New Jersey Devil
The story of the Jersey Devil has become layered with myths and variations, obscuring the original events that gave rise to it. Not surprising considering the story comes from colonial-era political intrigue, Quaker religious infighting, and a future Founding Father. Most skeptics know the story of the Jersey Devil.
Sometime in the early part of the eighteenth century in the New Jersey forest called the Pine Barrens, a woman known as Mother Leeds gave birth to her thirteenth child and cried out, “Oh, let this one be a devil!” The “child” arrived with horse-like head and bat-like wings. It yelped menacingly and flew up and out of the chimney, disappearing into the dark to spend centuries accosting anyone unfortunate enough to encounter it.
The commonly held story of the Jersey Devil bears no resemblance to any sort of reality, however. The story is one born not of a blaspheming mother, but of colonial-era political intrigues, Quaker religious in-fighting, almanac publishing, a cross-dressing royal governor, family reputations, and Benjamin Franklin.
There are groups of books and websites devoted to the Jersey Devil, but they repeat material or copy other websites without any attempt to verify sources or check original materials. If you looked to the historical record with the keyword of Jersey Devil, you would find little accurate or strong evidence.
Reviews of newspapers, pamphlets, and broadsides from colonial New Jersey show no references to a Leeds Devil or anything like it. Reports of children killed by the creature or an attempt by a local clergyman to “exorcise” the Leeds Devil in the eighteenth century have no supporting documentation. As a result, the story of the Jersey Devil’s origin has been shrouded in monster tales that obscure the far more interesting historical events.
Sometime in the early part of the eighteenth century in the New Jersey forest called the Pine Barrens, a woman known as Mother Leeds gave birth to her thirteenth child and cried out, “Oh, let this one be a devil!” The “child” arrived with horse-like head and bat-like wings. It yelped menacingly and flew up and out of the chimney, disappearing into the dark to spend centuries accosting anyone unfortunate enough to encounter it.
The commonly held story of the Jersey Devil bears no resemblance to any sort of reality, however. The story is one born not of a blaspheming mother, but of colonial-era political intrigues, Quaker religious in-fighting, almanac publishing, a cross-dressing royal governor, family reputations, and Benjamin Franklin.
There are groups of books and websites devoted to the Jersey Devil, but they repeat material or copy other websites without any attempt to verify sources or check original materials. If you looked to the historical record with the keyword of Jersey Devil, you would find little accurate or strong evidence.
Reviews of newspapers, pamphlets, and broadsides from colonial New Jersey show no references to a Leeds Devil or anything like it. Reports of children killed by the creature or an attempt by a local clergyman to “exorcise” the Leeds Devil in the eighteenth century have no supporting documentation. As a result, the story of the Jersey Devil’s origin has been shrouded in monster tales that obscure the far more interesting historical events.
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