The Legend of the Jersey Devil

The "Jersey Devil" is said to roam the New Jersey Pinelands and many people have told others of scary encounters on dark nights in the wilderness of the Pines. Its screams are said to be quite chilling to the spine.

The creature is believed to be the unwanted thirteenth child of Mother Leeds. According to those in the know, Mother Leeds , before the birth of her thirteenth child, declared that she wished the Devil would take the child away after it was born. At birth, the child suddenly changed into the ugliest of creatures and flew away into the vast darkness of the Pinelands. It is reported that the Jersey Devil inhabits the eery and misty wetland areas of the region, venturing out into the woodlands at night seeking humans to scare away with his piercing screams and grotesque appearance.

People have drawn lots of pictures of the Jersey Devil, including the one on this page. Many portray him with horns, a forked tail, and a body that is part man and mostly animal. The reason that there are so many versions of what he looks like may be because people are so scared by his ugliness when they see him that they run quickly to escape and don't get a really good look at his features.

At times, there are newspaper articles in southern New Jersey about the latest sighting of the Jersey Devil. Reports of hearing his screams have come even from people in cities near the Pinelands. Some in New Jersey now think that the Jersey Devil is the protector of the Pinelands, who will not harm any humans who love this special area and try to protect it. Perhaps he is not such a bad guy after all.