Legend – Texas – Hairy Man Road

“There’s this old country road in Round Rock, Texas outside of Austin… it’s not really a country road anymore.. it’s kind of suburban now. But anyway, they say this road has been there since, like, covered wagon times. Apparently there’s a Hairy Man who lived in the area there for years… my uncle used to tell me he saw him when he was a young boy. Apparently this hairy man fell off a wagon back in the day and was raised by animals or just, uh, raised himself in the wilderness… but he would harass people passing through because he was like an animal.. and unusually hairy. They say now his ghost haunts the road and that’s what people will see when they say that they’ve seen him. I’ve driven on the road but I’ve never seen anything unusual.”

The informant seems to believe this legend since his uncle has lived near the road for over thirty years and claims to have seen the ghost. I, being from Austin, have heard that the Hairy Man was actually a homeless man that was killed by a group of high school students in their car on the way to prom. Either way, this legend has become extremely well known in the Austin area, to the extent that this road was officially named “Hairy Man Road.” I find it interesting that this legend mixes different types of legendary creatures. The hairy man seems to be part Sasquatch, part savage man, and now a ghost. It’s interesting how different types of folklore can intermix to create legends such as this one. Furthermore, the high school prom variation that I have personally heard seems to exemplify a liminal time, but also a rite of passage. In this respect, the legend seems to represent the uneasiness that the transition from adolescence into adulthood can create. Perhaps it is even more interesting that this story has made the road itself a legend, as almost everybody in Austin knows what it is. Furthermore, the legend contributes to the identity of Round Rock residents, and they have even started having an annual Hairy Man Festival. In effect, the legend serves as a way for locals to form their own identities as citizens of this town. It gives them something unique to celebrate and discuss.