One witness reported that the creature emerged from a wooded area near a mini-mall and galloped out in front of traffic, disappearing into the woods on the other side of the street. But the legend is vivid enough that in 1909, it inspired real fear. [original research?] Historical records show that as of 1736, Japhet had 12 children in his will. What happened next? After Jersey Devil sightings were reported in 1960, wealthy merchants offered a $250,000 reward for the capture of the beast. The first article in the Inquirer about the mysterious events appeared on the front page on Jan. 21 with the headline WHAT-IS-IT VISITS ALL SOUTH JERSEY and a photograph of actual proof-prints of the strange creature.. I never saw the horrible critter myself, but I can remember well when it was roaming around in Evesham woods fifty years ago, and when it was hunted by men and dogs and shot at by the best marksmen there were in all South Jersey but could not be killed. At night it comes out to scare anyone it meets. One legend maintains that in 1735, a destitute New Jersey woman referred to as Mother Leeds became pregnant with her 13th child. Desperate, Mother Leeds cried out, Let this child be the devil!. One of the first reported Jersey Devil sightings was in 1812 when Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's older brother, claimed he saw the Jersey Devil while hunting near his Bordentownestate. She had cursed the unborn baby out of frustration (it was her thirteenth child) and declared that it would be born a devil. Research care of Carol Johnson and David Munn, Atlantic County Library. That is, if the newspapers of the day are to be believed. Jane Leeds, a Pine Barren resident and alleged witch in colonial New . Most witnesses report the Jersey Devil to have the head of a horse, bat-like wings, cloven hooves and short arms with fierce claws. Legend of the New Jersey Devil In 1687, Leeds published the first edition of his very own almanac. One by one Josephine's children fell to starvation, and as they died she fed their remains to herself and her . The area in which the Jersey Devil haunted was originally called Popuessing, which means "the place of the dragon." [47][48] This same trend towards cultural incorporation is further exemplified by the Jersey Devil's appropriation in toy lines, such as its inclusion as a vinyl figure in Cryptozoic Entertainment Cryptkins blind box,[49][50] as well as its application as a motif by Six Flags Great Adventure for their Jersey Devil Coaster developed by Rocky Mountain Construction.[51][52]. Thousands of citizens became concerned for their safety and started taking precautions. In this Weird US video clip, we learn about the New Jersey Devil. Artist Tara Jacoby painted this rendition of the October 2015 Jersey Devil sighting in Galloway Township. Google Translate is an online service for which the user pays nothing to obtain a purported language translation. The Jersey Devil is a myth that has its origins rooted deep in American History. (Photo provided by Dave Black). Over the years the Jersey Devil has been called by a number of names, Hoodle-Doodle Bird, Wozzle Bug and the Leeds Devil. Similar attacks were reported during 1841, accompanied by tracks and screams. One of the most recent sightingsoccurred in Galloway Townshipin October of 2015. [24] The widespread newspaper coverage created fear throughout the Delaware Valley prompting a number of schools to close and workers to stay home. The Quakers saw no hurry to give their former fellow religionist an easy time in circles of gossip. . 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. But the town doesn't seem to mind that it's also. [28], Jeff Brunner of the Humane Society of New Jersey thinks the sandhill crane is partially the basis of the Jersey Devil stories, adding, "There are no photographs, no bones, no hard evidence whatsoever, and worst of all, no explanation of its origins that doesn't require belief in the supernatural. The Jersey Devil (2005) - IMDb While the Jersey Devil was not expressly cited by Dorson, it nevertheless qualifies for this same level of relevance. About NJ Famous NJ New Jersey Devil New Jersey Devil On a dark and stormy night in 1735, something terrible happened in the Pine Barrens near Leeds Point. It was 1735, deep in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, when Jane "Mother" Leeds discovered she was pregnant with her thirteenth child. Instead of giving in to the will of the community, however, and taking out the references to astrology, Leeds only became more dedicated to the publishing of German mysticism. It was eventually chased off, but the widespread panic that was caused was more than evident in the population now. The child was born with wings, hooves, a tail, and a thirst for the blood of animals. "[29], Outdoorsman and author Tom Brown Jr. spent several seasons living in the wilderness of the Pine Barrens. Desperate, Mother Leeds cried out, "Let this child be the devil!" The land was inherited by Leeds' sons and family and is now known as Leeds Point, one of the areas in the Pine Barrens currently most associated with the Jersey Devil legend and alleged Jersey Devil sightings.[10]. Time to welcome the Jersey Devil home to Bordentown The older brother of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Joseph Bonaparte, was also known to be among those who believed in the Jersey Devil. Another version is that the child/devil was the result of a family curse. The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey | New Jersey Devil In a bid to infuriate his rival, Franklin published satirical astrological techniques that predicted Leeds would die in October of that year. Others simply claim he was hunting on his property when he saw the creature. Mother Leeds was in labor with her thirteenth child when the burden of the dozen she already had finally . A sketch of the Jersey Devil in a Philadelphia newspaper in 1909. mothman, the creature that terrorized a West Virginia town in the 1960s, the scary truth behind the phantom social worker legend. It remained open for only a few more weeks, according to phillyhistory.org. A third variation on the tale tells of a young woman who refused to give food to a begging gypsy. Most tellers of the legend of the Jersey Devil trace the devil back to Deborah Smith who emigrated from England in the 1700s to marry a Mr. Leeds. Even skeptics, however, cant entirely discredit the events of that winter, making the Jersey Devil one of the most infamous cryptids in modern day. There was no explanation for the noises and people began to panic. So-called witnesses provided varied descriptions. According to folklore, the creature was born in 1735 at Estelville, New Jersey as the child of a Mrs. Leeds. Yes, Benjamin Franklin, one of the most famous figures in the history of the United States, had a hand in the formation of the Jersey Devil . Inside a small house, Mother Leeds was giving birth to her 13th baby. You might notice the proximity on a map, and wonder if it's worth visiting this village after all. After its "capture" in Fairmount Park, the Jersey Devil was put on display at this museum of curiosities whose publicist was considered the promoter if not the mastermind of the hoax that filled newspaper pages for a week in 1909. With so many sightings however, people began to wonder if the Jersey Devil was more than just a cryptid who had been invented in the heat of a feud between Loyalists and Patriots. The inclusion of this family crest on Leeds' almanacs may have further contributed to the Leeds family's poor reputation among locals and possibly influenced the popular descriptions of the Leeds Devil or Jersey Devil. ""The baby was born with a tail, wings, and hooves and flew up the chimney! This is the story of the Jersey Devil. Rundstrom, Olive Conover, "Daniel Leeds and his Descendants". Twenty years later there were more sightings of the creature. The origin of this name has a few different backstories. This is when the trouble would begin. Unfortunately, none of these encounters yield enough evidence or detail to suggest that the Jersey Devil actually exists. Years later, Jeffries, whose name also appears as Jefferies in newspaper clips, confessed to staging the stunt. Somewhere in the mix was Norman Jeffries filing reports to willing recipients. The next thing to spring out were the claws, followed by the hideous fur and feathers that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Kim Magaraci graduated Rutgers University with a degree in Geography and has spent the last seven years as a freelance travel writer. There are legends that suggest that Dr. Killian and Commodore Decatur were in the Pine Barrens to hunt the creature, making it possible that the story was invented in order to gain even more fame and respect in the area. On Saturday, January 16th, the Jersey Devil was seen flying over Woodbury, New Jersey. The community was outraged, seeing this as yet another offense by Leeds and went as far as to publish a tract that accused him of working for the devil. [2][3], The Lenape people who originally inhabited the Pine Barrens believed the area was inhabited by a spirit called M'Sing, which sometimes took the form of a "deer-like creature with leathery wings. After having 12 children she was exhausted and ready to stop giving birth. Kelly Roncace. (File photo). 15. One hundred and ten years ago this month, the Philadelphia region was gripped by fear of a monster that roamed around killing chickens and pets and terrorizing residents, with armed men sent into the woods to hunt for it. There are many who speculate that the Jersey Devil legend could have been started by none other than founding father, Benjamin Franklin. Armed with shotguns, a party of farmers in Springfield Township followed the tracks for almost four miles until they mysteriously disappeared.. At first, it appeared to be normal and of good health. Before it was known as the Jersey Devil, the creature was more commonly called the Leeds Devil. The legend of the Jersey Devil can be traced back to an 18th century English immigrant named Deborah Smith, who c . As Franklin continued to depict Titan as a ghost and the Leeds family crest was dragons, it is possible that the legend of the Jersey Devil was in part conflated with Franklins antics.