Jersey Devil

Gather around friends for a tale as old as time. Mother Leeds has bred an evil beastie that haunts the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Mass hysteria, owls or the devil himself?? You decide.

EX-CRYPTID
In 1969 a group of farmers were strolling along the beach doing nothing suspicious at all... They stumbled across some kind of huge beast that was struggling to survive. It was donned the Tecolutla Monster! Believing that this monster may hold precious ivory, they cut it up and burnt parts of it. However, the job prooved too tiresome and they abandoned it. Rumour spread about what the beast was, but it was soon identified as a beached Sei Whale.

More Info

In the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, something has terrified the locals for hundeds of years. Half horse, half bat and all terrifying, some claim that it may be the Devil himself...

Credit Public Domain

WHAT IS IT
This beast is a huge creature, with hooves, a horse-like head, bat wings and a “devilish” tail that ends in a spade. When it isn’t flying, it walks bipedally and has remarkably small (t-rex -like arms). Some believe it makes a high-pitched “blood-curdling” scream and isn't afraid to attack any humans that get in its way.

FOLKLORE
The story behind the birth of the Jersey Devil is an intriguing one. In 1735, Jane Leeds, her husband Daniel and her 12 children lived in the Pine barrens. They were considered a weird family, even at that time. When she was pregnant with her 13th child, she uttered “lord, let this one not be a child. Let this one be a devil”!

The child and its birth were all normal at first. It was a healthy baby boy with bright blue eyes. But soon, the child began to change and morf. The child’s eyes turned blood red, like “two burning coal” and its head disfigured into that of a horse. From its back, two wings crudely pierced through the skin and a serpentine tail slivered into view. The creature let out a chimney widening scream, escaping through the fireplace and unleashing its horror onto the world.

SIGHTINGS
Sightings have spaned over hundreds of years, with a particularly active period occuring in January 1909, which was tited "Phenomena Week". Literally hundreds of sightings occuring in just 8 days and in that year alone nearly 1000 sightings poured in about the Jersey Devil.

These included reports from wildlife officials, Government employees and even soldiers.