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.
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.
 |
| Artist's rendition of the Jersey Devil(Via Monster Hunters) |
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 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.
 |
| Great Horned Owl in Flight. |
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
Via Google Search Enginge
Wikipedia: Jersey devil: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Devil
YouTube: The Jersey Devil; New evidence emerging: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAaRY5bqYSc
