Cryptozoology 
Creatures A-Z The Jersey Devil
Creatures A-Z The Jersey Devil
The mythical creature of the New Jersey Pinelands, has haunted New Jersey and the surrounding areas for the past 260 years. This entity has been seen by over 2,000 witnesses over this period. It has terrorized towns and caused factories and schools to close down, yet many people believe that the Jersey Devil is a legend, a mythical beast, that originated from the folklore of the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
The Jersey Devil of lore does not look like anything humanoid. It is a creature with the head of a horse, large wings and claws, and has a roughly four-foot-long serpentine body. When a person sees the Devil, he or she sees an omen of disaster to come. According to early legends, its appearances have come before shipwrecks and the outbreak of war. The legend of the Jersey Devil dates back to the mid-1700s, but multiple sightings did not begin until the early 1900s. Although rare, sightings continue up to the present day.
Characteristics * about three-and-a-half feet high
* a head like a collie dog and a face like a horse
* a long neck
* wings about two feet long
* back legs like those of a crane
* horse's hooves
* walks on its back legs and holds up two short front legs with paws on them
One of the most popular legends states that Mrs. Shrouds of Leeds Point, NJ made a wish that if she ever had another child, she want it to be a devil. Her next child was born misshapen and deformed. She sheltered it in the house, so the curious couldn't see him. On stormy night, the child flapped it's arms, which turned into wings, and escaped out the chimney and was never seen by the family again. A Mrs Bowen of Leeds point said, "The Jersey Devil was born in the Shrouds house at Leeds Point." Another story that also placed the birth at Leeds Point said that a young girl fell in love with a British soldier during the Revolutionary War. The people of Leeds Point cursed her. When she gave birth, she had a devil. Some people believe the birth of the devil was punishment for the mistreatment of a minister by the Leeds folk.
Another story placed the birth in Estelville, NJ. Mrs. Leeds, of Estelville, finding out she was pregnant with her 13th child, shouted,"I hope it's a devil". She got her wish. The child wad born with horns, a tail, wings, and a horse-like head. The creature revisited Mrs. Leeds everyday. She stood at her door and told it to leave. After awhile, the creature got the hint and never returned.
Burlington, NJ, also claims to be the birthplace of the Jersey Devil. In 1735, Mother Leeds was in labor on a stormy night. Gathered around her were her friends. Mother Leeds was supposedly a witch and the child's father was the devil himself. The child was born normal, but then changed form. It changed from a normal baby to a creature with hooves, a horses head, bat wings and a forked tail. It beat everyone present and flew up the chimney. It circled the villages and headed toward the pines. In 1740 a clergy exercised the devil for 100 years and it wasn't seen again until 1890.
There are many other versions of the legend. The legends say it was the 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, or 13th child, It was born normal or deformed, and the mother confined it to the cellar or the attic. Although there are many discrepancies in all of these stories, there are 3 pieces of evidence that tie all of the legends of the Jersey Devil's origin together.
Interestingly, the Jersey Devil is not the only legend which originates from the Pine Barrens. The area is home to two others. The first is the White Stag, a ghostly apparition which appears to help people at the moment of disaster. In Melnitchenko's article, she mentions the Stag was once supposed to have detoured an out-of-control stagecoach from crashing into a river.
The other legend is of James Still, "The Black Doctor." Still was a black man whose goal in life was to become a doctor. In the 19th century, the color of his skin made this an impossibility. Still retreated into the Barrens to study medicine from text books and learn herbal remedies from local Indians. Still then helped people in need who had ventured into the Barrens. Before his death, Still became a hero to those around him.
But of all the legends in the area, the Jersey Devil is the most famous and prominent. The Jersey Devils hockey team was named after the legendary beast. The origin of the creature dates back to the 18th century. The story goes as follows: when Mrs. Leeds, an indigent woman living in secluded poverty with her twelve starving children, found out she was to have another child exclaimed: "I don't want any more children! Let it be a devil." When the child was born, it was horribly deformed. It crawled from the womb and up the chimney and out into the woods. It is rumored to have fed on small children and livestock while haunting the area for years to come. Hence, the creatures other name is the Leeds Devil.
This is the most well known and "accepted" origin tale of the entity. Other variations of its birth state the child was deformed when Mrs. Leeds angered a clergyman. In other stories, she angered a gypsy. Other versions stated she practiced sorcery and the child was cursed by God. (Note: all these versions are akin to the werewolf lore of Eastern Europe.) One version states the child's father was a British soldier and God cursed the child since it was born out of an act of treason.
Whatever its birthright may be, the creature was alleged to have been exorcised from the area in 1740. The exorcism ritual performed could only banish it for one hundred years, allowing it to return in 1840.
Of course, these origin stories are pure myth and folklore. In all probability, these tales did not originate until the 1800s. Some accounts of the creature are fairly absurd, including it has been seen in the company of Mermaid and Captain Kidd's ghost! What was undeniable, however, was that the population of the area held a solid belief in the creature's existence and a deep-rooted fear of it.
Documented sightings would start to appear in the middle 1800s. Sketchy accounts--probably preserved by word of mouth for years before being put to print--of the Devil being sighted by townsfolk have been recorded in 1859, 1873, and 1880. One report states that Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, claimed to have seen the creature while hunting.
Records of sightings of the creature in established newspapers did not appear until the advent of the Twentieth Century. It is safe to speculate that any written records prior to the 1900s were either lost or destroyed over time. One of the earliest sightings recorded by local Philadelphia newspapers was in 1899 and it involved a businessman named George Saarosy who was awoken one night by loud, high-pitched screams in his yard. When he looked out his window, he saw the Jersey Devil fly past his house.
The most incredible flurry activity regarding the Devil did not happen until 1909 when literally thousands of encounters with the beast were reported. Articles printed in the now defunct Philadelphia Record chronicled the Devil's exploits. During the week of January 16th to the 23rd, the Jersey Devil reached a crescendo of popularity while managing to terrorize the entire population of the Delaware Valley. So immense was the attention paid to the creature, it received national news coverage.
On Saturday January 16, in the town of Woodbury, New Jersey, a man named Zack Cozzens reported seeing it on a roadside. This experience was chronicled in James Maloy and Ray Miller's book The Jersey Devil, which proved indispensable in writing this article. In it, Cozzens was quoted as saying: "I first heard a hissing sound. Then, something white flew across the street. I saw two spots of phosphorus--the eyes of the beast.... It was as fast as an auto." Later that same night, a group of people reported spying it in Bristol, Pennsylvania. The reports did not stop there.
A Mr. and Mrs. Nelson spotted the animal cavorting on their shed for ten straight minutes; police officers filed reports of shooting at it; and even a Trenton city councilman (name withheld in the source material) claimed an encounter. He had heard a hissing sound at his doorstep late one night. When he opened the door, he found cloven hoofprints in the snow. These bizarre footprints were turning up all over the New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Delaware region. Animal mutilations, occurring at random throughout the area during the week, were blamed on the Jersey Devil.
Although the sightings were front page news in Philadelphia and across the country, they were, of course, being met with total ridicule by the press. One editor went so far as to dismiss the whole thing as figments of the imagination of "complete idiots." The Philadelphia Zoo, as a joke, offered a $10,000 reward for its capture. Then, "the creature" was "captured" by Norman Jefferies and Jacob Hope.
Actually, Jefferies and Hope acquired a Kangaroo, painted stripes on it, and glued claws and wings onto it. They claimed the creature was not a demon spawn, but rather a breed of Australian vampire!
As quickly as it had come, the Jersey Devil disappeared from public view. In February of 1909, Leslie Garrison caught a fleeting glimpse of the creature flying over a clump of trees and out of sight for several years. The next recorded account--a very sketchy one--was not made until 1927 when a cabdriver (name unknown) alleged to have seen it after experiencing a flat tire. Then, the Devil would not be seen for another twenty-five years.
It was not until 1951, that there would be another outburst of Devil sightings. As reported in The Philadelphia Record, a ten-year-old boy sighted a creature "with blood dripping from its face" outside the boy's window. With that, the Jersey Devil was back in vogue once again.
Within days of this initial report, more encounters began to occur. In separate instances, Ronald James, Mrs. Elmer Clegy, and Mrs. William Weiser filed reports of hearing unearthly screams in the woods. When sighted, the creature was described quite differently by various people. It was reputed to have been over seven feet tall in one account while resembling an average sized caveman in another. Of course, many of the sightings described the creature as it appeared in its traditional visage. Reports swamped local police offices. The police were not very amused with the situation.
Upon being called in to investigate several strange tracks found in the snow, the police discovered a stuffed bear paw attached to a stick. Soon after, the police were hanging signs across highways which read "The Jersey Devil is a Hoax." Not to be swayed, many residents took to the wood with weapons in hand with intentions of killing the Devil. Fearing that several armed civilians running around with guns could develop into a dangerous situation, the police arrested several would-be Devil hunters on sight. Civil authorities quickly dismissed any accounts of the Devil as hysteria.
After the 1951 stir, reports would die down. Random animal mutilations and strange cries in the night would continue to be reported infrequently during the next decade. In 1966, Steven Silkotch blamed the death of his entire shed of poultry livestock on the Devil. What makes this story amazing is the fact the shed also contained two large German Shepherds, animals very capable of defending themselves against large attackers. Both Shepherds were torn to shreds. This account, however, would be the last encounter with the Devil acknowledged by police and the press. From then on, both would completely ignore any reports of the creature.
The memory of the Jersey Devil did not fade away. Local inhabitants keep the memory alive. One area of the Barrens is nicknamed Leeds Point and is reputed to be the actual birthplace of the Devil. Dozens of spots across New Jersey are rumored to be its final resting place, it cause of death varying by hundreds of different reasons.
"Oh, people still talk about it," says longtime Pine Barrens resident Joe Springer, "I met an ambulance driver who was riding around one night when he heard all these screams in the woods. This was back in 1974. He tore out of here like a madman and swears it was the Jersey Devil to this day."
Granted there are dozens of predatory animals in that area of the country such as coyote, foxes, bobcats and badgers. All of these animals are known to attack and kill livestock. The only thing more terrifying than hearing the cries these animals make is seeing one up close in the wild. There is a humorous anecdote regarding a case of Jersey Devil mistaken identity.
"My grandmother knew The Jersey Devil," says Philadelphia resident John Margovich. "She knew a guy named George Bishop who was from Bensalem, Pennsylvania. In the fifties, he went a little crazy and moved out to The Pine Barrens to be alone. You know, a Walden type thing. He was all scraggly and such from hanging out in the woods. I mean, really scruffy, with a long beard and such. He would freak people out when they saw him walking in the woods. George used to love hearing about people seeing him and swearing they saw The Jersey Devil."
This is not to dismiss all incidents of the Jersey Devil on the imagination. Something very strange has scared a lot of people in the Pine Barrens over the years. Something has managed to terrorize groups of people at random intervals throughout the years in the Pine Barrens. Tales of the Jersey Devil's exploits are still remembered today and most likely will never be forgotten. In fact, most people in the Pine Barrens area revere the tales. The Jersey Devil is their own legend and locals treat it fondly. Sightings are still mentioned up to this very day. Some even speculate it could be the infamous 'Chupacabras,' but still, no one knows for sure.
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