What They Say, What We Hear

There are many versions of the birth of the new jersey devil, yet similarities among the stories are apparent. There are also variations that differ in many ways; ranging from the name of the mother to the actual place the new jersey devil was birthed. There are two names of the mother the legends either goes by, Mrs. Leeds and Mrs. Shrouds. One of the most famous of the stories involves the women named Mrs. Leeds, and it all begins in 1735. Mrs. Leeds pregenant with her 13th child, and feeling old before her time, goes into labor on a stormy night. Yet during a fit of painful contractions she curses her baby by saying "let this be the devil!". Upon the baby's birth, forgetting the curse, the midwife places the baby boy in her arms. But as time passes the baby starts to mutate before his mouthers horrified face. The babies face elongates to that of a bat or horse, and wings sprout out of the childs shoulderblades. His feet grow long and thin, and his feet transform into that of hooves. With terror striken through the room, the babies fingers grow into that of claws, and his pale blue eyes changed into that of a strange yellow. No longer the baby the Mrs. Leeds had birthed, it lets out a high pitched scream, and flies through the roof and into the night.
   Another popular version of the story is the women by the same name, yet in this story there are a few differences that occur. Mrs. Leeds was in childbirth, and a storm was raging outside of her home. "The room was full of woman folk gathered to help her, more out of curiosity than good will." (S.E. Schlosser) Mrs. Leeds was known for witchcraf; all the women had gathered to see if she would indeed give birth to a devil. Yet when the child was born, it was not deformed but a regular baby boy. Yet moments passed and the baby changed before their eyes. The room echoed with screams as the child grew to the size of a man in only a few moments; it's body changing into that of a beast. It had a head of that of a horse, a snake-like body, and bat wings. The monster began to beat all the women in the room, including his dear mother, with his large tail. With a cry, the monster then fled from the room and out the chimney.
  There are many different variations of the story, some almost completely different than the stories shown here. Each has it's own unigue story, but shares the same topic. These two are the most popular stories told of the new jersey devil, but many people believe different things. Some even believe that "Mrs. Leeds gave birth to a child with a birth defect and given the superstitions of the period, the legend of the Jersey Devil was born" (McCrann).
 

S.E. Schlosser. "Birth of the Jersey devil." Jersey devil. 1997-2010. Web. 26 October 2011. http://americanfolklore.net/

McCrann, Grace-Ellen. "Legend of the New Jersey devil." The new Jersey Historical Society. 26 October 2000. Web. 26 October 2011. http://www.jerseyhistory.org/

The Devil With Many Faces

The new jersey devil was first reported in 1735, when the legend of the creature was born. This is when the supposed Mrs. Shrouds or Mrs. Leeds, depending on the story, gave birth to a child that shortly after transformed into the devil itself. Later on in 1740, a clergy is said to have exorcised the devil from the area, but the exorcism performed would only last for 100 years. Even with the exorcism; there were two-sightings of the creature before the end of the century, and one stating that he had also shot the creature through his wing. When 1840 came, the 100th year anniversary of the exorcism, the supposed devil went on a rampage. That year and the year following, the state suffered a massive loss of livestock, yet more specifically of chickens and sheep. There was also many reports of people hearing chilling screams in the night and finding strange footprints.
There are theories as to what the new jersey devil really is; if it's an actual creature or an entity of evil itself. "It has terrorized towns and caused factories and schools to close down, yet many people believe that the Jersey Devil is a legend, a mythical beast, that originated from the folklore of the New Jersey Pine Barrens" (Julian). 
  One of the theories, because of the similar appearance in the legs, is the sandhill crane. This may also be because the sanhill crane has wings and makes a loud screech. Which people may confuse for the screams of the supposed devil. Though, because the crane is a herbivore and not as tall as the new jersey devil, some people disprove this theory.
Another theory is the pterodactyl. That they had taken refuge in caves that had later been closed by earths plates, and reopened later by an earthquake. The unlikelihood of the ancient creature still existing in today’s world, though, is highly unlikely for it being extinct for already millions of years.
Some people also believe the new jersey devil is the chupacabra, because of the disappearance of livestock and the high pitch screams. But the characteristics of both supposed creatures are vastly different. The chupacabra is said to drain blood out of it's victims, but the new jersey devil has not been known to do this. Plus the chupacabra does not have wings or stand upright.
There is also talk of it being a hybrid creature, because of the different animal features it possess. This wouldn't be possible though because most hybrids are sterile and can't reproduce. "It's also hard to find the right genetic match of creatures that are capable of performing a hybrid mate. Horses and donkeys are similar species; however, you couldn't mate a dog with a bird, for example, and actually create a new animal." (Leuter)
The supernatural theory is the theory that the new jersey devil is in fact a devil itself and cannot be explained through scientific means. This is believed because the creature is said by witnesses to have shown behavior that is indeed supernatural. This would also probably be the reason why the creature cannot be captured. Though, because many people don't believe in the supernatural it's sometimes disproved by people.
One other theory is that the child born was actually just a deformed child, and in that day and age the child might of been thought of as a devil because of it's malformations. It is thought that the child actually died at a young age, and the legend just carried on with it.

Laura K. Leuter. "The Devil Hunters". The Devil Hunters; The Official Researchers of the New Jersey Devil.  2004 - 2008. Web. October 19th, 2011. http://njdevilhunters.com/

Julian, Dave. "The Jersey Devil". Shadowlands. 1995. Web. October 19th, 2011. http://theshadowlands.net/

The Creature that lurks in the Pine Barrens

It's hard to believe in a legend or a myth of a undocumented creature when there is no hard proof to support it. I mean why believe in something that has never been caged and studied scientifically? Some may believe there is no point in the matter, but just because a creature is said to not exist does this make it fact? The truth is we can never really tell for certain because there is always that lurking question of "What If?". The new jersey devil may be a myth, but the probability of it being a actual creature may be evident. In the past 260 years there have been 2,000 witnesses of the creature, and the fact may be that it is a rare creature on the verge of extinction. That is why I chose this subject to write about, because the subject is a mystery that has been unsolved for many years. The legends of the creature comes in many different variations, but there are common similarities that can be found between them. The same goes for the creatures appearance; a flying biped with hooves being the most popular of them all. There may be truth hidden beneath the legends surrounding the unknown animal that is said to lurk around New Jersey and it’s forest. I believe that there is truth to be found, and that there could be something lurking in those forest. Even if it’s not the new jersey devil, it could just be a rare breed of bird that’s numbers are dwindling. The stories surrounding the creature certainly make it look that way; though, the credibility of the stories is limited. My impression of the legend; the stories of this being the child of a women that transformed into a devil doesn’t, in my opinion, hold any truth. There are many variations of the stories, and the facts of them all seem to hold little to no actual reality behind them.

What can be said about the new jersey devil? Is that it's a mystery in the state of New Jersey and a legend among the citizens within it. The only question is left to be answered is “Is it real?”.