Jersey Devil Research Papers

The Jersey Devil; he has the face of a goat, body of a kangaroo, legs of a crane, wings like a bat, and pig’s feet. The very idea of these features mashed together just seems impossible. This bizarre creature is believed to inhabit Pine Barrens, in southern New Jersey. How could such a strange creature come into existence? There are many different variations to the Jersey Devil legend, but the more known one tells the story of Mother Jane Leeds. Mother Leeds lived in Pine Barrens in poverty. The year 1735 came by, Mother Leeds found that she was pregnant with her 13th child. She believed this child would be the Devil’s child, and she wasn’t far off. When her baby was born, he seemed just fine. But he soon had a horrifying appearance, like

One sighting occurred in the early nineteenth century. Commodore Stephen Decatur was a naval hero who tested weaponry, which was part of his job. While testing cannon balls he saw a bizarre creature up in the sky. He shot the cannon ball at the monster, but he missed and the creature flew away. Another report also occurred in the early nineteenth century, from Joseph Bonaparte who was the former king of Spain and brother of Napoleon. He was out hunting near Bordentown in New Jersey where he claimed to have seen the Jersey Devil several times. In 1840-41, an odd creature who had a horrifying scream and weird footprints killed many sheep and chickens. There has also been many different stories from 1859 to 1894 that tell of the Jersey Devil taking small animals and even kidnapping children in Haddonfield, Bridgeton, Smithville, Long Branch, Brigantine, and Leeds Point. Residents soon became too afraid to stay up too late. In the year 1903, Charlie Skinner, who wrote American Myths and Legends, believed that residents of New Jersey would no longer have to deal with the Jersey Devil; he believed that in the new century, the devil would have ceased to exist. This calmed the residents of New Jersey. They thought Charlie was right, but he was wrong – and so were

It was the week of January 16-23; this week would bring all sorts of evidence that the Jersey Devil was back in town. Over thousands of people from South Jersey and Philadelphia saw the devil! It all started a bright, early morning. The date was January 16, 1909. Thack Cozzens, who resided in Woodbury, New Jersey, spotted the devil flying down the street. Later that same day the Jersey Devil was spotted in Bristol, Philadelphia, by John Mcowen who saw the creature on a canal bank. As the day continued, more and more people saw the devil in action. The next day residents of Bristol found strange hoof prints in the snow. The hoof prints were unrecognizable; they were nothing like the residents have ever seen before. Days later more and more hoof prints were found. One man claimed that there were hoof prints surrounding their garbage in their yard, they also mentioned that their garbage was half eaten. It wasn’t long before many peoples’ yard were covered in the same hoof prints – they were everywhere. They were in trees, in the roofs, in the roads. Some were found in the middle of open fields. The strange hoof prints were also found in Columbus, Hedding, Kinhora, and Rancocas. A proper hunt was soon organized, but the dogs that were assigned wouldn’t follow the trail. Soon it was January nineteenth, 1909; it was two-thirty in the morning. Mr. & Mrs. Nelson Evans woken by a horrifying noise. Then, the two saw it; the Jersey Devil.