The Jersey Devil

The Jersey Devil has been said to be a mythical creature that haunts New Jersey and the surrounding area (hints the "New Jersey Devil") for the past 260 years.

There have been around 2,000 sightings of this creature. Whether they are legitimate or not, well, that's up to you.

Legend:

The tale has many variations although the most common is indeed the tale of  Mrs. Shrouds of Leeds Point, NJ.

Mrs.Shrouds of Leeds Point, NJ: According to legend, Mrs. Shrouds was a supposed witch. She, wished her next child (some say the 13th) would be a devil. (some variations say as it was being born she yelled "Let it be DEVIL!) So, when the child was born, it was indeed devil.

A creature with the head of a horse, large wings and claws, and an elongated serpent's body.

As stated there are MANY variations, one said the child's father was indeed devil, passing it to the child.

POPULAR SIGHTINGS:

-January 1909:

The biggest week of sightings was January 16 through 23, 1909. According to the residents, it was the Jersey Devils "most infamous spree." News Papers claimed it to be "Phenomenal Week" for the sightings. Reports were being constantly filed of strange and unidentified footprints in the snow and sightings as far  SOUTH as PHILADELPHIA & DELAWARE!

Panic spread through the Delaware Vally like a plauge. Schools were closed. Workers stayed home.

 -  July 27, 1937: a creature matching the Jersey Devil's description was seen by residents of Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

-2008: According to the New York Times, in 2008 alone, over ten encounters with the Leeds Devil were reported to the local "Devil Hunters" group.

What Does The Jersey Devil Do?

Most Reports say that when the Jersey Devil was spoted, the farm animals where mysteriously killed and eatin.

It is also said to make an EXTREAMLY high pitch "Screaming" sound.

Popular Storys:

Cate Bishop:

^{Cate Bishop, an Ocean City homemaker in her 30s, clearly remembers an autumn night in 1973 when she came face-to-face with the Jersey Devil. Bishop and two girlfriends were walking a moonlit trail in Mays Landing on their way to a house party. They were late, so they decided to take a shortcut through the brush, she recalled.}

"We heard something crashing around in the woods and then this little creature between 3-4 feet tall sprang out of the woods into a clearing," Bishop said. "To me it looked like a goat with dark fur, but jumped on its hind legs only. It had small horns like a young goat and little tiny wings on its back," she added.

The three girls, then all about 15 years old, bolted in the other direction and headed for paved streets. "As we would run past houses that had dogs, we would hear the dogs barking and then quiet again," Bishop said. "After we were a good distance past the houses, the dogs would start barking again." Bishop swears the Jersey Devil chased them to their friend's house that night. "I clearly saw it," she said. "Later, we talked about it and tried to convince ourselves that we hadn't seen it, but I guess I was the only one who believed."                                                        Iola Grabriel:
Iola Gabriel, of Egg Harbor Township, had a somewhat different, but no less frightening, experience in 1934. Gabriel, 70, who grew up in Galloway Township, was a carefree second-grader playing in the Pomona Elementary School yard when she saw a hideous, devil-like creature.

"It's no laughing matter," Gabriel said. "He stood there on the road and looked at us." Gabriel's devil description was different. She said the fiend stood at least 6 feet tall to her young eyes. He was red with horns, she said. But before she could take a long look, her entire class rushed inside the building to tell their teachers. "I can picture him now," Gabriel said. "I've seen him."

                                                Documentry :

Thank you to for contributing to my research:

http://www.theoutlaws.com/ghosts2.htm

http://urbanlegendsonline.com/the-jersey-devil/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Devil

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