One of those friends lived in Tom's River, NJ for quite a few years. He was a well-educated man and loved telling me stories and legends. Bill was my introduction to the Jersey Devil.
This story helped me in part to start seeking out the books I loved so much concerning ghost stories and legends. I have Bill to thank for cultivating that.
Maybe a year after I had heard the story for the first time, our family took a road trip to see Bill and his family in Tom's River. One of the highlights of the trip was holding their Boa Constrictor all by myself. They even sent me its shedded skin sometime after to remember the experience. The other highlight was travelling through the Pine Barrens - the home of the Jersey Devil - to get to their house.
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| Go Devils! From wikipedia.com |
We went down in the evening. When I was young, I would often read in the car on long (and short) trips. Whenever I got tired of reading or it got dark out, I would often stare out the window. To this day, as a passenger I would rather watch what is going on outside the car and to the side of the road in hopes of seeing something others might miss. Unfortunately, I can no longer read in the car due to car sickness.
On that particular trip, I was eager to watch the Pine Barrens go past. As I mentioned, it was night-time, so there really wasn't going to be a chance to see much, but I was hopeful. At one point, I thought I saw a flash of red eyes back in the woods on the passenger side of the car. They were maybe 5 or 6 feet off the ground. I couldn't see anything else but those eyes. My mind immediately registered that I had seen the Jersey Devil.
Even then I was a quiet child. I relished the idea for myself and told no one else. Today, I know I probably saw the reflective eyes of a deer alert to the passing car, but I wanted to believe. No one could take that from me.
What is the Jersey Devil?
Well, there are several different versions of the story, all from around 1730's. One tells of a woman named Shrouds who lived with her family on Leeds Point. She wished that if she ever had another child, it would be a devil. When she did have another baby, she hid it away. Late one stormy night, it flapped its arms which became wings and it flew out of the house by the chimney.
Another story tells of a young woman who fell in love with a British soldier during the Revolutionary War. When the fruit of their bond was born - also at Leeds Point - it was a devil, due to a curse laid on her by the people of Leeds Point.
The story I am most acquainted with is of old Mother Leeds. Mrs. Leeds lived in Estelville, NJ. When she found out she was pregnant with her 13th child, she shouted out, "I hope its a devil!" Many believed that Mrs. Leeds was a witch and the father was the devil, leading to the assumption that the child would indeed turn out to be a demon. Sure enough, when the baby was born, it transformed into a creature with a horse's head, bat wings, hooves and a forked tail. This is the most popular description of the creature.
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| Picture from |
The child in this version visited the house every day to see its mother. Finally Mrs. Leeds told it to leave and never come back and it took the hint that it was unwanted, disappearing and never visiting its mother again.
The final version of the story is very similar to the previous, but is set in Burlington, NJ. Again Mrs. Leeds essentially curses herself to have a devil. When the creature is born, she is surrounded by friends to witness the birth. The creature beats the attendees with its wings before flying up the chimney to disappear into the night.
According to one researcher, there are three similarities that bring all of these stories together as a possibility for really spawning the Devil. First off, the name Leeds if common in all of them, whether by Mother Leeds or Leeds Point - also lending itself to the name of the Leeds Devil, another name for the Jersey Devil.
The second shows that the baby could have been either a Leeds or a Shrouds. Historically, there was a Daniel Leeds who had land in Great Egg Harbor, NJ around 1699. It is documented that a Deborah Leeds and her husband, Japhet Leeds, lived in the Leeds Point section of what is currently Atlantic County, NJ, in 1736. They are reported to have had 12 children. Samuel Shrouds, Sr. came to Great Egg Harbor in 1735 and his family lived across the river from Mother Leeds' house.
Finally, at that time the Burlington area was considered the large area of land between Burlington itself and the Atlantic Ocean. This would have included the area where the Jersey Devil was said to have been born.
There have been many sightings through the years since the birth of the Jersey Devil.
Early in the 19th century, a commodore was testing cannonballs and spied something flying across the sky. He fired a cannonball and hit it, but it continued flying as if nothing had happened. It has also been reportedly seen by Joseph Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon. He witnessed the Devil while he was hunting near Bordentown, NJ between 1816 and 1839. Many others saw the Devil and had livestock taken between 1840 and 1894. People could hear its piercing scream and would find its footprints wherever it struck. These sightings and happenings were reported as far north as the NY/NJ border.
The Jersey Devil wasn't seen again until 1909. In the time between, people thought the Devil had died and would never be seen again. However, for a week in January of 1909, it would make its presence known all over South Jersey and Philadelphia. The creature was seen in Bristol, PA, and in Glouster, Burlington, Camden and Trenton, NJ during the week of January 16-23.
People would hear its piercing screams on the night air and the sound of its flapping wings. During the day, footprints could be seen where it had attacked. There was evidence of it going into the trees and running across the roofs of houses. Everyone was afraid to go out at night.
In one area, a hunt was formed to track it down. When the mob took the dogs to follow the trail, the dogs refused to move.
One couple in Glouster witnessed it for 10 minutes in their yard. They were looking down on it from their second floor window until the husband opened the window and yelled "Shoo!" It looked up at them, barked and flew away into the night.
Their description is as follows:
"It was about three feet and half high, with a head like a collie dog and a face like a horse. It had a long neck, wings about two feet long, and its back legs were like those of a crane, and it had horse's hooves. It walked on its back legs and held up two short front legs with paws on them. It didn't use the front legs at all while we were watching. My wife and I were scared, I tell you, but I managed to open the window and say, 'Shoo', and it turned around barked at me, and flew away." James F Mcgloy and Ray Miller, The Jersey Devil (wallingford, PA:The Middle Atlantic Press,1976), p.45
There have been many other records of sightings through out the years. All of them involving the same oddly shaped chimera. Reports have come in all over New Jersey as well as parts of New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. At least one set of castings has been taken of the footprints found. These are on display at the International Cryptozoological Museum in Portland, Maine.
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| Casting of Jersey Devil hoof prints from libguides.georgian.edu |
Some believe that the Jersey Devil is a harbinger of bad events, like the Mothman of legend. It was seen before the Civil War, the Spanish American War and WWI. In 1939, people reported hearing its hooves on their roofs in Mount Holly, NJ, right before start of WWII. It was also seen on December 7, 1941, before the bombing of Pearl Harbor and again before the beginning of the Vietnam War.
Several times, people believed to have found the remains of the Devil. Often, this was before an extended streak when it wasn't seen. It would always come back, though. This is attributed to its Satanic father. The Jersey Devil is believed to be immortal with supernatural powers enabling it to travel so quickly between the cities where it has been sighted.
The Jersey Devil is slowly approaching its 300th birthday. Sightings are still reported even into the last year. Many are skeptical, but those familiar with the Pine Barrens know.
Notes taken from http://en.wikipedia.org, http://www.nj.com, and http://theshadowlands.net
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