Thursday, October 31, 2013

The Jersey Devil.

Ever since I was young I have been both fascinated and terrified of the things that go bump in the night. That's right, I'm talking about monsters, goblins, ghouls, unknown creatures, spirits, ghosts, and everything in between. So I've decided to do my blog on the creepy things that have intrigued me for so long. In this first post I will be going over the infamous Jersey Devil, a long time favorite of mine.
Artist's rendition of the Jersey Devil(Via Monster Hunters)
Though I have never lived anywhere in or near the state of New Jersey I have always had a strong liking for the beast the locals have named The Jersey Devil. A terrifying creature that is rumored to be the 13th child of Deborah and Japhet Leeds. The story says that Deborah or Mother Leeds had given birth to 12 children; upon finding out she was pregnant with a 13th child she said “Let this one be a devil.” while saying her nightly prayers.
In 1735 Mother Leeds went into labor with her 13th child, the child was born a normal healthy baby boy, but then proceeded to change into a monster. He grew the head of a horse, with two fiery red eyes, two horns sprouted from his forehead, there were large leathery bat-like wings stretching out from the creatures back, his feet became two cloven hooves, his hands turned to sharp claws, and a long serpent’s tail swung behind him. It’s said once transformed the creature let out a blood curdling shriek before slaughtering Mother Leeds’ midwife and escaping out the chimney.

It was said that in 1740 a clergy had exorcised the beast, keeping it at rest until about 1890 when people began spotting the monster again. Most sightings occur in an area of New Jersey know as the Pine Barrens. Many claim to have seen the creature, others claim to have been attacked by it. In 1909 sightings began to rise, when a trolly car Haddon Heights and a social club in Camden were both supposedly attacked by the creature. Camden police at the time stated they fired upon the beast to no avail. It's also rumored that a reward of $10,000 was offered up by the Philadelphia Zoo for the capture of the Jersey Devil. The offer caused a number of elaborate hoaxes, one went as far as putting fake wings on a kangaroo.
Devil Sightings/Pine Barrens map.

For as many believers there are in the Jersey Devil, there are twice as many, if not more, skeptics. Some say the Jersey Devil is just an old bed time story the settlers in the pine barrens told for entertainment and to scare children from wandering around alone in the woods. Others look at logical side of things, taking into account the local wildlife as well as other key factors. Wildlife experts believe what most people are claiming to be the Jersey Devil is actually a Great Horned Owl.
Great Horned Owl in Flight.

 Great Horned Owls are one of the largest birds that happen to live where most Devil sightings occur. It has a wingspan of up to 4 feet, the bird's large round eyes look red when they pick up light in the darkness, they have a range of calls from common hooting to loud screeches and shrieks. The birds have also been known to attack humans from time to time, clicking and snapping their beaks before lunging. Many of these traits match what people claiming to see the Jersey Devil have described in the sightings. A large winged creature with horns, red eyes, and a blood curdling scream coming right for them.

Now I'm not a firm believer or skeptic, I like hearing all sides of the story before making a final conclusion. And I gotta say, after the research I've done on my own(Reading lots of articles and watching documentaries), I have to go with the skeptics on this one. Because most people have never seen things like great horned owls and other large wild animals in person, so being attacked by one at night can make one think some monster has come out of the woods. The human brain will fill in blanks any way it knows how. If a giant screaming bird flew at my head in a dark forest I'd probably think it was a monster too.

So in conclusion, I think the Jersey Devil is an owl. Just a big freaking owl, and people have been to detached from nature to tell the difference. I feel if we spent more time getting to know the world around us more of the monsters we make up as a culture will turn out to be less frightening.



Works cited:
Via Google Search Enginge
YouTube: The Jersey Devil; New evidence emerging:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAaRY5bqYSc