Cryptoids are animals unknown to science or seen outside of their normal habitats. Generally, they are reported as sightings with little or no scientific evidence.
The Legend
According to Jerome Clark in Unexplained! (Visible Ink Press, 1993) the Jersey Devil’s origins are disputed. The most accepted version is that when Mrs. Leeds learned she was pregnant with her thirteenth child, she said it was a devil. Upon birth, the creature had cloven hooves, a horse’s head, bat wings and a tail. It flew away. Soon, there were reports of strange things happening in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Uncanny screeches were heard. Livestock died mysteriously. Puzzling footprints were found.
According to legend, in 1740, the people begged a minister to exorcise the monster. He warned the banishment would last 100 years.
There are two legendary reports of sightings before the 100 years expired. Commodore Stephen Decatur saw it when he visited the Hanover Iron Works in the Pine Barrens.
The second sighting was that of Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother, Joseph, near Bordentown while he was hunting.
In 1840, the beast returned to the Pine Barrens. It allegedly abducted sheep and children who were out after sunset. There were few reported sightings.
Press Reports Sightings
1909 was the year of the most media reported experiences with the beast. There were over 100 people in 30 places who saw it in southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey.
1/17: Bristol, PA postmaster, E. W. Minister saw it flying over the Delaware River. Two other people saw it then, including a police officer who shot at it.
1/19: Mrs. Davis White of Philadelphia said she encountered the creature about 4:00 P.M. She screamed bringing her husband to help. He chased it for a distance. There was a report from a Salem policeman seeing it later that day.
Firemen in West Collingswood, NJ, on January 21st, sprayed the Devil with water while it sat on a roof. The maddened beast swooped down on them. Other sightings included Mr. and Mrs. Nelson watching the critter gambol atop of their shed.
Mary Sorbinsky, in Camden, NJ, heard her dog yelping and went outside. She chased the creature with a broom and saw it soar into the air after it had bitten her dog. A crowd of over 100 people had gathered at her house by the time the police arrived. People heard the Devil’s screams. Officers shot at it, but it was unscathed.
Cloven hoof prints were found in the snow in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There were other reports of animals being mutilated. Police Officer James Sackville saw the Devil, shot at it, but it eluded him.
In 1927, a cab driver returned to his vehicle after changing a tire and felt it shake violently. He saw the Devil. In 1930, berry pickers in Leeds Point and Mays Landing reported seeing the creature. In 1951, children sighted the monster in Gibbstown, NJ. In 1960, people in Mays Landing heard its screeches. This scared so many that state officials tried to calm them. Police nailed signs that the Devil was a hoax, but “Devil hunters” still came to the area.
Recently, there have been few isolated sightings. Because there is lack of scientific evidence of proof of the Devil’s existence, some discount it as a legend. The question is that if it is pure legend, how are the accounts of reliable witnesses brushed aside? It is possible that the Jersey Devil is a mixture of legend, hoax and a true cryptoid. It is possible that it no longer exists or that it does, but only deep in the Pine Barrens.
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