PREVIOUS QUESTION ABOUT NEW JESEY HISTORY
Dear NJHM:
I've been trying to do some research on the Jersey Devil out of
personal interest. Can you give me some brief background on this
phenomenon? Thank you.
Rich D.
Dear Rich:
You have touched upon one of our favorite topics at New Jersey
History's Mysteries. The following is a brief history of the Jersey
Devil's exploits. We plan on writing a more detailed report sometime
in the future as a "Featured Story", so keep checking back
to this site.
THE JERSEY DEVIL
The Jersey Devil's origins are the subject of seemingly endless legends passed on by word of mouth over numerous generations. Many towns throughout South Jersey claim the Devil as their birth child, but the town most associated with his birth is Leeds Point, across the bay from Atlantic City on the eastern fringes of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. He was born the unwanted 13th child of Mrs. Leeds, who, having tired of giving birth and raising children said, "Let it be born the devil!" On a stormy night in 1735, her wish was granted literally. With local midwives helping in the delivery, a normal child was born. Within minutes, however, it began to transform into a hideously deformed creature with a horse-like head, long serpentine body, wings, hoofs and claws, a devil's tail, and two horns protruding from its skull. When it stood up, it was larger than a full grown man, and after attacking and killing some of the assembled, it flew off into the night.
That was not the end, but the beginning of the legend of the Jersey Devil. From 1735 to the present day, incidents have been reported on a continuous basis, with only occasional lulls. Most of the sightings have been in South Jersey, but the Devil has ventured north, and into the neighboring states of Pennsylvania and Delaware. A local clergy exorcised him at Leeds Point in 1740, but it was to no avail. He was seen often during the Revolutionary War, and fired upon with a canon at the Hanover Iron Works in 1803. Joseph Bonaparte, the former king of Spain, and the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, observed him while hunting near Bordentown where he lived from 1816 to 1839.
The sightings and incidents continued sporadically until the week of January 16th to the 23rd in 1909, the most famous time in the long history of the Jersey Devil. Residents of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware were all visited during that busy week, as a host of menacing incidents and attacks were reported. People locked themselves in their homes and armed men patrolled the frigid fields and woods. To protect the children from attack, some schools decided to close. Police in Bristol, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey, fired at the beast, and the trolley lines in New Brunswick and Trenton hired guards to protect their patrons. The incidents continued, with the Devil leaving his footprints in the snow and terrified citizens in his wake. The most spectacular event occurred in West Collingswood, New Jersey, when the Devil perched on the roof of the local fire chief. He called the fire department that responded by blasting the Devil with a fire hose and knocking him fifty feet down the street. He quickly recovered, however, and charged the assemble firemen, forcing their retreat. Finally, the battle ended when the Devil flew off into the dark sky.
Although the Jersey Devil has never again been as active as that busy
week, he continued to appear throughout the New Jersey area. He was
reportedly killed in 1957 when charred bones. claws and feathers were
found in the remains of a forest fire in the Pinelands. Those reports
proved to be unfounded when he reappeared with a vengeance in the
1960's and 1970's. Some of the more phenomenal incidents occurred in
1975 and 1976 when livestock and horses were found slaughtered with
strange animal tracks nearby. The most recent reported sighting was
in 1996, when a motorist in Sayreville, New Jersey reported seeing
the creature flying over his car. Although this was the last, it is
certainly not the final time the Jersey Devil will appear in New
Jersey to confound the skeptics.
SOURCES:
The Jersey Devil
By: James F. McCloy & Ray Miller
Middle Atlantic Press, 1973----BUY
THIS BOOK
Phantom of the Pines
By: James F. McCloy & Ray Miller
Middle Atlantic Press, 1998----BUY
THIS BOOK
Jersey Genesis
By: Henry Charlton Beck
Rutgers University Press, 1963----BUY
THIS BOOK