Jersey Devil
Many places have mysterious legends. The Jersey Devil is one in New Jersey. While it seems like it might be something pretty scary, it’s become something of a pop-culture icon. They even named their hockey team for the monster.
It goes back to native American times. For the indians the area was known as the Place of the Dragon, for the Swedish explorers it was Drake Kill. But the creature’s origins are best expressed in a story from 1735. Mother Leeds, a witch whose husband was supposedly the devil, had 12 children. She said her 13th child would be a devil. The 13th baby quickly changed after being born. It developed hooves and wings, attacked the midwife, then escaped through the chimney. It disappeared for 100 years after an exorcism.
A woman named Deborah Leeds could be this Mother Leeds. She did have 12 children. That fact agrees with the story. Many people say it’s all just a made up tale. The creature supposedly fled to the Pine Barrens, where many fugitives ran. Some of these people formed groups, and were called the pineys. They turned to highway robbery as the pine robbers. This could be the origin of stories about demons. The bandits weren’t nice people.
The Jersey Devil can even be a funny story. An outdoors man by the name of Tom Brown Jr. spent many seasons living in the wilderness. People who met him thought they had seen the Jersey Devil. This often happened after Tom covered his body with mud to keep off the mosquitoes. Who knows if the mud actually worked.
Some people believe there’s a more scientific explanation to the Jersey Devil. Cryptozoologists believe that it possibly is a creature with wings and cloven hooves. Or it could be a big crane with a large wingspan.
No matter, the Jersey Devil is a fun myth. Have some fun in New Jersey by hunting for it.
Posted on February 7th, 2009 by admin
Filed under: Fun Stuff
