through hypnosis,it lures the unsuspecting onto
the trestle bridge.
And maybe this hypnosis sets inwhen you look into his eyes, or
maybe after hearing itsunnerving cow-like noises.
But whatever it is, once you'reon those tracks and looking
into the eyes, all sound goesquiet, your vision is fixed and
(14:59):
his eyes get larger and larger,until, all of a sudden, the
sound comes back.
The next moment, the beast isgone and you're staring at a
train barreling right towardsyou, with no options to either
get hit by the train or to jumpoff of the trestle.
I think you can all see wherethis is going to go, and it is.
It's going to get pretty darkand pretty sad from here.
Um again, you can also see howthis has all those bits of a
(15:23):
story that me this would havegot me.
As a teenager, I would havebeen interested in going up on
the tracks.
What I'm going to say is don't,simply don't.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Well, it's just not.
There's nothing in it that'sworth it.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Absolutely.
It's at best an adrenaline rush.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
If you're, if you're going off of the legend, then
you don't have a choice, Right,because he's luring you, yeah,
which I don't think he is.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Then just steer clear of the thing.
Anyway, just don't walk out inthose woods.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Right, it's not worth the risk, just don't do it.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Unless you go during the daytime, and there's plenty
of people biking like we did,okay, unless you go during the
daytime, and there's plenty ofpeople biking like we did, okay.
So locals of present day thoughFisherville which is that
suburb that's right near thetrestle they know very well the
tragedy that comes with it.
However, it hasn't stoppedlocals, for over 70 years, from
going out to have theirthrill-seeking adventure to look
for the creature.
(16:18):
It's only gotten more popularas the internet's taken off and
we have literally people likeourselves and pushing the story,
um, everyone looking to have agoatman experience.
I know we we're a little bitjust online personalities,
people who post everything outthere.
At least we're saying from thetop, in the middle and at the
end and a couple more timesthroughout don't do this shit,
(16:40):
but yeah.
So over the years, though, many,many people have climbed up
there going ghost hunt ormonster hunting, thinking the
tracks are abandoned, becausethat's also another local rumor
and dozens of people have losttheir life, so much so that when
we were there, you can see theentire bottom of the support is
a memorial for one person.
(17:02):
So sad, but there's a.
You know we were, we werewalking up and we had.
We had talked about gettingflowers too and unfortunately we
could not find them.
But we were walking up and wewere reading and looking over
the memorial and somebody wentby on a bike and just shouted
and it was so eerie, she goes.
The moral of the story is justdon't go up there like yeah,
(17:22):
it's a heavy place, whetherthere's a monster or not.
Okay, yeah.
So just to go over a couple ofthe victims uh, 1968, charles
bam, 17 years old.
He was struck and killed by anoncoming train as he and two
friends attempted to cross thetrestle on a dare.
1984, sean fleishman, 20,.
(17:43):
He survives but had severeinjuries after a fall because he
was dodging a train.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
How did he fall that and survive?
Speaker 2 (17:51):
I don't know.
I mean it's 90 feet into treesand water.
1985, the next year, john List,age 30, he was struck by a
train on there.
He was up on the trestle with afriend.
They had been trying to irk thegoat man by shooting crows.
His friend was able to hang onto the cross ties while the
(18:15):
train passed.
John List, though, was within30 feet of the end of the bridge
when he was struck, 1986,.
We have Davidid bryant uh,another one who survived
originally and then, within sixmonths, passed from his injuries
oh my god another, charles bam.
Charles bam, the second, alsoaged 17, like the first one.
(18:37):
Almost 20 years later he wasstruck.
1992, we have Grady 19, who wasa University of Miami student,
who was up on the trestle atabout 2 in the morning and when
they saw the train coming, triedto hang on to the edge but lost
their grip.
Yeah, 1993, christina Butt wasup there with two other friends
(19:01):
and three young men.
They had thought it wasabandoned.
See a light coming from anoncoming train.
All tried to run but Christinatripped and fell.
Yeah, she thankfully made itout better than some of her
friends, but she, after she fell, laid off the side and actually
had to be rescued, holding onso tight and watching some of
(19:23):
her friends not make it I don'tthink everyone has to look at
pictures of this, because Idon't even understand how you do
survive, because there'snowhere for you to go.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
So how?
Speaker 2 (19:32):
did they even survive ?
There's nowhere to go, there'sno like I'm confused.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
It's I, I don't know like unless you were lucky
enough to be by the um where youcan literally like kind of
almost throw your body off andlike hold on to the support
beams, like that's the only way.
But they're not.
But even then, they're very farin between.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Trains going by and rattling too.
You know what I mean Wellthat's what I mean.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
I just don't even understand how any of these
people would survive.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
So 1994, james Reiterman of these people would
survive.
So, 1994 james riderman, 2000.
Nicholas jewel, age 19.
James was 35.
Nicholas, age 19, 2016.
Raquel bain she was with herboyfriend.
She fell, he clung to the sideand also again watched his
girlfriend at the time pass away.
And I think, probably the mostrecent one and um whose family
and friends have been the mostvocal about saying we know
(20:27):
there's a legend, we know you'regoing to be tempted to go up
there.
Don't do it.
This would be in 2019, 15 yearold Savannah Bright, who is
knocked off the side by a trainand was pronounced dead by a
scene or at the scene, with her,her friend, being in critical
condition.
So there are so, so many morethan this that it's recorded as
(20:48):
dozens.
Uh, we'll get into anotherstory in a minute of a gentleman
who's really gonna put some ofit into light, but I did find a
video from the surviving bestfriend of savannah, savannah
bright, um, and she says I'm notsure what they knew about the
story of the goat man, but Ipersonally believe that helped
motivate them.
And she says I'm not sure whatthey knew about the story of the
goat man, but I personallybelieve that helped motivate
them.
And she's talking aboutsavannah and her other, she.
Well, she didn't go, she did notgo yeah, okay, that's what
(21:11):
helped motivate them, and that'swhere the thrill seeking comes
into play.
People that go up onto thetrain trestle that look for the
goat man it's supposed, uh.
Or people go up onto that traintrestle to look for the goat
man it's supposed to be silent,and you know he's caught you
when you've seen his eyes thatslowly morph into the train,
hiding behind him the realdanger kind of what you were
(21:32):
saying earlier, though there's.
There's been some hot debate onwhether the monster is real and
it's actually doing some of theluring right, or if it's just a
story that's been passed downthrough the years, and there's
two big camps on that, but allof them agree there's been too
many tragedies.
I was really only able to findone who had some like an
(21:56):
experience that could lead tothe goat man being more real,
and sorry, you were going to saysomething.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Oh, I was just going to say, I guess at, at this
point it doesn't fucking matter,it doesn't matter just don't go
no.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
So lexi vance she says she actually had an
encounter with the real lifemonster.
So she was having troublesleeping and went for a walk by
the bridge not on the bridge,she's walking down the road
surrounded by cornfields and shestarts to hear what she
describes as a low, auto-tunedcow noise.
Okay, so she was like pulled tolook to her, right into the
(22:27):
field and she sees the giantbeast with the body of a man,
the hooves, the head of a goat.
But it wasn't looking at her,it was shoveling some sort of
creature remains just into itsmouth.
She just stood there like withboth hands eating.
She states that in that momentshe's never felt more human or
immortal and was convinced shewas going to die, knowing that
(22:47):
she was looking at the predatorof the legend.
So she knew of the legend, shesaid.
She became as quiet as shecould.
Her only thought was to not letit see her and she quickly made
her way back home.
So that's at least someevidence that there might be
something lurking around in thearea, but kind of that right
hook that I told you was coming.
So Ron Shieldnecht he was alocal filmmaker and he spends
(23:11):
two years in the 80s, learningall that he could from all the
different origin stories andtalking to people, and he's you
know, he's like a college kidbut he decides he's going to
make a film about it.
He's a filmmaker, he spent$6,000 and in two years, and in
1988, he unveils the movie theLegend of the Public Monster.
(23:33):
Now 1988, there's took him twoyears.
There's three deaths on ourlist that happened over the
course of him making this movieokay, yeah, okay so he says most
of it was shot in the localarea, right on the trestle.
He admits, though, that with allof the different stories he put
his own spin on the legend, and, from his own imagination, he
(23:55):
is the one who came up with theidea of the beast having
hypnotic powers and eyes thatlured people onto the tracks
okay, so he's saying that it'salways well before he started
making this film.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
It was a thing but it didn't have.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
It did not have the hypnotism, it was more of the
chasing with the axe, thestalking in the woods.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
So we're to believe at this moment that those three
people went up there before theyknew it could hypnotize you,
just like it could just beyielding an axe and just it
seemed like it was still part ofthe legend that he would be on
the bridge.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
But not the hypnotizing and stuff that's now
, like the, the main story.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Now okay, continue.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
I found a video of him talking about it and he says
, you know, regretfully now, oralmost regretfulness in his
voice, where he says that histake on the story is now fully
ingrained into the legend.
You can really like see pain onhis face when he talks about
this and he says it was not hisintent to have people die
because of highlighting andadding to it.
(25:01):
He was just trying to make afun film or, you know, a horror
film off of a local legend.
One really sad part is he sayshe'd often get calls from the
local news asking to use clipsfrom the film and he always
responded in the same way.
When this would happen, he saidif you're asking to use the
clips, that means anotherperson's died, doesn't it?
And the answer was always yesperson's died, doesn't it?
Speaker 1 (25:25):
And the answer was always yes.
This might be like an unpopularopinion, but I don't know if I
would feel bad if I were him,only because I get where he's
coming from.
But you're making a horror filmlike not a documentary or
whatever, like you're justmaking something about a legend,
right, that happens all thetime and all the time he does
(25:45):
put a rider on the film.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Okay when they before it goes live, but after they
wrap up filming with a messagebecause people died during the
filming saying this is a verydangerous place yeah, don't go
do this, but I just mean, like Iget it, I guess I would feel I
think it's.
It comes from an empathy, youknow like yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
, I don't should he feel bad?
No, but how could you not?
Speaker 1 (26:08):
right, right, but I guess I just like, if they're
already going, right, people arealready going.
This is where this legend camefrom.
This is why this movie startedto be made.
People continue to go.
And then he just added but Iguess, if the movie wasn't out
yet, how did they know that?
That's what he was talkingabout.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
So he put the writer on the film saying it was
dangerous.
But now what he's saying hereis after the film came out.
Oh, when he gets calls from thenews companies.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
No, that's not what I meant.
To use the clips.
No, I meant how did people knowabout the hypnotizing stuff
ahead of time?
But you're just saying that wasjust after the movie.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Right.
So they would say he wouldchase you across it, the whole
hypnotizing turning into thetrain.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got that part, but I thought he
was already telling people thatbefore, but you're just saying
people started then knowing thatafter no, because remember, the
origins of all this in the areastarted in the 30s, so he's
just jumping on it.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
50 years later, he, his movie, just gets popular
yeah being that people diedduring the filming.
He's like, well, we should put,before this goes live, a
warning at the end yeah, no, I'msorry, I thought you were
saying that yeah, so the guiltcame in more later during the
the you know pain came in later,during the news clips yeah, I
don't think he should feelguilty, but I get it.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
I mean whatever.
But anyway, continue on.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
We'll come back to him, don't worry.
So let's talk about the companythat owns the tracks and the
trestle.
So this would be NorfolkSouthern, and at the beginning,
when people were passing awayfrom being up on the trestle,
they did take someresponsibility for the danger of
the track and they would oftenhelp pay for the funerals okay
(27:51):
as more and more people wereinjured or killed.
Yeah, they can't.
They stopped doing that andthey enforced other measures.
Measures such as fences, signs,no, no trespassing notices
everywhere, and it was kind of atheir whole shtick was the
first time you're being removedin trespass, the second time
(28:11):
it's a misdemeanor, which?
Speaker 1 (28:13):
makes sense, but honestly I think you don't.
I think the first timeshouldn't, if you've been in a
misdemeanor, If people are thengoing back.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
No.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Yeah, obviously, though, it hasn't stopped people
.
You can see idiots, uh, withtheir youtube videos, get you
know all very like teenage kidsall getting hyped, all going
across the thing, right I?
There's a really good huludocumentary that covered a lot
of this and even like, uh, theyshow how easy it is to get past
the fences, so it's this.
And even like, they show howeasy it is to get past the
fences so it's secured, but it'snot well secured from Norfolk
(28:46):
Southern, but also like I thinkover time it's gotten like when
you and I were there, it is veryclearly posted and it would be
difficult even to get up there.
So the same documentary alsointerviewed a train engineer who
crossed the bridge over athousand times during the 35
years he worked for NorfolkSouthern.
(29:07):
His name is Bernice WayneGentry.
He is now retired.
This poor man.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
So he states that he's been involved in so many
accidents on the trestle that hetried not to keep count, but
his claim agent told him thatthe number of accidents was 43
at his own hand oh yeah, he didyears of therapy because he was
unable to sleep.
Um, a quote from him.
This is heartbreaking.
(29:36):
At the last second peoplerealize they can't beat the
train and they stop and look upat you.
It never leaves your memory.
It's a scary bridge and I'vecrossed it more than a thousand
times.
The speed limit is 35 miles anhour.
Can you outrun a train goingthat fast?
There's no railing and thetrain hangs off about a foot.
They used to have a barrelstand in the center that was
(29:58):
removed as they found it enticedmore people to cross with a
false sense of safety.
This man amazing.
He now spends his time going tolocal schools to talk to kids
about the danger of playing onor near railroad trucks good for
him with the vital lesson.
And this is so denise coded youmake the choices, you pay the
(30:19):
consequences.
Good for him.
I think he is great.
I think norfolk southern hasdone kind of the bare minimum of
what they could do.
But so that same friend ofsavannah bright who was the last
one to pass she I'm kind ofwith you, I was on the fence
about it, she made a really goodpoint and she says they need to
(30:39):
take the safety more seriously,put up more signs, block it off
a bit better or put the standson the side.
That's the biggest thing for me.
At least put stands up there sopeople have a chance to get off
.
And then it is reasonable to goafter them legally for
trespassing because at leastthey're not dead.
And it's a tough line becauseon one hand, putting a walk on
(31:06):
the side, I just you know.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
I guess you could it's a tough call.
It's a tough call listen, Ithink people are going to come
for me for this, but I don'tthink they should have to do
that now.
I think that because, yeah, youshouldn't be trespassing you,
should I.
I think there's signs for bothof them, if we want to raise
money and we want to help thiscompany do that and petition and
(31:28):
things like that.
That's different, and I don'tthink that that's school or as a
parent.
Hey, that railroad track isactually functioning.
I don't know where you heardthat.
It wasn't, but it's functioning.
I understand that kids aregoing to be kids, but here's the
(31:52):
thing Kids are going to be kidseither way.
So you put that up there.
They're going to be kids.
You tell them parents, teachers, whatever, tell them not to go.
They're still going to fuckinggo.
I don't necessarily think thatthat's the railroad company's
fault, I just don't.
It's the same thing as usbreaking into cemeteries or
breaking into abandonedbuildings.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
They don't have to put things around an abandoned
building so that kids don't gointo them.
I know it's completelydifferent, but it's a
functioning railroad track.
Make it very known.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
There's definitely an argument to be made on either
side, for sure, and I will saylet's just put a pin in it for
now, because I'm ending thiswith a quote that you are going
to love.
Okay, all of everything beingsaid, real or fake, the story is
not going anywhere.
It's been handed down throughgenerations.
Its popularity is onlyincreasing and a lot of people
are just kind of like holdingtheir breath waiting for the
(32:45):
next tragedy.
There is an annual festival inthe Pope Lake Park called the
Goatman Festival, which I amtorn on.
This one On one side.
It brings a lot of tourism tothe town and the event
coordinators say this gives thechance for everyone to have a
safe goat man experience becausethey do a tour from the bottom.
(33:07):
You saw that walk we could dofrom the park to there.
They have a whole thing in thepark.
You know where people dress uplike any other goat man or a
mothman festival or any of thoseothers that you know.
Every local cryptid has afestival.
Now it seems like yeah but thenthere's people on the other side
who are pissed that it justcreates a lot more buzz around
(33:27):
this legend.
That is gonna maybe entice morekids to go up there I guess it
depends on we've never gone tothe festival.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
I guess it depends on how they steer the festival.
If they're steering it as in,this is dangerous as all hell.
But again, kids are going to bekids.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
They already know it's dangerous the festival is
set up in a way that they givetons of warnings and they, their
whole thing is yep, thelegend's here.
We're going to teach about it,we're going to celebrate it,
we're going to have fun, butwe're also going to talk about
what happened.
So, uh, the filmmaker ron, heactually will do screenings at
the festival and then he comesand does a speech about the
(34:06):
danger of it afterwards.
Um, so this is where you weresaying he shouldn't feel bad.
So there's a quote from him.
That's you know, hold on, Iknow I well, it ties into this.
So his, the quote from him,states my perspective has
changed over time.
It's tough that something youdo for the sake of art comes
with real human tragedy.
But not telling the storiesisn't the answer.
(34:27):
It gives you a chance to notonly promote the stories but
also the stories of those whohave passed, as well as the
dangers, which I think is kindof exactly what you're saying,
like you can't feel bad aboutsomething that you've created,
taking lives, but what you cando then right, is still
celebrate what you've createdand have a message that might
keep others safe.
That's not the quote though Itold you you would love.
(34:49):
At the very end, there's onemore coming for you.
Okay, so, mr gentry, ourengineer, sweet sweet man he's
sweet, but he's intense.
Okay, he don't.
He don't fuck around, he don'tmince his words.
You and I could give a warningstatement all we want.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
I don't think it would have the same effect, um I
would say do you want to saveit to the absolute end?
Speaker 2 (35:09):
because I'm not.
Oh, this is, this is no, butI'm not done.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Oh, okay, okay, so do you want to?
No, you go, take it away so howdo you feel about this festival
?
Speaker 2 (35:19):
I?
I am very torn.
I'm here for it and the reasonbeing is because people are
going to want an experienceeither way.
They already know about thelegend At least it's a safe one.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
It's not going away.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
At least this is an outlet that has warnings, that
has guided tours from the bottomand it allows people to maybe
get that out of their system.
I'm okay with it.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Do you know if the families of victims are invited
to come speak or if there's anymemorial or anything for the
victims there?
Speaker 2 (35:50):
They do talk about the victims.
I know a lot of the familiesare very, very against it.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Well, I would imagine they're against it.
I just wanted to know if theywere invited.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
I couldn't tell you that.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Okay.
So my thought is I kind ofthink it's fucking shitty.
I think that it's kind ofterrible that you're going to
have a festival around kidsdying and I know they're not all
kids, but people dying but inthe same sentiment, I think that
if you're doing it tastefullyand we don't actually know
(36:21):
because we've never gone, andyou are being respectful and
you're honoring them and you'retrying to teach people, then I
think that's cool.
I don't think he should showhis film.
I'm going to be completelyhonest.
I think that's kind of shitty.
I think that's actually realshitty.
That's just my opinion, becauseI think that that's what brings
like the excitement to it.
(36:42):
I think that if you are makingit of a memorial and like hey,
you're teaching, like maybe thelesson of him is because we
don't steal land from each otherwe don't steal or we don't the
reason that he was here becauseof this and this I think that
maybe that could be the oneargument I'll make, that I think
it's, and I I looked into thisbecause I was really kind of
(37:03):
pissed about the film at first.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Here's why I like it.
He plays the writer at the endoriginally, and then he comes
out and talks to people and sayI created this part of the
legend.
This is not real, this was frommy imagination.
If the goat man's real, heexists out here, he does not
exist to lure you up there.
No, I like that part, but Idon't know if the goat man's
real he exists out here, he doesnot exist to lure you up there.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
No, I like that part, but I don't know, if the film
necessarily needs to be shown atthe festival I don't know.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
I I think that's just part of also the on the flip
side of it, and this isconsumerist bullshit.
I get it, but there's alsotourism and funds that flow into
the town because of thesethings that they do, and it's
not a very wealthy place.
I it town because of thesethings that they do and it's not
a very wealthy place.
It's one of those things whereyou know, I think if the legend
wasn't as pervasive as italready was, I think downright
(37:52):
awful the fact that they'retrying to find a safer outlet.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
No, I agree with that .
I don't know.
I don't know if I think thatthe festival needs to happen.
I think that maybe it doesn'tneed to be a festival to like be
about.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
Or maybe we move the festival further from the bridge
and just into the area.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
And then just make it like maybe it's not, like I
don't know.
I think maybe it doesn't haveto be anything about the Goatman
.
I think it maybe needs to bemore of the like danger.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
And then we maybe take that time to like teach
people about the dangers of thattype of stuff, because I can
definitely see why the familieswould be so against this and
it's just like despicable incertain ways.
But then I can go on the otherend and understand that, like if
we are truly trying to not justcapitalize and teach people,
which we know that that's notthe reason, though that's the
(38:46):
problem is that capitalism isfirst, and then the oh, let's
just try to teach people.
I think that's what's hard forthe families is that if it was
to teach people first, it wouldmake it would make it better.
Speaker 2 (39:00):
Absolutely.
I will say this.
It's one of the ones where,when I started looking into this
, I didn't realize how dark itwas going to get.
It's tough, and so, again, Ialmost scrapped it about halfway
through and I'm like, well, no,I think it is important to talk
about the dangers of it.
Like I said, we went and visitedit.
We went and stood at the bottom.
(39:20):
We did not pass any sign andjust reading the memorial was
really, I mean, when you standthere, it puts it into such
perspective.
So, protect your life, don't goup on the bridge.
35 trains a day still go acrossit, and better than you or I
could say it.
Here's their quote from theengineer Okay, it's not a who or
what.
That's responsible.
(39:41):
It's an individual choice.
Every time it's not an accident.
You chose to be there, youchose to take a chance and you
risked your life.
Don't go.
Don't go up there.
Oh, that is perfectly sad,because that's how exactly I'm
feeling, and that's where thatquote at the end of this doc
that I watched made me feelslightly better about the film
(40:01):
and the festival and everythingelse, Because at the end of the
day, you have autonomy, you havea choice.
You cannot get up there withoutpassing all these signs that
say it's dangerous and his wholething is you.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
I'm arguing that I don't think that the train track
should be responsible forputting more precautions,
because I just yeah, it'd beawesome if they did.
Don't get me wrong.
But again, you have autonomy.
You went up there.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
But then if you're going to take that stance, you
almost have to say the samething about the festival.
They don't have to be the onestelling you not to go up there
or do it.
You know it's like, yeah, it's,they're enjoying it, they're
giving you a safe outlet.
Speaker 1 (40:48):
We can't say it's a shitty thing for them to do it,
then I don't know yeah we cananytime you have a festival
around the fact that people died, but you're promoting the
quote-unquote legend around it.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
I don't know about that, I just don't I disagree
with you only on the fact thatthe legend is there whether the
festival is or isn't, and ifthey can change more people's
mind and give a safer outlook,I'm okay.
Speaker 1 (41:09):
Well, that's what I'm saying.
I think that if it would havestarted that way which I highly
doubt it did I could be wrong.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
I don't know when it started actually.
Speaker 1 (41:27):
But I don't care when it started, I, I'm just saying
did it start to?
Speaker 2 (41:28):
memorialize these deaths and to teach safety?
Or did it just start becausesomebody wanted to start a
festival?
Speaker 1 (41:30):
about a cryptid.
Oh yeah, it started in 2025.
Speaker 2 (41:32):
Yeah, see I don't think that's cool.
No, I'm not going to trustgoogle on that one, because the
documentary that I watched wasit's all right, you know what
you guys weigh in yeah, we'regoing to debate all night.
Yes, that's the story ofPopelik.
On this one, I'm going to say abridge and the circle with the
slash through it, you know, likethe don't go.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
Well then it would be the don't go first.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
Yes, don't go or no no bridge, no bridge.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Oh, did you hear that thunder?
Speaker 2 (42:01):
that was so loud.
Well, we're finishing just intime.
Then I jumped yeah, we've hadsome crazy storms come through
today.
Um, okay, so that's it on ourtwo episodes of kentucky madness
for you guys.
Let's close the shop up for theday.
What do people need to do, cara?
Speaker 1 (42:16):
I mean, first off, tell us how you feel about this,
because I'm dying to knowneither one of us are right or
wrong, and we're not mad at eachother as much as we debate, but
we'd love to know no one'strying to win here.
I just want to know what youguys think.
Also, give us some stories andgive us some thoughts of things
that you want us to talk about,because we're not running low,
(42:37):
but we're kind of running lowand the most important thing
that you can do for us is tocreeperill your little eyeballs.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
Goodbye, bye.
Speaker 1 (42:45):
And join our Patreon.
Thank you At the Irish Shop.
The door's always open At theIrish Shop.
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