Pine Barrens Folklore: The Jersey Devil

We want to believe in a Jersey Devil.  The X-Files

I don't typically write very much about cryptozoology, which some people call a science but most people consider a pseudo-science. Wikipedia defines it as the search and study of unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated. Such species are popular in folklore, including Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, or the chupacabra. The only one I would consider part of this site's domain is, of course, the Jersey Devil.  

The Jersey Devil even figured into the plot of an episode of The X-Files TV series (Season 1, Episode 5) when Mulder and Scully track the legendary creature who is here a maneater that haunts the back alleys and woods surrounding Atlantic City. The "x-files" is definitely where we place this creature. 

I haven't seen any recent sightings of the Jersey Devil in the news, but there are at least 13 places where it has supposedly been seen from Bridgeton to Haddonfield in 1859; to the New York border in 1899; and from Gloucester City to Trenton in 1909. 

The legend is of a creature living in South Jersey. The Jersey Devil is also known as the Leeds Devil and is said to inhabit the Pine Barrens area.

Descriptions of the creature often describe a flying biped with hooves, with a horse- or goat-like head, leathery bat-like wings, horns, small arms with clawed hands, legs with cloven hooves, and a forked tail. It has been reported to move quickly and is often described as emitting a high-pitched "blood-curdling scream." 

Japhet Leeds House, Moss Mill Road,
Leeds Point, Atlantic County, NJ, 1937 - NPS photo

Earlier this year, I received an email from Corinne Adams who describes herself as "a maven of the Jersey Devil." Her interest is different from many people's because she is a descendant of Grandma Leeds. The folklore origin of the Jersey Devil points to Jane Leeds, known as "Mother Leeds," who had twelve children and, after finding she was pregnant for the thirteenth time, cursed the child in frustration, crying that the child would be the "devil."

The birth of that 13th child in 1735 was on a stormy night. The child appeared normal at birth but then changed to a creature with hooves, a goat's head, bat wings, and a forked tail. Growling and screaming, the child beat everyone with its tail before flying up the chimney and heading into the pines. Variations on the legend say Mother Leeds was a witch or that the child's father was Satan. 

Corrine grew up in Northfield, NJ but her father, S. Earl Jeffries, told his kids about his grandmother, Grandma Leeds.

As part of the Scarlet Speakers from Rutgers series, I watched a program on the Jersey Devil by Angus Kress Gillespie, professor of American Studies at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. He is a Fulbright professor and a New York Times best-selling author. A Yale University graduate, he did his graduate work in folklore at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The author of several books and numerous articles, Dr. Gillespie has a keen interest in the folklore of the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey. Professor Gillespie has toured theaters, coffeehouses, libraries and schools all over the State of New Jersey with his unique interpretation of the legend of the Jersey Devil.