Jersey Devil (cryptozoology)
The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, characterized by its long snout, wings, horns, and a tail. According to folklore, it was born in the mid-eighteenth century as the thirteenth child of a woman named Mrs. Leeds, with various stories suggesting she either cursed the child or that it was fathered by the devil. The creature is often described in different ways, sometimes resembling a kangaroo or large bird, and it is claimed to have emerged from its birthplace to frighten local residents.
The legend gained significant attention in 1909 when a series of reported sightings and hoofprints were widely publicized, contributing to its notoriety. Scholars propose that the myth may have originated as a smear campaign against the Leeds family, who were prominent in the region, or as a tactic by real-estate speculators to induce panic and encourage land sales. Despite various theories regarding its origins, the Jersey Devil continues to captivate the interest of cryptozoologists and monster enthusiasts.
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Jersey Devil (cryptozoology)
The Jersey Devil is a legendary beast believed by some to live within New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, a forested coastal area in the southern part of the state. The beast is typically described as having a long snout, wings, and a tail. Although the details of the creature’s origin vary, most legends claim that it was born to a human woman in the mid-eighteenth century and soon took up residence in the Pine Barrens, from which it has emerged to terrorize the local population on several occasions. Some folklorists and historians have suggested that the legend originated as part of a political smear campaign and was popularized by real-estate speculators.
Overview
The folklore of the United States includes numerous tales of strange beasts. One of the most notorious of these creatures is the Jersey Devil, which has long been associated with New Jersey’s coastal Pine Barrens. Descriptions of the creature vary; however, many who claim to have witnessed it have said that the creature has a long snout, horns, wings, a tail, and cloven hooves. Some sources describe the monster as resembling a kangaroo, while others compare it to a large bird or a pterodactyl.
According to legend, the Jersey Devil was born in the mid-eighteenth century, the thirteenth child of a human woman known as Mrs. Leeds or Mother Leeds. In some versions of the story, Leeds cursed her child while it was in the womb, while in others, a particularly difficult childbirth led her to invoke the devil; still other retellings claim that the devil was the true father of the creature. Also known as the Leeds Devil, the Jersey Devil either was born monstrous or transformed from a baby into a strange creature shortly after birth, and it soon fled its birthplace and found a new home in the heavily forested Pine Barrens. Sightings of the Jersey Devil were reported periodically, and in 1909, a rash of sightings of the beast and its hoofprints throughout southern New Jersey captured the attention of the media, thus furthering the spread of the legend.
Folklorists and historians have suggested a number of possible origins for the legend as well as various explanations for the sightings of the Jersey Devil. During the eighteenth century, a well-known family with the surname Leeds lived in the region around the Pine Barrens. One member of this family, Daniel Leeds, incurred the disapproval of the local Quaker community, in part because of his publication of the American Almanack, and his son Titan Leeds later feuded with Benjamin Franklin, publisher of the competing Poor Richard’s Almanack. Some historians have speculated that the legend of a demonic child born to a Leeds woman was developed as part of a political smear campaign against the Leeds family and may have been based on the presence of a child with birth defects within that family. Historians have also posited that the numerous sightings in 1909 were part of an attempt by real-estate speculators to convince frightened locals to sell their land, which could later be resold to developers. These explanations have not been confirmed, however, and the Jersey Devil thus remains a creature of interest among cryptozoologists—individuals who study animals that are unknown or generally thought to be legendary—and monster hunters in New Jersey and beyond.
Bibliography
Antener, Cathy. Discovering New Jersey’s Pine Barrens. Charleston: History, 2012. Print.
Coleman, Loren, and Jerome Clark. Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature. New York: Simon, 1999. Print.
Coleman, Loren, and Bruce G. Hallenbeck. Monsters of New Jersey: Mysterious Creatures in the Garden State. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole, 2010. Print.
Kimmel, Richard J., and Karen E. Timper. Folklore of the New Jersey Shore: History, the Supernatural, and Beyond. Atglen: Schiffer, 2012. Print.
Lew, Kristi. Monsters, Beasts, and Demons in America. New York: Rosen, 2012. Print.
Martinelli, Patricia A., and Charles A. Stansfield Jr. Haunted New Jersey: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Garden State. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole, 2004. Print.
McPhee, John. The Pine Barrens. 1967. New York: Farrar, 2001. Print.
Newton, Michael. Hidden Animals: A Field Guide to Batsquatch, Chupacabra, and Other Elusive Creatures. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Print.