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/