–There’s a special place in my heart for the Jersey Devil, having resided in New Jersey for years in the past. I never liked portrayals of the Jersey Devil that were on the comical side, however, for he’s an awesome cryptid.
A recent episode of MonsterQuest gave the Devil his due, portraying him with proper respect. This blog has featured both the Jersey Devil and the Montauk Monster in the past, and I don’t want to repeat what I’ve already covered. Suffice it to say that the Jersey Devil has a rich and far-reaching history extending back around 250 years to the 13th child of a legendary Mother Leeds, who when pregnant with that child cursed him, saying “Let him be a devil!”–Well, be careful what ‘ya wish for, ’cause ‘ya may get it, right? Not only was the 13th child a devil, but in some variants of the story, he consumed his mother and siblings before ascending up the chimney.– He’ll never get any presents on Xmas or his birthday, but ‘ya gotta love the guy!
Now descriptions of the Jersey Devil vary, but in many accounts he’s described as a winged, horse-like creature with a long neck, red eyes, and a serpentine tail. There have been many sighting of the creature over time, especially in the large, Pine Barrens region of southern New Jersey; in the early 20th century, significant numbers of people reported sightings, causing hysteria. More recent cases include one in 1997 where a mother and child were outdoors and saw the creature in a tree, barely making it indoors before the beast landed on their roof and left footprints that couldn’t be identified as those of any known species.
The Jersey Devil should not be confused with the Montauk Monster, which is now thought to have been a decomposing canine (most likely a Boxer) that washed up on a beach. The Montauk Monster briefly caused a stir when photos of something weird and disgusting surfaced amidst rumors that it had been produced by the nearby Plum Island facility, reputed to be creating biological weapons for deployment against the Russians during the Cold War era (much like myself).
MonsterQuest presented alternative explanations for the Jersey Devil, including that it is actually a misidentified Great Horned Owl, or perhaps an African Hammerhead Bat. For that matter, the Jersey Devils are also a professional hockey team in that state, and far too many people in Jersey drive like bats out of hell…but I digress.
While MonsterQuest investigations in the Pine Barrens yielded nothing, eyewitness descriptions allowed creation of an awesome sculpture of the Devil which the 1997 observers said was much like what they saw; those same eyewitnesses also passed polygraph tests, indicating that they were telling the truth about what they thought they saw…and as it was said, it’s “Possible something is out there that could remain hidden for a significant time.”
…or at least, one can hope!
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