The Jersey Devil
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The History Behind New Jersey's Most Famous Cryptid
👉👉👉we can attempt to answer are what is it and where did it come from for this we have to go back to the 18th century when it was first seen in 1735 in the Pine Barrens region lived a woman named Jane Leeds also known as mother Leeds despite being very poor Jane had no less than 12 children with a 13th on the way when Jane found out she was pregnant once again she cursed the child in her frustration claiming that this child would be the devil when the night came that Jane went into labor there was a terrible storm that shook the entire house as her friends and family gathered to help her through the pregnancy the child was born normal but it began to change into a deformed monstrosity its feet turned into hooves its head resembled a goat leathery wings sprouted from its back and a forked tail whipped of violently around the room the child screamed and thrashed its tail would anyone trying to hold it down eventually it broke free and flew up into the chimney escaping into the pines the local clergyman believed in it was a demon tried an exorcism to remove it from the area but they were unsuccessful there are versions of this tale where the local salt mother Leeds was a witch or a sorceress of some kind and the reason the child was and what a demon was because the father was the devil this is also why at first the creature was known as the Leeds devil or the devil of Leeds a mixture of the family name
👉👉👉and the town they lived in known as Leeds point the credibility of this story or even the possibility that it might be rooted in any real history is questionable at best there was a woman named Jane Leeds who was married to a Daniel Leeds but there doesn't seem to be any connection between them and a devil child despite this the newspapers of the 18th century still printed the story numerous times over the years was it an interesting story that would help them sell copies yeah I'm sure it was was it a story that would lead people to visit the area again I'm sure it did and still does the point that I'm trying to make is regardless of how true this story may have been printing it had numerous benefits so it's difficult to take that as undeniable evidence another explanation is that mother Leeds was actually a woman named Deborah Leeds who was married to a japhet Leeds they both are lived in Leeds Point and in 1730 gephart named twelve children as part of his will which does line up with the original legend but was that a coincidence maybe the women in Leeds Point were just baby factories or maybe japhet was the father of the Jersey Devil either way leaving your devil child out of the inheritance sounds like it can only end poorly another possible origin story is about a girl from Leeds Point who fell in love of a British soldier during the American Revolution in 1778 the Battle of chestnut neck took place in southern New Jersey so there would have been more than a slight bit of disdain between the two sides the girl then meeting with this soldier in secret and eventually fallen pregnant with his child meant that this was seen as treason and so that hound cursed the girl and her child this resulted in her then given birth to a child that would later become the Leeds or Jersey Devil there are no credible photos of the Jersey Devil so all we have to go by are the accounts of people who have claimed to have seen the creature and there have been quite a few over the years one of the most famous sightings comes from Joseph Bonaparte the elder brother of Napoleon Joseph swore that he saw a devilish creature fly by when hunting game on the grounds of his born in town estate in 1820 a few decades later in 1840 the locals claimed to have seen the creature again in the same place this time killing livestock a year later in 1841 similar sightings were reported once again this time claiming they heard screams and saw tracks in the snow in 1925 sightings around livestock continued when a farmer claimed that
👉👉👉he saw an animal that he could not identify trying to steal his chickens he fetched his rifle and fired hitting his target and killing the animal he took photos of its corpse and showed it to over a hundred people but none of them could identify what it wants it does raise the question of how one would kill such a creature clearly the farmer believed his rifle did the job but there are some stories that slightly contradict this when Commodore Stephen DeSoto visited the Hannover mill to inspect cannonballs that will be made for his ship he was in for quite a surprise he said that he saw an enormous creature flying above him in a menacing fashion the Commodore then fired a cannonball at the creature but to his surprise it did nothing as the creature flew by unharmed the amount of alleged encounters and sightings from regular townsfolk is quite interesting because of how wildly they can differ there's a story that comes from a sheriff and some of his officers that makes it seem as if the Jersey Devil is more than just a mindless monster the sheriff and his men were chasing the Jersey Devil away from a farm where the owner had reported missing cattle and blood-curdling screams the devil then fled into the woods leaving the men at the edge too scared to chase any further the sheriff then yelled if it is true and you are the devil then rattle your chains all of the men swore that they heard its chains rattle this story ties into the previous versions that believe the father of the child may have been the devil it's also a rare account of the creature attempting to interact in some way that doesn't involve a sinister act the Leeds devil was a story that started in the 18th century and for the next few centuries stories about a creature that stalks the Pine Barrens spread to the surrounding areas by the 19th century has become part of New Jersey's folklore and tradition a ghost story that you would tell your friends and family on a dark and stormy night it wasn't until the 20th century that people started to refer to it as the Jersey Devil this is also when it was given its general appearance what had previously been referred to as an animal a demon or a monster was now a weird mix between a goat and a kangaroo 1909 was the year the Jersey Devil went from a piece of folklore known in New Jersey to a legend that almost everyone in North America had heard of January 16th until January 23rd marked the most significant week in the Jersey Devils history newspapers published hundreds of claimed encounters and sightings all over the state up until then sightings have been quite sporadic and mostly occurred in the same area these encounters ranged from attacks in a Camden social club to the police shoot in the creature in Bristol Pennsylvania they even went as far as Delaware and Maryland created a snowball effect the more people heard of the Jersey Devil the more people reported seeing it it almost created a mass panic to the point where schools and local businesses were closed warning people to stay indoors where it was safe groups of hunters vigilantes and concerned individuals traveled to
New Jersey in search of the creature wealthy collectors even offered rewards up to $10,000 for the creatures capture some didn't care if it was dead wanting it for their own private collection whereas others were willing to donate the creature to the Philadelphia Zoo as we can imagine with that amount of money being thrown around at that time the hoaxes began as people trying to make some quick cash in all the hysteria all sorts of animals were handed in with the claim that they had found the creature someone even attached wings and claws to the corpse of a kangaroo in the hopes that those desperate enough would pay after that week of madness the Jersey Devil had cemented itself as an American urban legend the number of reported sightings did eventually die down as people went about their lives as usual several explanations were offered as to what the Jersey Devil was and why it came to be the simplest being that hundreds of years ago it was very common to misidentify animals and what people may have seen may have just been a hill crane though it is quite hard to match that description to the Jersey Devil there's also the possibility that British settlers may have just created a boogeyman story a form of entertainment or even a way to keep their children safe the Pine Barrens were a dangerous harsh and unwelcoming place to live it was also rampant with bandits and highwayman who would rob and kill those passing by so making up a story about an evil creature to scare people away from the Pine Barrens seemed like a smart way to keep them as safe although this plan doesn't really work when your story actually encourages more people to visit the area personally I've always been a fan of folklore and legends that are unique to specific areas there are so many Universal ideas throughout folklore it's always refreshing when you get something as weird as this story let me know what you think I'm sure some of you watching this currently live in New Jersey I'd love to hear if you have any stories growing up or if you know someone who claims they have seen the Jersey Devil as always I've been your host mythology and fiction explained reminding you to maybe stop at 12 children because the 13th might just be the devil
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