S13 E30 - F-Bomb - Don't Stop on Purgatory Road - Michigan's Goat Man and the Devil Dog

Deep in southwest Michigan, Purgatory Road cuts through woods, wetlands and the Three Rivers State Game Area—a place associated with strange local stories for years. By 2019, one legend had emerged clearly in writing: a mysterious Goat-Man said to roam Purgatory with an even stranger companion known as the Devil Dog. On this episode of F-Bomb Friday, Tracy explores what can actually be documented about Purgatory, where the written trail disappears, how Goat-Man folklore appears elsewhere in America, and why some legends survive even when nobody remembers exactly where they began.

#FBombFriday #MichiganFolklore #GoatMan #PurgatoryRoad #MaliceInTheMitten

Recorded, edited, & produced by Tracy Preston, featuring Todd Preston

Researched  & written by Todd Preston

Original music created exclusively for F-Bomb by Tracy Presotn

Original artwork by Todd Preston

Sources:

Michigan Department of Natural Resources. “State Game/Wildlife Areas.” Michigan.gov, Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. Michigan DNR state game areas

Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Jones Area State Game Areas Master Plan. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 2016. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. DNR master plan

Michigan Natural Features Inventory. “Bog.” Michigan State University Extension. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. Michigan Natural Features Inventory — Bog

Tsmola. “Purgatory.” Geocaching, 27 June 2008. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. Purgatory geocache archive

Cox, Steve. “Kalamazoo Dirt Road Challenge Ride.” Pedal Press, Kalamazoo Bicycle Club, May 2012. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. Kalamazoo Bicycle Club source

“Small-Town Memories; Small-Town Future. Part 2: Welcome to Michiana-Plus.” Eggshells, 20 Aug. 2019. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. Eggshells Purgatory article

University of Maryland. “Folklore (University of Maryland’s Version).” Maryland Today, University of Maryland, 2023. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. University of Maryland folklore archive article

Puglia, David J. “Getting Maryland’s Goat: The Goatman Legend.” Contemporary Legend, Indiana University ScholarWorks. Accessed 26 Sept. 2026. Academic Goatman folklore source