Goat Death Investigation
by Jack Edwards
FATE :: April 2007

Many classic stories involving the supernatural take place in remote and lonely places.

I live in rural North Dakota, which happens to be such a place. I have the privilege of serving my community in the role of a law enforcement officer. Having lived in big cities and abroad, I believed that moving back to my boyhood home would be taking a step towards peace and quiet.

I was wrong.

I typically work nights, patrolling well after most people have gone to bed. Occasionally I get the chance to work during the day, which is a nice break from the darkness. It was on a fall afternoon in 2005 that I discovered the day can be just as frightening as the night.

I received a call from my dispatcher requesting I meet with a local farmer who raised angora goats. I recognized the caller’s name, having met him at the local farmer’s market a few times, and drove to his ranch a few miles outside of town.

My dispatcher had not told me what the call was about, but I’d just assumed it had to do with a smashed mailbox or something typical like that. When I arrived at the farm I was met by its owner, Tom. Normally, North Dakota farmers and ranchers are a tough breed. They deal with life, death, and loss every day. When I got out of my patrol car, I saw that Tom had been crying. A cold feeling started creeping across my gut as he led me around the back of his house in silence.

The sight that greeted me was nothing like I had expected. Tom had a large area behind the house fenced in with chicken wire. Further past the house was a large field that extended to a riverbank. It was in this area that Tom kept and raised his angora goats. It took my brain a second to register what I saw in front of me. At least 30 goats were lying in the dirt and short grass, dead.....

Read the rest of this article in the April 2007 issue of FATE

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