Lake Worth Monster exhibit brings the Goatman legend to City Hall – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Long before the Lake Worth Monster became the stuff of North Texas campfire stories, reported sightings of the half-man, half-goat creature began at Greer Island in the summer of 1969.

Now, the local legend is on display at Fort Worth City Hall, with stories, sketches, footprints and even a fur sample showcasing the tale and the natural landscape that helped inspire it.

“This is the place where the local legend was first seen, ever,” said Laura Veloz with the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge.

Veloz said one of the first reported encounters happened in a parking lot at Greer Island, which is part of the nature center.

“And it was this parking lot where a couple, John Richter and his spouse, were just parking at the time, 1969, and a creature came out from Greer Island, the water, and tried to pull the spouse,” Veloz said.

The stories only grew from there. Veloz described another account in which the creature reportedly threw a tire an estimated 500 feet.

“He came out around that area, walking, pacing, back and forth and that’s where he threw the tire. Estimated 500 feet, that’s what people stated,” Veloz said.

For North Texas resident Danielle Bateni, the legend has been part of her life since childhood, thanks to an older sister who used the Goatman to scare her.

“This started when I was back in elementary school, maybe five to six years old,” Bateni said.

“And she would torment me telling me about the goat man and that he would come for me if I didn’t do certain tasks or stay out of her room, you know, older sister stuff like that.”

The legend continues to draw attention to the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge and its habitat.

“Everybody in the community, you know, gets excited to hear about this. But, it also brings light to the nature center, the habitat,” Veloz said.

The nature center will celebrate both the legend and the landscape with the Lake Worth Monster Bash next month.

Bateni plans to see it for herself.

“I immediately messaged my sister and was like, oh my gosh, we have to go see this because I lived my childhood knowing about the Goat Man and turns out it’s, It’s real,” Bateni said.

Real or not, Bateni has made peace with the creature that once scared her.

“We actually, we live on a farm now and we have 15 goats.”

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.