The Jersey Devil

The Jersey Devil has become a famous icon standing for the mysterious and strange in Leeds Point, New Jersey and throughout the state. In fact, New Jersey's hockey team in the NHL is named for this legendary creature. Over the years many people have claimed to have encountered The Jersey Devil, leading to a growing mythology about this strange beast or demon.

One of the many who have face the Jersey Devil is a hero of the Barbary wars and the War of 1812, Commodore Stephen Decatur. Decatur is perhaps one of the first of the well remembered American war heroes who was not part of the Revolutionary war. He was the youngest man ever to become captain in the US Navy. He died in 1820, from wounds suffered during a duel. He left his wife $75,000, which is equivilant to over $1 million in today's currency.

Decatur's run in with the Jersey Devil involves his firing a cannonball at the creature. The claim is that the cannonball blew a hole in its stomach. But the awful wound, did not faze the creature. It simply flew away into the distance.

Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte, saw the Jersey Devil while he was hunting on his estates. He had settled in America and was living on 1000 acres in the New Jersey area. As a former king of Spain, his tale about the Jersey Devil carried a lot of weight, at the time.

Throughout the 1800s, many more people reported that the Jersey Devil made raids on their property. It was reported to have stolen chickens, and sheep. This included a raid on Vincentown in 1899. Many people there reported many missing animals including pets. In 1909, thousands of people claimed to have seen the monster. These people were all residing in the 30 towns dotting the Delaware Valley.

Panic ensued in Burlington when footprints belonging to the Jersey Devil were found in backyards and on rooftops covered with snow. These were not normal human footprints. They were cloven hooves. At the same time, Jacksonville hunters organized a search party to capture or kill the beast. But their hunting dogs, upon seeing and sniffing the footprints became so agitated that they would not follow them. A Glaucester city man claimed to have seen it walking around on his roof for about 10 minutes. He described it as about 3 ½ feet high with the head of a collie, the legs of a crane, the face of a horse and 2 foot wings.

There was a claim by a telephone lineman that the Jersey Devil attacked him. It chased him up a telephone pole. He was only saved when a co-worker appeared, driving it off by shooting it in the wing. If a cannonball couldn't harm it, how could a mere bullet drive it off? Perhaps, the devil did not like the noise...

It's likely that the Jersey Devil is nothing more than a series of different animals seen in the dark or under the influence of alcohol, combined with a vivid imagination. But the stories are still considered fun, until the night you, yourself, run into THE JERSEY DEVIL...

News About the Devils and Monsters