“Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.
- C. S. Lewis
The New Jersey Devil is by far my favorite thing to research and learn about. And no, this blog post is not about The Jersey Devils hockey team. The Jersey Devil is one of NJ’s biggest folklore mysteries. Ever since I was in sixth grade, I always had a fascination with this beast and always love researching him. ‘What does he look like’ you may ask? There isn’t a definitive picture on the net, but I’m sure someone has it in their possession. Here are a couple of illustrations of what the Jersey Devil may look like.
There are three different theories of how the creature was developed and created. I honestly didn’t know there were theories behind the Jersey Devil, let alone three. I was under the impression that the only theory was the one we all grew up with.
Theory 1: The one we all know and grew up hearing. Mother Leeds, also known as Deborah Leeds, gave birth to twelve previous children. When pregnant for the thirteenth time, she cursed the child to be the devil. The child was born a normal baby boy, but quickly changed into the creature we all know today; head of a goat, hooves, wings of a bat, and forked claws. He growled and wailed unholy noises. He lunged towards the mid wives, killing them before flying up the chimney and into the night sky.
Theory 2: The far older version of the Devil originates back to the Lenne Lenape tribe. The local Native American tribe’s traditions included a mysterious “night monster” who would appear on occasion to terrify villagers and frighten away game animals. Children were told to never go into the woods at night because the Jersey Devil may catch and eat them.
Theory 3: This theory I think was said for kicks; to put a little normalcy on the creature It was said that the Jersey Devil was the child of a European immigrant who arrived in New Jersey in the eighteenth century. I couldn’t find any more information on that theory.
“Mother Leeds” has been known as by some as Deborah Leeds. Deborah and her husband named the twelve children in the will he wrote in 1736. Deborah and Japhet Leeds lived in the Leeds Point, what is now known as Atlantic County. Other folklore has reported that the beast's mother that was a witch and his father was Satan himself. The Jersey Devil has been described by some as having a head of a goat, a body like a kangaroo or a horse, and feet like a pig. Others describe it having talons of an eagle and supposedly inherited his father’s cloven hooves. He moves quickly to avoid human contact and is often described emitting a blood curdling scream.
There had been many reported sightings of the mysterious creature. Hes been reportedly seen throughout Southern New Jersey, from Salem to Pleasantville, and many in between. In the mid 1970’s, it was believed to have been sighted as far as Texas. Most New Jersey residents doubt the creature would have traveled that far from home.
Since the eighteenth century, there have been thousands of reported sightings. I cannot type them all out for you, here are a few that intrigued me:
1840- The devil was blamed for several livestock killings
1841- Strange tracks and unearthly screams
1859- Appearance in Haddonfield, NJ
1925- Claims of a corpse matching the Leeds Devil Description arose in Greenwich, NJ in December. A local farmer shot an unidentified animal trying to steal his chickens. He showed it to roughly 100 people , none of which could identify it.
1957- Another claim of a corpse matching the Devils description.
1960- Unusual tracks were found along with a loud shrieking noise heard near Mays Landing, NJ.
1960- Merchants in Camden, NJ offered a $10,000 reward for the beast’s capture, even offering to build a private zoo to house the beast if captured.
2007- A man watched a creature with a horse head and bat-like wings walk in front of him in Wharton State Forest.
2009- A man is chased by a creature in his backyard in the Pink Barrens, NJ. The next day, he found strange footprints on his rooftop with four-foot spans between each print.
One week in 1909, there were seven days of chaos. It was reported as the most chaotic period of Devil sightings ever recorded. When looking at a calendar of 1909 the week of sightings happened in either January 1909 or October 1909. My research and findings never stated which month it happened. The following is seven days of sightings and chaos:
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Saturday (16th) The creature was sighted flying over Woodbury, NJ
Sunday (17th) In Bristol, PA, several people saw the creature and tracks were found in the snow the next day.
Monday (18th) Burlington, NJ was covered in strange tracks that seem to defy logic. Some were found in other towns.
Tuesday (19th) Nelson Evans and his wife of Gloucester, NJ allegedly saw the creature outside their bedroom window at 2:30am.
Wednesday (20th) Posses were formed in Haddonfield, NJ and Collingswood, NJ to find the devil. They watched the creature fly towards Moorestown, NJ where two more people later saw it.
Thursday (21st) The creature attacked a trolley car in Haddon Heights, NJ, but was chased off. Many armed guards protected trolleys in several different towns. Several poultry farmers found their chickens dead.
Friday (22nd) The last day of sightings. Widespread newspaper coverage leads to a panic throughout the Delaware Valley, prompting a number of schools to close and workers to stay home.
The Jersey Devil is not only the local legend, but a local celebrity as well. He has been featured in many different TV shows (both scripted and non-scripted), music, books, and films. He has been featured on the A&E show Paranormal State, a 2002 episode of The Scariest Places on Earth, and in a more recent reason of SyFy’s hit series Destination Truth.
When it comes to the Jersey Devil, he doesn’t want to be found. He likes to be seen, but not found. I have had my own personal mini encounter with the Jersey Devil. I was in my old bedroom at my mother’s house. It was late at night and I couldn’t sleep. My bed faced the window, so it was very peaceful to look out the window and think. I just happened to look out my window as this HUGE creature was flying over my house. Although turkey buzzards are populating my area, whatever flew over my house could have had a turkey buzzard as an appetizer. If the Jersey Devil exists, he and Big Foot hold the record for animal Hide and Seek.
To conclude this blog, the jersey devil is no joke. There is more information out there than just this blog, clearly. Hopefully, you, the reader took something from this. Whether it was my spelling errors, or mixed up words, I hope this was informative and educational. Please leave me feedback and comments on your theories.
Thank you and Love you!
Katie Marge