Jersey Devil Caught on Camera

A resident of New Jersey is said to have taken this photo along Route 9 near a golf course when he snapped this photo, of the mythological creature of the Jersey Devil.

The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature or cryptid said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey, United States. The creature is often described as a flyingbiped with hooves, but there are many different variations. The common description is that of a kangaroo-like creature with the head of a goat, leathery bat-like wings,horns, small arms with clawed hands, cloven hooves and a forked tail. It has been reported to move quickly and often is described as emitting a “blood-curdling scream.

The Lenape tribes called the area “Popuessing” meaning “place of the dragon”. Swedish explorers later named it “Drake Kill” (“drake” being a word for dragon, and “kill” meaning channel or arm of the sea (river, stream, etc. in Dutch).

A popular origin of the story is as follows: “It was said that Mother Leeds had 12 children and, after finding she was pregnant for the 13th time, stated that this one would be the Devil. In 1735, Mother Leeds was in labor on a stormy night. Gathered around her were her friends. Mother Leeds was supposedly a witch and the child’s father was the Devil himself. The child was born normal, but then changed form. It changed from a normal baby to a creature with hooves, a goat’s head, bat wings and a forked tail. It growled and screamed, then killed the midwife before flying up the chimney. It circled the villages and headed toward the pines. In 1740 a clergyman exorcised the demon for 100 years and it wasn’t seen again until 1890.”

“Mother Leeds” has been identified by some as Deborah Leeds, on grounds that Deborah Leeds’ husband, Japhet Leeds, named twelve children in the will he wrote in 1736, which is compatible with the legend. Deborah and Japhet Leeds also lived in the Leeds Point section of what is now Atlantic County, New Jersey, which is commonly the location of the Jersey Devil story.