The Jersey Devil
Once upon a time in Leeds Point, New Jersey, there lived a family who had 12 children. When the mother of this family discovered she was pregnant for the 13th time, she became despondent with worry and told her husband she can't accept this child. She just plain didn't want him.
Eventually the child was born, only he was different from any of the other children ~ and even different from any child known before him. He was big, had purple eyes, with gold diamonds as pupils, and pointed ears, to name a few of his differences.
The boy was never made to feel wanted. He knew he was different and must have suffered much during the eight years he lived with the family. When he was eight, he was already about six feet tall. So as not to cause the family any more hardships about his freakiness and because he knew he wasn't wanted, he ran away.
The boy became known as:
The Jersey Devil
According to legend, he lived in the woods like and animal and with the animals ~ and was not seen again by his family ~ but in the years since, he has been seen by many others.
Those who reported seeing him said that he didn't try to harm them ~ they were afraid at first by his looks, but they were not afraid after a few minutes. Those who did see him who didn't try to harm him, became wealthy almost overnight.
People flock to Leeds Point, New Jersey, on Halloween night ~ the night when you can hear him howl.
In the meantime, many of the stories say he lives in the pine barrens, the part of South Jersey that makes up three-fourths of the state of New Jersey and he's protected by the people they call the "Pineys."
These people are very strange. I've seen them many times, while out looking for "The Jersey Devil." The pine woods are open to the public, and there's a little town inside, not far from an entrance on the White Horse Pike between Lindenwold and Atlantic City that leads to the town, Batsto, which has a historical museum and souvenir shop. Should you get off any of the main roads, you might meet up with the Pineys, who point guns at you, grunt, and motion with their guns for you to back up and get out of there.
Even if "The Jersey Devil" didn't live in the pine barrens, the place can give you the willies. Many people have gone in for a drive and never come out ~ some were lost for many hours or days ~ yours truly and my sister included.
There are many Jersey Devil historians in South Jersey. Many of the daily newspapers in the area print pages and pages about him around Halloween.
In the late 1800s he was seen as far west as Collingswood, New Jersey (my old town close to Philadelphia.)
Almost 100 years later, her was still being seen by many different kinds of people who all became very wealthy after seeing him.
A couple years ago, while living in Las Vegas, I ran across one of his mother's descendents, who just happens to live in Las Vegas now! I don't remember his name, but if anyone knows of him, please let me know. I wanted to get more stories about "The Jersey Devil" from him. And if you know of some Jersey Devil encounters, please send them to me.
Here's another Jersey Devil Story:
http://www.strangemag.com/jerseydevil1.html
lorraine@theesotericworldnews.com
Last updated on 07/27/07 09:43 AM
