January 8, 2019 ▸ Cryptids, Myth & Folklore

Episode 356: The Jersey Devil: Look It’s a Bat, It’s A Kangaroo, No It’s The Devil

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On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we look at a cryptid that allegedly causes more trouble in New Jersey than, well, people from New Jersey. Our topic? The Jersey Devil. This mythical (?) creature has been reported in the Pine Barrens for centuries. It looks like a wyvern or a kangaroo with claws, hooves, and wings. It gives a blood chilling scream, and by many accounts is immune to gunfire (and, yes, cannonballs).

But the Jersey Devil may be two different creatures or two different myths. The first was actually called the Leeds Devil, and it was the popular version of this creature from 1735 until 1909. The legend has it that Mother Leeds (a poor woman in the Barrens with 12 children) got pregnant a 13^th time and cursed the child since she had no way to feed it. A healthy son was born, and in no time, he sprouted horns and wings a forked tail, and claws, and killed the midwife before bailing out the chimney.

This Leeds Devil supposedly lived in the Barrens ever sense. Or not. Historians look at the fact that the Pine Barrens were dense and scary, full of brigands and thieves, and full of other spooky myths like the ghost of the Black Doctor and the Black Dog. Also, Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac was at war with an almanac owned by the Leeds family, and he smeared Titan Leeds and called him a ghost. That coupled with the Leeds crest (which is a funky looking wyvern) mixed with the puritans of the region and created the Leeds Devil in response.

However, in 1909, things took a turn. In a matter of a week, hundreds of sightings of the newly christened Jersey Devil happened. It encountered three different cops (and was shot at by all three), harassed a cab driver, and crashed parties. This happened again in 1925 and every few years since. In the olden days, mass hysteria could account for it (since there was no X-Files or internet to spread the rumors). But in the newer days there aren’t any solid photos or forensic evidence, so this one is kind of sketchy. There are even grainy Big Foot photos, but through it all, the people of the area fully have faith in the devil’s child that is the Jersey Devil.