Jersey Devil: Real or Myth?

Imagine yourself camping in the Pine Barrens. You hear a noise and then see a strange creature lurking in the shadows. Could it be the Jersey Devil? The Legend of the Jersey Devil began in 1735, it was supposedly the thirteenth child of Mrs. Leeds. When she found out she was pregnant with her thirteenth child, she cursed it and said it better be a devil. When it was born, the midwife died of shock and the Devil ate its twelve sibilants, sparing its mother and flew out the chimney (Juliano 1). Another version of the story is that Mrs. Leeds cursed the child after giving birth to it, she then locked it in the attic for years. It then transformed into the beast it is today and escaped into the woods (Russell 1). The Jersey Devil is only a myth to some and a horrific reality to others. Thousands of people have seen the Devil and been harassed by it throughout the years. There are many similarities in these sightings. Many of the witnesses say it has a long neck, a tail, wings, and hooves. There has also been vicious attacks on animals. Several accounts have reported mutilated pets and livestock. The legend of the Jersey Devil may be true because of the sightings, descriptions, and attacks.

Thousands of people have seen the Jersey Devil, many of which are respectable and honest citizens. Even famous and powerful people have seen him. Commodore Stephen Decatur, an early nineteenth-century American naval hero, was test firing cannonballs. He shot the Devil through it's chest. It seemed unharmed by the gaping hole in it's chest and flew away (McCloy, Miller 31). Even royalty has seen the Devil. Joseph Bonaparte, former King of Spain and brother of Napoleon, reportedly saw the Devil while hunting on his estate. A cab driver was reportedly fixing a flat tire on a road near the pine barrens at night. As he finished, a bipedal creature with wings grabbed the flat tire and flew away. The cab driver sped away in fear. The next day, he returned to investigate, the tire was found 100 yards in the woods (Perticaro 3). January 1909 was the most widespread period of sightings ever recorded. Thousands of people claimed to have seen the Devil during the week of January 16 - 23. Newspapers nationwide followed the story and published eyewitness reports. Hysteria gripped the entire state during this terrible week. On the 16th the Devil was seen flying over Woodbury. On the 17th and 18th, many towns were covered in strange tracks that seemed to defy logic; some were found on rooftops, others seemed to disappear completely. On the 19th Nelson Evans and his wife found the devil outside their window, Mr. Evans managed to tell it to shoo, it barked at him and flew away. In Haddonfield and Collingswood on the 20th, posses were formed to find the Devil. They watched him fly off toward Moorestown, where he was later sighted by at least two people. On the 21st The Devil attacked a trolley car in Haddon Heights, but was chased off. Trolley cars in several other towns began to maintain armed guards. Several poultry farmers found their chickens dead. The Devil was reported to have walked into an electric rail in Clayton, but if this did happen, it did not kill the beast. A telegraph worker near Atlantic City claimed to have shot the Devil and watched him limp into the woods. If so, he was not fazed much, because he continued his assault, visiting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and West Collingswood, New Jersey, where he was hosed by the local fire department. The Devil prepared to attack nearby people, who threw whatever they could find at it. Right as he was about to strike, the Devil flew away. Everyone was in panic on the 22nd, businesses and schools were closed, however the Devil was only seen a few times this day (Wikipedia 1-2). These are just a few of the thousands of reported encounters.

Many of the descriptions of the Devil are similar. "As nearly as I can describe the terror, it had the head of a horse, the wings of a bat and a tail like a rat's, only longer." -- Howard Campbell, Jan. 21, 1909. "It was three feet high... long black hair over its entire body, arms and hands like a monkey, face like a dog, split hooves, and a tail