March 25, 2025 • 37 mins
The Jersey Devil stalks the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, a winged nightmare with a horse's head and bat-like wings that's been terrorizing locals for centuries. From the 1909 mass sightings to modern encounters where witnesses narrowly escaped with their lives, discover the blood-chilling truth behind America's only official state demon. Did 'Mother Leeds' really birth this monstrosity in 1735?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:16):
Strange mysteries, unexplained phenomena.
And the shadows in between.
This is The InBetween Official Podcastwith your host,
Carol Ann!
You guys won't let it go, will ya?
Jersey. Devil.
Jersey. Devil.
Jersey Devil.
(00:37):
Well, today I'm done dodging.
I'm answering your callwith a full on plunge
into the haunted heart of New Jersey'sPine Barrens.
1.1 million acres of sandy,untamed wilderness
where something strangehas been lurking for centuries.
So buckle up, buttercup,because we're hunting the Jersey Devil.
(00:59):
And trust me, this thing's got claws.
Literally.
New Jersey,
the most densely populated statein the Union.
Weird piece of trivia, I know,but what makes it kind of amazing
is that it'sthe most densely populated state,
(01:20):
even though about 22% of the land,a full 1.1 million acres,
is a very sparsely populatedarea called the Pineland Park Reserve,
more popularly known as the Pine Barrens.
Why is it called the Pine Barrens?
Well, the soil there is really sandycalled sugar sand by the locals.
(01:41):
So when the early European settlerscame trooping in in the 17th century,
they found out pretty fast that the sugarsand was no good for growing any food.
However, do not let the name fool you.
The Pine Barrens are anything but barren.
With around 400 animal speciesand over 800
different plants,all calling that barren area their home.
(02:05):
Of course, not all of those settlers leftfor greener pastures.
Some stick around,growing into a resilient,
self-sufficient communitynow known as Pineys.
Today's Pineys are very proud ofand work hard
to maintain their heritage,culture and tight knit community.
That heritage includescenturies of folklore.
(02:27):
Trust me, after that long,they've managed to collect a lot of it.
Many a local campfire goerhas been regaled by the stories of legends
such as those of Captain Kidd,who buried a treasure
in Barnegat Bayand comes back on occasion to visit it,
sometimes with,sometimes without his head.
(02:48):
Stories of the Black Dog of the Barrens.
Not a Black Shuck or dogmankind of entity,
but instead a harmless,unfortunate victim of a ship attack.
There's the Golden Haired Girlwho stares out at the sea in her white
dress,still waiting for the return of her lover.
There's the White Stag, knownto not only help people lost
(03:12):
in the vast expanse of the barrens,but also to prevent disasters.
Its most famousappearance was as a roadblock
to a passing stagecoach,who, unbeknownst to them,
was barreling right toward a bridgethat had been washed out.
But without a doubt,the most legendary character
(03:33):
of all Pine Barrensfolklore is the Jersey Devil.
While he's done a pretty good jobof making a name for himself
and becoming a master of marketing,to the Pineys, this legend is no joke.
The Jersey Devil is a real creature,and a dangerous one at that.
Once you hear some of the storiesI have of this
(03:54):
elusive beast, you just might agree.
For those of youwho have never had the pleasure of hearing
of this creaturebefore today, the Jersey Devil, also known
as the Leeds Devil or the Devil of Leeds,is a flying monstrosity
with a head like a horse,a long neck, bat like wings,
(04:15):
thin, birdlike legs, hooves for feet,
and a reptilian forked tail.
On those occasions that he does land,he walks on two legs, leaving behind
hoof prints.
This thing is like the Frankensteinof the cryptid world.
And he actually has his own origin story.
Well, more like an origin stew.
(04:38):
Over the last 290 years, a few ofthe details have gotten a bit murky.
Not a surprise with the three centuryold game of operator,
but here's the gist of the legend.
It is 1735, and a womanby the name of Mother Leeds
is living with her husband and 12 childrensomewhere around Leeds Point.
(04:59):
Her husband’s not the greatest guy,but he's somehow
barely managingto feed the 12 kids that they have.
That does not mean, however,that she wants a 13th.
So when she sees those two pink linesfor the 13th time,
she goes a little nuts and mutterssomething to the effect of “Let
this one be a Devil.” For the life of me,I cannot make sense of that quote.
(05:24):
A few months later,on a dark and stormy night.
And tours.She and the midwives in one room.
And her husbandand all the kids in the other.
Delivery goes fine.
And she gives birthto a beautiful baby boy.
At least that's how he comes out.
But he doesn't stay that way for long.
Within minutes, the curse that she haduttered all those weeks ago
(05:47):
and that she had long forgotten,comes home to roost, so to speak.
The baby starts to change,transforming right in her arms.
It starts growing at an incredible speed,sprouting horns on its head
and claws like talonspop out of the end of his fingers.
Leathery wingsgrow from his back, and hair and feathers
(06:10):
sprout all over his body,and his eyes begin to glow red.
This thing is hideous.
As he grows larger and larger,he looks around
and can read the look of horroron every face he sees.
He brutally attacks his mom, killing her,
then goes after anyone elsestill standing in the room, ripping them
(06:34):
limb from limb, eitherkilling or maiming all of them.
Once he's finished in there.
He goes into the other roomand wreaks havoc in there as well.
Those who are lucky enoughto survive the onslaught, witness
the beast then run to the chimney,which he's too big for, fly
out, pretty much destroying the chimneyand leaving a pile of rubble in his wake.
(06:58):
The monster flies off into the darknessand presumably finds himself
a nice little place to hunkerdown in the Barrens, where he lives
to this day, terrorizing anyoneunlucky enough to cross his path.
That must have beena good amount of people,
because by the time he's five yearsold, in 1740, a priest actually performs
(07:18):
an exorcism on the forestto try to rid them all of this nightmare.
Now, as if the idea of exorcizinga forest isn't strange enough,
the exorcism has an expiration date.
It's only good for 100 years.
And amazingly enough, it seems to work.
Outside of the occasional sighting hereand there, things in the forest
(07:40):
seem to settle downquite a bit for the next century.
Although two of the most famousolder accounts happened before,
that 100 year time frame is up and almostright on top of each other.
The first one happens around 1819
and is actually a bigger dealthan just a sighting.
(08:00):
Legend says that President James Monroecommissioned an unofficial, months
long hunt for the Jersey Devilthat included one Dr.
James Killian, a 19th century cryptidhunter and paranormalist, and Commodore
Stephen Decatur, a Navy guyknown for his heroism in the Barbary Wars.
(08:21):
The story goes thatDecatur is on a cannonball testing grounds
when the Jersey Devil is spotted flyingright over the firing range.
Decatur shoots a cannonball right at it,hits it, but it does nothing to the beast.
He just flies off into the sunset.
The second of the more notablesightings happened roughly a year
(08:41):
later, around 1820, to Joseph Bonaparte,
brother of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Joseph, scrambled his way to Americaafter his
and his brother's little endeavorsin Europe didn't pan out so well,
and took up residence at an estatecalled Point Breeze near Bordentown.
Rumor has itthat Joseph is out on his estate hunting
(09:03):
when he starts following some tracksin the snow that look like hoof prints.
But then they just stop,like something just took off in the air.
As he's studying the prints,he hears a hissing
noise behind him and turns aroundto see a large animal with two crane
looking legs, bat like wings, and a facelike either a horse or camel.
(09:26):
Joseph freaks out,
tells his friends what he saw,and they're like, “Yup.
That's the Devil of Leeds.”And just a little tangent.
Coincidence?
His estate at Point Breezeburns down that very same year.
I'm sure they're totally unrelated.
Since then,the creature has continued to make itself
(09:47):
known throughout the Pine Barrens,and sometimes even beyond,
with more people reportinghearing its otherworldly cries
from deep in the forestthan actually seeing it.
Now I get that particular story
might be a little toughfor some to swallow.
However, there are actually documentedevents in history
(10:08):
that can be stitched togetherto create a more factually
based understandingof how this legend may have been born.
Remember I said that the Jersey Devil
is also known as the Leeds Devilor the Devil of Leeds?
Well, that is basically whateveryone called it until the 20th century.
So the question becomes what exactly isthe name Leeds referring to?
(10:32):
Every single person in southern New Jerseyis rolling their eyes right now,
because everybody in thatneck of the woods knows the Leeds family.
There are Leeds family members in the PineBarrens to this day.
So who are they?
It all starts with Daniel Leeds.
He's a royal surveyorfor the British Crown, who acquires
some land in the Egg Harborarea of the then Province of New Jersey,
(10:57):
which has since become known as LeedsPoint, on the eastern edge of the Pine
Barrens forest and prime JerseyDevil encounter territory.
Daniel had several childrenand two sons in particular, Titan
and Japhet, are going to come into play injust a bit.
So close your eyes and take yourselvesback to history class for a moment.
(11:20):
Remember that the 17th centuryflood of people from Europe
were mostly Quakers,looking for a place far from the king,
so they could practice their religionin peace.
Very devout people.
And of course, as the years rollon, the idea of being under
the king's thumb startsgetting less and less popular.
(11:41):
That's strike one for Daniel,
who's not only an employee of the Crown,but loyal to it as well.
Not so popular in the Quaker ranks.
But then, evidently,the surveying business was drying up
or something, because around 1687he starts publishing an almanac.
Ok. Except his almanac containsastrological symbols and writings
(12:06):
that immediatelyraise the red flag of evil with his Quaker
community, who collect and burnas many of the almanacs as they can.
And keep in mind that around this sametime in American history, 1692 and 1693,
the Salem witch trials were taking placejust up north in Massachusetts.
(12:26):
The Quakers took their fear of evilvery seriously.
But that doesn't stop old Daniel.
He keeps publishing them and doubles down
with even more informationon astrology and mysticism,
and even starting getting into demonology
in angelology, just to name a few.
(12:47):
This did not sit well with his people,
who blasted him in the publicsquare as a heretic.
The The fighting continues, and Danielis eventually kicked out of the Quakers
and converts to Anglicanism,then starts blasting back
with accusationsthat the Quakers are anti-monarchist,
which, let's be honest,they probably were.
(13:09):
In any event, the Quakers end uppublishing another retaliatory
attack on Daniel, publiclyaccusing him of working for the Devil.
So here you havethe lead's name linked with the Devil.
Then, in
1716, Daniel's son Titaninherits his dad's almanac business
and finds himselfgoing head to head with another almanac,
(13:33):
Poor Richard's Almanac, written by noneother than Benjamin Franklin.
The competition between the twointensifies over the years until 1733.
Benjamin Franklin startsmaking fun of the astrological content
of the Leeds Almanac, and publisheshis edition using a satirical version
of Titans astrology to predict Titansdeath for October of that same year.
(13:59):
Titan doesn't think it's very funny
and calls Ben a fool and a liar.
Ben fires back with a published response,openly mocking Titan,
suggestingthat the prediction did come true
and that Titan is now writing as a ghost,a taunt
that Ben would continue to use until well
(14:20):
after Titan's real death in 1738.
So now you have one Leeds who works
with the Devil, and another Leedswho's a ghost.
Add to all of that, in 1728, Titan starts
using the family creston the covers of his almanac.
The family crestjust happens to be a wyvern,
(14:42):
which is a dragon like creature with batlike wings and clawed feet.
Who does that remind you of?
Now let's talk about Daniel'sother son, Japhet.
He lives in Leeds Pointand is married twice,
with both women passing awaybut giving him three sons.
So, hey, third time's the charm, right?
Japhet goes out,finds a third wife, Deborah,
(15:05):
who bears him nine more children.
That's 12 total.
Then, Japhet gets a will togetherthat includes all 12 children.
What makes the will interestingis that it is dated 1736.
So not long after the legendary 1735
birth of the 13th demon child.
(15:28):
Is it possible that Japhet had a come toJesus moment,
standing face to face with a demonransacking his house, and decided
it's never too earlyto get your affairs in order?
So when you put all of this together,the Leeds lived in the same area.
Jersey Devil, ground zero.
(15:49):
The community hated Danieland thought he was in league with Satan,
pretty much calling him the LeedsDevil to his face.
The family crest is a dragon
that's very similarto descriptions of the Jersey Devil.
You have the Mother Leedspart of the legend with Japhet
and Deborah and their 12 children.
All of the elements to the folkloreare there.
(16:13):
Call somebody a monster long enough,and then add in the proverbial
game of operator
over the next couple of generations,you have yourself the birth of a legend.
And you know what else is legendary?
My ability to ignore the newsthat I don't want to hear.
It's actually not that hard.
We all just scroll through our feeds on Xor Facebook that are carefully curated
(16:36):
to keep us there, constantlyreinforcing our internal biases.
But every now and then,something outside of your bubble
burst through, creating shockand awe in your brain.
Well, after having to recoverfrom having our bubbles burst
one too many times,we smartened up and decided
we needed to spend more time figuring outwhat is happening in our world
(17:01):
outside of our curated online newsbubbles.
The media knowswe humans are easily duped.
That's exactly why we get
Ground News.
Ground News not only gives usthe top news stories of the day,
but shows us what outlets are reporting itand which ones are not.
And if they are reporting it,what's their spin on it?
(17:24):
Isn't it amazing how the same storycan be covered by two different sources,
and the stories theypublish are spun in wildly different ways.
Well, Ground News shows you the differenttakes on the different topics.
So you can see the other sideand maybe see what
seems like an old storyfrom a new point of view.
(17:45):
Look, no matter what your views are.
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and ground news can helpyou see all the sides.
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Scan this QR coderight here and click our link
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(18:07):
And at least for right now,
they're offering a full 40% offtheir Vantage plan if you use our link.
Ground News gives us the tools to becomeinformed on all sides of an issue,
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So get grounded with Ground News today
to join us in our fight for truecritical thinking.
(18:30):
Let's not just consume their news.
Let's analyze it,question it and demand the full story.
Now back to our regularly scheduledprograming.
Now, with all of that historical fact
backing up a very plausiblebeginning to a 300 year old legend.
It's still missing one thing.
(18:52):
If this whole affair was startedby a cranky
old religiousnut with lots of grandchildren,
then what exactly have people been seeingin the woods this whole time?
Encounters with this beasthave been recorded
over this entire span of time.
They may have lulled during the 100 YearExorcism, but they're still there.
(19:15):
In 1859, The Atlantic Monthly published
a story about storiestold by the Pine Barrens residents.
In 1887, a newspaperreported sightings of a winged creature
spotted around the same area,with one man quoted as saying,
That thing is not a bird nor an animal,
but it is the Leeds devil.
(19:37):
I can remember well when it was roamingaround in Evesham Woods 50 years ago,
and when it was hunted by men and dogsand shot at by the best marksmen,
there were in all South Jersey,but could not be killed.
But nothing in the annals of Jerseylore holds
a candle to the sightings of 1909, when,during the span of six days,
(20:01):
thousands of people are estimatedto have gotten a glimpse of the monster.
According to Dave Julianoof TheShadowLands.net, everything starts
in the pre-dawn morning of Sunday,January 16th,
1909, in Woodbury, New Jersey,when Thack Cozzens
sees a something flying above himwith glowing eyes.
(20:24):
Whatever it is, itthen heads over to nearby Bristol,
Pennsylvania, where John McOwenis walking on the banks of the canal
and sees something flying through the airand hears its ear piercing scream.
The Bristol postmaster, E.W.
Minister, hears the screaming, too,and sees a flying creature
(20:45):
well enough to describe its headas looking like a horse's head.
A police officer, James Sackville,
even takes a shot at it as it flies away.
When the sun finally comes up,there are hoof prints all over Bristol,
with two local trappers saying they'venever seen tracks like that before.
(21:05):
The next day makes its wayto Burlington, New Jersey,
with more printsall over town in almost every yard.
The prints go everywhere, like up trees,
from one roof to another,and into open fields where they just stop.
The same things are reported in Columbus,
(21:26):
Hedding, Kinkora and Rancocas.
Posses are formed.
Tracking dogs are loosed.
And guess what?
The dogs refuse to track it.
Liam, I heard that before.
And if you're thinkingthis sounds an awful lot like the Devil's
Footprintsin England in 1855, you're right.
(21:47):
If you want to see that video,
there's a link in the descriptionto our episode of that freakiness.
Early Tuesday morning, Mr. and Mrs.
Nelson Evans of Gloucester are treatedto the longest of all the sightings.
They're woken up about 2:30 a.m.
by a strange noise in their yard.
They look out the windowto see some creature just hanging out.
(22:07):
They watched it for like ten minutes.
It was about three feet and half high,with a head
like a collie dog and a face like a horse.
It had a long neck, wingsabout two feet long, and its back legs
were like those of a crane,and it had horses hoofs.
It walked on its back legs and held uptwo short front legs with paws on them.
(22:31):
It didn't
use the front legs at allwhile we were watching.
My wife and I were scared, I tell you,
but I managed to open the windowand say, shoo!
And it turned around, barked at meand flew away.
That afternoon, two professional hunters
in Gloucesterfollowed tracks for 20 miles.
They go over five footfences and under spaces only eight inches
(22:55):
tall, and it's seenby a whole group of people in Camden.
The next day,so Wednesday, it's back in Burlington
with a police officer and ReverendJohn Purcell getting a good look,
and the good reverendsaying, “Never saw anything like it
before.” Posses in Haddonfieldfollow tracks that just stop.
(23:18):
And in Collingswood, a posse watchesit fly off toward Moorestown
where it is seen by John Smith nearthe Mount Caramel Cemetery.
Right after that,it it's seen by George Snyder,
who describes itexactly the same way John Smith did.
Not to mentionthat more tracks are found in Riverside.
(23:40):
On Thursday.
It makes an appearance at the Black HawkSocial Club.
I assume that to meanat least a few people.
Then it's circles the sky overan entire trolley car full of people
in Clementine, with their descriptionsmatching everyone else's, so far.
The beast then makes its way to Trenton,where Councilman E.P.
(24:03):
Weeden hears the sound of wings flapping.
He opens his door to see what's going onand sees hoof prints in his yard,
hoof printsthat are also seen elsewhere in the city.
By the end of the day,trolley drivers in Trenton
and Brunswick are packing heat Go ahead.
Make my day.
(24:24):
just in case.
The people of Pitman head to the churches.
Chickenseverywhere are either missing or dead,
and the West Collingswood Fire Departmentactually shoots at it with a hose,
which I don't think it really appreciatedbecause it circled
back to dive bomb them before flying off.
Thursday night.
Mrs. Sorbinski, who lives inCamden, hears a racket in her yard.
(24:49):
She opens the door to see this creaturetrying to make off with her dog.
She starts screaming,grabs her broom and runs at the monster,
smacking it over and overuntil it lets the dog go.
Over 100 people crowd into her yard
after hearing the commotion,including the police.
The crowd hears an unfamiliar screechingcoming from an area called Kaigan Hill.
(25:13):
They all startrunning in that direction, see
the creatureand the police start shooting at it.
The Devil takes off and flies away,and not a soul is
seen on the streets of Camdenfor the rest of the night.
By Friday, schools,mills and factories are closing
because everyone's too afraidto leave their houses to go anywhere.
(25:35):
A Camden police officer spies the creaturedrinking from a horse's trough.
Jacob Henderson of Salem sees it,describing it as having wings and a tail
and a Blackwood police officer sees itand draws a sketch of it.
His sketch matchesall the other descriptions so far.
But after Friday, the sightings stopas fast as they had started.
(25:58):
One more sighting is reported in February,
but that's it for 1909.
But should be no surprisethat an event like this
is bound to draw out THAT guy.
One guy later confessedto hoaxing some of the hoof prints.
But the real hoaxers were NormanJeffries and T.F.
(26:19):
Hopkins from the Arch Street Museumin Philadelphia.
The museum was kind of like a Ripley'sBelieve It or Not
place, with various odditiesand curiosities on display.
Mr. Hopkins, the museum owner, tells
Norman, the museum publicist,
they're about to go under,if Norman can't drum up some business.
(26:39):
So Norman and his animal trainer friendJacob Hope
get their hands on a kangaroofrom a circus, paint green stripes on it,
glue some huge claws on it,glue wings on its back
and proclaim to the worldthrough fake stories to the newspapers
that they had caught the beastand now have it on display at the museum.
(27:03):
Sadly for them, it only preventsthe closing of the museum by a few weeks.
And 20 years later,Norman confesses to the hoax.
Now, obviously,it will come as no surprise
that there are people out therewho believe that all of the sightings
are merely misidentifiedforest animals like bats,
(27:25):
a great horned owl, or a sandhill crane.
Sandhill cranes are becoming the swampgas excuse of the cryptid world.
But the sightings continue.
In 1925, a guy grabs his gun
and takes off after somethingthat's attacking his chickens.
He shoots it, killsit, has no idea what it is.
So he takes some pictures.
(27:46):
He shows the picturesto at least 100 people.
But no one has a clue what it is.
In 1951, agroup of boys are out in the woods around
Gibbstownand spot a winged, hooved creature
with bat like wings and a horse or goatlike head and a fork tail.
The sighting is part ofwhat is called the Gibbstown Invasion,
(28:06):
which is a rash of sightingsthat happen all around Gibbstown, in 1951.
And even more recent is a terrifyingencounter from January of 2004.
Lori Winkelman, her husband Glenn,and their three kids live near
Wharton StatePark in the middle of the Pine Barrens.
She and her kids are out
playing in the snowfrom the first real storm of the season.
(28:30):
They start to go inside for dinner,
but Lori sees there are still Christmaslights on on the garage.
The Pine Barrens at night always kind ofcreep her out, so she asks her 11 year old
son to go with her while she walks overto the garage to turn the lights off.
And she's bending over to pull the plug.
She hears her sonstart making a weird noise.
(28:50):
She looks at her son and seeshis face is frozen in a wide
eyed stare as he points to the treesfollowing his finger.
Laurie looks at the trees and sees a giantblack thing perched in the trees.
As she's looking,and trying to figure out what it is
that she's seeing, the thing takes tothe air, headed in their direction.
(29:14):
Lori snaps into action and pushesher still frozen son
toward the house, as the twotake off running at top speed.
They feel a woosh sensationover their heads,
and then hear itland on the roof of the house.
They keep running for the door,
even though they knowthis thing is now in front of them.
(29:36):
And as they get closer,they can hear the click clack
sounds as it movesdown the roof, closer to the door.
Lori and her son hit the door,
throw themselves inside,and have simultaneous meltdowns.
The next morning, Glenn wakes her upsaying, oh my God, you got to see this.
They go outside, look up on the roof,and there are footprints
(30:00):
right where Lori said they would be.
It had stopped snowingand there wasn't really any wind.
So the tracks are in perfect condition.
Glenn takes pictures of the tracks.
They take the pictures to a friendof theirs who's an expert hunter.
He has no idea.
They take them to a wildlife expertat their local park and rec department.
(30:22):
He has no clue.
So finally, Laurie calls the police.
An officer comes out, conductsa perimeter search,
looks at the tracks on the roof,has no idea what made them, but estimates
whatever it is to be somewherein the neighborhood
of 200 and 400 pounds.
He asks Loriif they have guns in the house.
(30:45):
Lori says no.
And the officer tells herMaybe you should get some.
Chris Differ, author of the book“Jersey Devil Update 2022:
More Stories of New Jersey'sEnduring Legend”, is keeping tabs on
some of the more recent sightingsas they are reported to him,
including this one shared with himby a guy named Joe Brick.
(31:07):
It's early January, 1 a.m.
as Joe steps off the trainin an Iron Maiden T-shirt,
skinny jeans in his well-wornleather jacket.
He's just getting backfrom a concert in Philadelphia.
He'd had a pretty good timeat the concert, but by the time
the cold air hits his face,he can feel that most of his buzz is gone.
(31:29):
As he braces against the coldand heads for the stairs,
he sees this massive figurestanding on the other side of the tracks.
Joe looks at it, gets the feeling
it's looking back at him,but it's silhouetted
by the streetlight behind it sohe can't really see it all that clearly.
What he can see gives him the distinctimpression that it's not human.
(31:53):
It has skinny legs from the knees downand overly broad shoulders.
But Joe keeps moving.
He gets down from the platformand onto Main Street,
and as he's walking,he can hear footsteps behind him.
Except they're not really footsteps.
Sounds more like hooves clomping.
(32:14):
He hears what sounds like wings
flapping and just starts running,
knowing in his gut,this is the Jersey Devil.
Joe turns right and heads down an alley.
Whatever this thing is,it follows him into the alley,
but its wing hits the side of the brickbuilding, causing it to go down.
(32:34):
Joe keeps runningthrough the alley across the street
and ends up on the frontsteps of a theater.
He tries to get in,but the doors are locked.
Having nowhere elseto go and seeing this creature
getting closer,he just keeps shaking the doors.
Suddenly the doors open and Joethrows himself inside, past the two actors
(32:55):
dressed in togas, evidently staying late
for a little extra “rehearsal time.”
As they try to recoverfrom the surprise of Joe
barging in on them,they look out beyond him, and they, too,
see the beast flying at them before Joequickly pulls the door shut behind them.
All three of themstay holed up in the theater
(33:15):
for at least a half an hour with the girl,
a young 20s blond girl, kind of laughingbut shaking at the same time.
They talk about it and all agreethat they all saw the same thing.
Like, we saw that right?
Once they figure they've waitedlong enough for the creature
to vacate the area, the young manstarts his car with his remote starter,
(33:40):
and the two make a run for itinto his car, as Joe
makes his way back to Main Street,looking all around as he goes.
By this time, it's like 130-1:45.
And as he's walking, something at an oldbank building catches his attention.
It's the thing just standing there.
(34:01):
To Joe's horror,he watches as the creature stretches
its wings and takes to the air again,heading right at him.
He starts running again,looking for another alley
or someplace to hide,when the thing swoops right over
Joe's head and sinksits claws into Joe's shoulders.
(34:23):
Joe feels the groundfall away from under him
as the thing carries himhigher and higher.
His fight or flight kicks in,and he starts to wiggle
as much as he can and managesto wiggle himself out of his jacket,
falls, landing on a roof, rolling
down over the gutter and onto a car.
(34:44):
The car's alarm goes off, and both Joe andthe thing clear the area at high speed.
As he's running.
Joe can feel blood running down his armfrom a gash
he got from the gutter,but he just keeps running.
He makes it to the 7-Eleven,and runs into the couple from the theater,
who are just coming out, munchies in hand.
(35:07):
I don't think there'sa whole lot of people
on the streets of Hammonton at 2 a.m.
on a weeknight.
Joe piles into the back of their car.
They're a little startled,but they look at Joe and he's got blood
running down his arms and roofshingle grit all over.
And the girls like,“What happened to your jacket?”
Joe tells her, “I wiggled out of itwhen the Jersey Devil was carrying me
(35:30):
away.” Whether they believe him or not,they can tell he's pretty beat up
and just looks like someonewho needs a ride home.
Today, Joe doesn't get off the trainby himself anymore
and has severely cut down his nighttimeactivity attendance, has a brand new 2.5in
scar on his arm as a permanent souvenir,and still really misses that jacket.
(35:56):
But lest you think that there is no placethat the Jersey Devil can't get you,
I leave you with this piece of wisdomfrom Paul Evans Peterson
Jr, author of the book “The Legendary PineBarrens.
New tales from Old Haunts.”According to Paul,
if you find some Jersey Devil hoof prints,
take a little shovel, carefully dig outthat track, put it into a glass jar,
(36:21):
put the lid on the jar, and keepthe jar under your bed.
As long as you keepthat track under your bed,
the Jersey Devil will never hurt you.
I'm going to leaveyou with a little piece of trivia today,
which is that New Jersey
is the only state in the countryto have an official demon,
(36:42):
after voting in 1939 to have the JerseyDevil hold that honor for their state.
By the way, how did Chris Differ
end his book on modern JerseyDevil sightings?
With the words “Be careful
out there.”My brother from another mother.
If you want to leap right into anothercryptid adventure, click right here.
(37:05):
Be careful out there
and I will see youhere again, on The InBetween.
Thanks for tuning into The InBetween Podcast.
Enjoy the full visual experiencewith me over on YouTube.
Just search for @TheInBetweentales.
I'm Carol Ann,and until next time, be careful
(37:28):
out there.
Strange mysteries, unexplained phenomena.
And the shadows in between.
This is The InBetween Official Podcastwith your host,
Carol Ann!
You guys won't let it go, will ya?
Jersey. Devil.
Jersey. Devil.
Jersey Devil.
(00:37):
Well, today I'm done dodging.
I'm answering your callwith a full on plunge
into the haunted heart of New Jersey'sPine Barrens.
1.1 million acres of sandy,untamed wilderness
where something strangehas been lurking for centuries.
So buckle up, buttercup,because we're hunting the Jersey Devil.
(00:59):
And trust me, this thing's got claws.
Literally.
New Jersey,
the most densely populated statein the Union.
Weird piece of trivia, I know,but what makes it kind of amazing
is that it'sthe most densely populated state,
(01:20):
even though about 22% of the land,a full 1.1 million acres,
is a very sparsely populatedarea called the Pineland Park Reserve,
more popularly known as the Pine Barrens.
Why is it called the Pine Barrens?
Well, the soil there is really sandycalled sugar sand by the locals.
(01:41):
So when the early European settlerscame trooping in in the 17th century,
they found out pretty fast that the sugarsand was no good for growing any food.
However, do not let the name fool you.
The Pine Barrens are anything but barren.
With around 400 animal speciesand over 800
different plants,all calling that barren area their home.
(02:05):
Of course, not all of those settlers leftfor greener pastures.
Some stick around,growing into a resilient,
self-sufficient communitynow known as Pineys.
Today's Pineys are very proud ofand work hard
to maintain their heritage,culture and tight knit community.
That heritage includescenturies of folklore.
(02:27):
Trust me, after that long,they've managed to collect a lot of it.
Many a local campfire goerhas been regaled by the stories of legends
such as those of Captain Kidd,who buried a treasure
in Barnegat Bayand comes back on occasion to visit it,
sometimes with,sometimes without his head.
(02:48):
Stories of the Black Dog of the Barrens.
Not a Black Shuck or dogmankind of entity,
but instead a harmless,unfortunate victim of a ship attack.
There's the Golden Haired Girlwho stares out at the sea in her white
dress,still waiting for the return of her lover.
There's the White Stag, knownto not only help people lost
(03:12):
in the vast expanse of the barrens,but also to prevent disasters.
Its most famousappearance was as a roadblock
to a passing stagecoach,who, unbeknownst to them,
was barreling right toward a bridgethat had been washed out.
But without a doubt,the most legendary character
(03:33):
of all Pine Barrensfolklore is the Jersey Devil.
While he's done a pretty good jobof making a name for himself
and becoming a master of marketing,to the Pineys, this legend is no joke.
The Jersey Devil is a real creature,and a dangerous one at that.
Once you hear some of the storiesI have of this
(03:54):
elusive beast, you just might agree.
For those of youwho have never had the pleasure of hearing
of this creaturebefore today, the Jersey Devil, also known
as the Leeds Devil or the Devil of Leeds,is a flying monstrosity
with a head like a horse,a long neck, bat like wings,
(04:15):
thin, birdlike legs, hooves for feet,
and a reptilian forked tail.
On those occasions that he does land,he walks on two legs, leaving behind
hoof prints.
This thing is like the Frankensteinof the cryptid world.
And he actually has his own origin story.
Well, more like an origin stew.
(04:38):
Over the last 290 years, a few ofthe details have gotten a bit murky.
Not a surprise with the three centuryold game of operator,
but here's the gist of the legend.
It is 1735, and a womanby the name of Mother Leeds
is living with her husband and 12 childrensomewhere around Leeds Point.
(04:59):
Her husband’s not the greatest guy,but he's somehow
barely managingto feed the 12 kids that they have.
That does not mean, however,that she wants a 13th.
So when she sees those two pink linesfor the 13th time,
she goes a little nuts and mutterssomething to the effect of “Let
this one be a Devil.” For the life of me,I cannot make sense of that quote.
(05:24):
A few months later,on a dark and stormy night.
And tours.She and the midwives in one room.
And her husbandand all the kids in the other.
Delivery goes fine.
And she gives birthto a beautiful baby boy.
At least that's how he comes out.
But he doesn't stay that way for long.
Within minutes, the curse that she haduttered all those weeks ago
(05:47):
and that she had long forgotten,comes home to roost, so to speak.
The baby starts to change,transforming right in her arms.
It starts growing at an incredible speed,sprouting horns on its head
and claws like talonspop out of the end of his fingers.
Leathery wingsgrow from his back, and hair and feathers
(06:10):
sprout all over his body,and his eyes begin to glow red.
This thing is hideous.
As he grows larger and larger,he looks around
and can read the look of horroron every face he sees.
He brutally attacks his mom, killing her,
then goes after anyone elsestill standing in the room, ripping them
(06:34):
limb from limb, eitherkilling or maiming all of them.
Once he's finished in there.
He goes into the other roomand wreaks havoc in there as well.
Those who are lucky enoughto survive the onslaught, witness
the beast then run to the chimney,which he's too big for, fly
out, pretty much destroying the chimneyand leaving a pile of rubble in his wake.
(06:58):
The monster flies off into the darknessand presumably finds himself
a nice little place to hunkerdown in the Barrens, where he lives
to this day, terrorizing anyoneunlucky enough to cross his path.
That must have beena good amount of people,
because by the time he's five yearsold, in 1740, a priest actually performs
(07:18):
an exorcism on the forestto try to rid them all of this nightmare.
Now, as if the idea of exorcizinga forest isn't strange enough,
the exorcism has an expiration date.
It's only good for 100 years.
And amazingly enough, it seems to work.
Outside of the occasional sighting hereand there, things in the forest
(07:40):
seem to settle downquite a bit for the next century.
Although two of the most famousolder accounts happened before,
that 100 year time frame is up and almostright on top of each other.
The first one happens around 1819
and is actually a bigger dealthan just a sighting.
(08:00):
Legend says that President James Monroecommissioned an unofficial, months
long hunt for the Jersey Devilthat included one Dr.
James Killian, a 19th century cryptidhunter and paranormalist, and Commodore
Stephen Decatur, a Navy guyknown for his heroism in the Barbary Wars.
(08:21):
The story goes thatDecatur is on a cannonball testing grounds
when the Jersey Devil is spotted flyingright over the firing range.
Decatur shoots a cannonball right at it,hits it, but it does nothing to the beast.
He just flies off into the sunset.
The second of the more notablesightings happened roughly a year
(08:41):
later, around 1820, to Joseph Bonaparte,
brother of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Joseph, scrambled his way to Americaafter his
and his brother's little endeavorsin Europe didn't pan out so well,
and took up residence at an estatecalled Point Breeze near Bordentown.
Rumor has itthat Joseph is out on his estate hunting
(09:03):
when he starts following some tracksin the snow that look like hoof prints.
But then they just stop,like something just took off in the air.
As he's studying the prints,he hears a hissing
noise behind him and turns aroundto see a large animal with two crane
looking legs, bat like wings, and a facelike either a horse or camel.
(09:26):
Joseph freaks out,
tells his friends what he saw,and they're like, “Yup.
That's the Devil of Leeds.”And just a little tangent.
Coincidence?
His estate at Point Breezeburns down that very same year.
I'm sure they're totally unrelated.
Since then,the creature has continued to make itself
(09:47):
known throughout the Pine Barrens,and sometimes even beyond,
with more people reportinghearing its otherworldly cries
from deep in the forestthan actually seeing it.
Now I get that particular story
might be a little toughfor some to swallow.
However, there are actually documentedevents in history
(10:08):
that can be stitched togetherto create a more factually
based understandingof how this legend may have been born.
Remember I said that the Jersey Devil
is also known as the Leeds Devilor the Devil of Leeds?
Well, that is basically whateveryone called it until the 20th century.
So the question becomes what exactly isthe name Leeds referring to?
(10:32):
Every single person in southern New Jerseyis rolling their eyes right now,
because everybody in thatneck of the woods knows the Leeds family.
There are Leeds family members in the PineBarrens to this day.
So who are they?
It all starts with Daniel Leeds.
He's a royal surveyorfor the British Crown, who acquires
some land in the Egg Harborarea of the then Province of New Jersey,
(10:57):
which has since become known as LeedsPoint, on the eastern edge of the Pine
Barrens forest and prime JerseyDevil encounter territory.
Daniel had several childrenand two sons in particular, Titan
and Japhet, are going to come into play injust a bit.
So close your eyes and take yourselvesback to history class for a moment.
(11:20):
Remember that the 17th centuryflood of people from Europe
were mostly Quakers,looking for a place far from the king,
so they could practice their religionin peace.
Very devout people.
And of course, as the years rollon, the idea of being under
the king's thumb startsgetting less and less popular.
(11:41):
That's strike one for Daniel,
who's not only an employee of the Crown,but loyal to it as well.
Not so popular in the Quaker ranks.
But then, evidently,the surveying business was drying up
or something, because around 1687he starts publishing an almanac.
Ok. Except his almanac containsastrological symbols and writings
(12:06):
that immediatelyraise the red flag of evil with his Quaker
community, who collect and burnas many of the almanacs as they can.
And keep in mind that around this sametime in American history, 1692 and 1693,
the Salem witch trials were taking placejust up north in Massachusetts.
(12:26):
The Quakers took their fear of evilvery seriously.
But that doesn't stop old Daniel.
He keeps publishing them and doubles down
with even more informationon astrology and mysticism,
and even starting getting into demonology
in angelology, just to name a few.
(12:47):
This did not sit well with his people,
who blasted him in the publicsquare as a heretic.
The The fighting continues, and Danielis eventually kicked out of the Quakers
and converts to Anglicanism,then starts blasting back
with accusationsthat the Quakers are anti-monarchist,
which, let's be honest,they probably were.
(13:09):
In any event, the Quakers end uppublishing another retaliatory
attack on Daniel, publiclyaccusing him of working for the Devil.
So here you havethe lead's name linked with the Devil.
Then, in
1716, Daniel's son Titaninherits his dad's almanac business
and finds himselfgoing head to head with another almanac,
(13:33):
Poor Richard's Almanac, written by noneother than Benjamin Franklin.
The competition between the twointensifies over the years until 1733.
Benjamin Franklin startsmaking fun of the astrological content
of the Leeds Almanac, and publisheshis edition using a satirical version
of Titans astrology to predict Titansdeath for October of that same year.
(13:59):
Titan doesn't think it's very funny
and calls Ben a fool and a liar.
Ben fires back with a published response,openly mocking Titan,
suggestingthat the prediction did come true
and that Titan is now writing as a ghost,a taunt
that Ben would continue to use until well
(14:20):
after Titan's real death in 1738.
So now you have one Leeds who works
with the Devil, and another Leedswho's a ghost.
Add to all of that, in 1728, Titan starts
using the family creston the covers of his almanac.
The family crestjust happens to be a wyvern,
(14:42):
which is a dragon like creature with batlike wings and clawed feet.
Who does that remind you of?
Now let's talk about Daniel'sother son, Japhet.
He lives in Leeds Pointand is married twice,
with both women passing awaybut giving him three sons.
So, hey, third time's the charm, right?
Japhet goes out,finds a third wife, Deborah,
(15:05):
who bears him nine more children.
That's 12 total.
Then, Japhet gets a will togetherthat includes all 12 children.
What makes the will interestingis that it is dated 1736.
So not long after the legendary 1735
birth of the 13th demon child.
(15:28):
Is it possible that Japhet had a come toJesus moment,
standing face to face with a demonransacking his house, and decided
it's never too earlyto get your affairs in order?
So when you put all of this together,the Leeds lived in the same area.
Jersey Devil, ground zero.
(15:49):
The community hated Danieland thought he was in league with Satan,
pretty much calling him the LeedsDevil to his face.
The family crest is a dragon
that's very similarto descriptions of the Jersey Devil.
You have the Mother Leedspart of the legend with Japhet
and Deborah and their 12 children.
All of the elements to the folkloreare there.
(16:13):
Call somebody a monster long enough,and then add in the proverbial
game of operator
over the next couple of generations,you have yourself the birth of a legend.
And you know what else is legendary?
My ability to ignore the newsthat I don't want to hear.
It's actually not that hard.
We all just scroll through our feeds on Xor Facebook that are carefully curated
(16:36):
to keep us there, constantlyreinforcing our internal biases.
But every now and then,something outside of your bubble
burst through, creating shockand awe in your brain.
Well, after having to recoverfrom having our bubbles burst
one too many times,we smartened up and decided
we needed to spend more time figuring outwhat is happening in our world
(17:01):
outside of our curated online newsbubbles.
The media knowswe humans are easily duped.
That's exactly why we get
Ground News.
Ground News not only gives usthe top news stories of the day,
but shows us what outlets are reporting itand which ones are not.
And if they are reporting it,what's their spin on it?
(17:24):
Isn't it amazing how the same storycan be covered by two different sources,
and the stories theypublish are spun in wildly different ways.
Well, Ground News shows you the differenttakes on the different topics.
So you can see the other sideand maybe see what
seems like an old storyfrom a new point of view.
(17:45):
Look, no matter what your views are.
We need all the informationto truly understand the story,
and ground news can helpyou see all the sides.
See the bigger picture.
Scan this QR coderight here and click our link
in the descriptionto learn more or to get started today.
(18:07):
And at least for right now,
they're offering a full 40% offtheir Vantage plan if you use our link.
Ground News gives us the tools to becomeinformed on all sides of an issue,
not just the part that one sideor the other wants us to know.
So get grounded with Ground News today
to join us in our fight for truecritical thinking.
(18:30):
Let's not just consume their news.
Let's analyze it,question it and demand the full story.
Now back to our regularly scheduledprograming.
Now, with all of that historical fact
backing up a very plausiblebeginning to a 300 year old legend.
It's still missing one thing.
(18:52):
If this whole affair was startedby a cranky
old religiousnut with lots of grandchildren,
then what exactly have people been seeingin the woods this whole time?
Encounters with this beasthave been recorded
over this entire span of time.
They may have lulled during the 100 YearExorcism, but they're still there.
(19:15):
In 1859, The Atlantic Monthly published
a story about storiestold by the Pine Barrens residents.
In 1887, a newspaperreported sightings of a winged creature
spotted around the same area,with one man quoted as saying,
That thing is not a bird nor an animal,
but it is the Leeds devil.
(19:37):
I can remember well when it was roamingaround in Evesham Woods 50 years ago,
and when it was hunted by men and dogsand shot at by the best marksmen,
there were in all South Jersey,but could not be killed.
But nothing in the annals of Jerseylore holds
a candle to the sightings of 1909, when,during the span of six days,
(20:01):
thousands of people are estimatedto have gotten a glimpse of the monster.
According to Dave Julianoof TheShadowLands.net, everything starts
in the pre-dawn morning of Sunday,January 16th,
1909, in Woodbury, New Jersey,when Thack Cozzens
sees a something flying above himwith glowing eyes.
(20:24):
Whatever it is, itthen heads over to nearby Bristol,
Pennsylvania, where John McOwenis walking on the banks of the canal
and sees something flying through the airand hears its ear piercing scream.
The Bristol postmaster, E.W.
Minister, hears the screaming, too,and sees a flying creature
(20:45):
well enough to describe its headas looking like a horse's head.
A police officer, James Sackville,
even takes a shot at it as it flies away.
When the sun finally comes up,there are hoof prints all over Bristol,
with two local trappers saying they'venever seen tracks like that before.
(21:05):
The next day makes its wayto Burlington, New Jersey,
with more printsall over town in almost every yard.
The prints go everywhere, like up trees,
from one roof to another,and into open fields where they just stop.
The same things are reported in Columbus,
(21:26):
Hedding, Kinkora and Rancocas.
Posses are formed.
Tracking dogs are loosed.
And guess what?
The dogs refuse to track it.
Liam, I heard that before.
And if you're thinkingthis sounds an awful lot like the Devil's
Footprintsin England in 1855, you're right.
(21:47):
If you want to see that video,
there's a link in the descriptionto our episode of that freakiness.
Early Tuesday morning, Mr. and Mrs.
Nelson Evans of Gloucester are treatedto the longest of all the sightings.
They're woken up about 2:30 a.m.
by a strange noise in their yard.
They look out the windowto see some creature just hanging out.
(22:07):
They watched it for like ten minutes.
It was about three feet and half high,with a head
like a collie dog and a face like a horse.
It had a long neck, wingsabout two feet long, and its back legs
were like those of a crane,and it had horses hoofs.
It walked on its back legs and held uptwo short front legs with paws on them.
(22:31):
It didn't
use the front legs at allwhile we were watching.
My wife and I were scared, I tell you,
but I managed to open the windowand say, shoo!
And it turned around, barked at meand flew away.
That afternoon, two professional hunters
in Gloucesterfollowed tracks for 20 miles.
They go over five footfences and under spaces only eight inches
(22:55):
tall, and it's seenby a whole group of people in Camden.
The next day,so Wednesday, it's back in Burlington
with a police officer and ReverendJohn Purcell getting a good look,
and the good reverendsaying, “Never saw anything like it
before.” Posses in Haddonfieldfollow tracks that just stop.
(23:18):
And in Collingswood, a posse watchesit fly off toward Moorestown
where it is seen by John Smith nearthe Mount Caramel Cemetery.
Right after that,it it's seen by George Snyder,
who describes itexactly the same way John Smith did.
Not to mentionthat more tracks are found in Riverside.
(23:40):
On Thursday.
It makes an appearance at the Black HawkSocial Club.
I assume that to meanat least a few people.
Then it's circles the sky overan entire trolley car full of people
in Clementine, with their descriptionsmatching everyone else's, so far.
The beast then makes its way to Trenton,where Councilman E.P.
(24:03):
Weeden hears the sound of wings flapping.
He opens his door to see what's going onand sees hoof prints in his yard,
hoof printsthat are also seen elsewhere in the city.
By the end of the day,trolley drivers in Trenton
and Brunswick are packing heat Go ahead.
Make my day.
(24:24):
just in case.
The people of Pitman head to the churches.
Chickenseverywhere are either missing or dead,
and the West Collingswood Fire Departmentactually shoots at it with a hose,
which I don't think it really appreciatedbecause it circled
back to dive bomb them before flying off.
Thursday night.
Mrs. Sorbinski, who lives inCamden, hears a racket in her yard.
(24:49):
She opens the door to see this creaturetrying to make off with her dog.
She starts screaming,grabs her broom and runs at the monster,
smacking it over and overuntil it lets the dog go.
Over 100 people crowd into her yard
after hearing the commotion,including the police.
The crowd hears an unfamiliar screechingcoming from an area called Kaigan Hill.
(25:13):
They all startrunning in that direction, see
the creatureand the police start shooting at it.
The Devil takes off and flies away,and not a soul is
seen on the streets of Camdenfor the rest of the night.
By Friday, schools,mills and factories are closing
because everyone's too afraidto leave their houses to go anywhere.
(25:35):
A Camden police officer spies the creaturedrinking from a horse's trough.
Jacob Henderson of Salem sees it,describing it as having wings and a tail
and a Blackwood police officer sees itand draws a sketch of it.
His sketch matchesall the other descriptions so far.
But after Friday, the sightings stopas fast as they had started.
(25:58):
One more sighting is reported in February,
but that's it for 1909.
But should be no surprisethat an event like this
is bound to draw out THAT guy.
One guy later confessedto hoaxing some of the hoof prints.
But the real hoaxers were NormanJeffries and T.F.
(26:19):
Hopkins from the Arch Street Museumin Philadelphia.
The museum was kind of like a Ripley'sBelieve It or Not
place, with various odditiesand curiosities on display.
Mr. Hopkins, the museum owner, tells
Norman, the museum publicist,
they're about to go under,if Norman can't drum up some business.
(26:39):
So Norman and his animal trainer friendJacob Hope
get their hands on a kangaroofrom a circus, paint green stripes on it,
glue some huge claws on it,glue wings on its back
and proclaim to the worldthrough fake stories to the newspapers
that they had caught the beastand now have it on display at the museum.
(27:03):
Sadly for them, it only preventsthe closing of the museum by a few weeks.
And 20 years later,Norman confesses to the hoax.
Now, obviously,it will come as no surprise
that there are people out therewho believe that all of the sightings
are merely misidentifiedforest animals like bats,
(27:25):
a great horned owl, or a sandhill crane.
Sandhill cranes are becoming the swampgas excuse of the cryptid world.
But the sightings continue.
In 1925, a guy grabs his gun
and takes off after somethingthat's attacking his chickens.
He shoots it, killsit, has no idea what it is.
So he takes some pictures.
(27:46):
He shows the picturesto at least 100 people.
But no one has a clue what it is.
In 1951, agroup of boys are out in the woods around
Gibbstownand spot a winged, hooved creature
with bat like wings and a horse or goatlike head and a fork tail.
The sighting is part ofwhat is called the Gibbstown Invasion,
(28:06):
which is a rash of sightingsthat happen all around Gibbstown, in 1951.
And even more recent is a terrifyingencounter from January of 2004.
Lori Winkelman, her husband Glenn,and their three kids live near
Wharton StatePark in the middle of the Pine Barrens.
She and her kids are out
playing in the snowfrom the first real storm of the season.
(28:30):
They start to go inside for dinner,
but Lori sees there are still Christmaslights on on the garage.
The Pine Barrens at night always kind ofcreep her out, so she asks her 11 year old
son to go with her while she walks overto the garage to turn the lights off.
And she's bending over to pull the plug.
She hears her sonstart making a weird noise.
(28:50):
She looks at her son and seeshis face is frozen in a wide
eyed stare as he points to the treesfollowing his finger.
Laurie looks at the trees and sees a giantblack thing perched in the trees.
As she's looking,and trying to figure out what it is
that she's seeing, the thing takes tothe air, headed in their direction.
(29:14):
Lori snaps into action and pushesher still frozen son
toward the house, as the twotake off running at top speed.
They feel a woosh sensationover their heads,
and then hear itland on the roof of the house.
They keep running for the door,
even though they knowthis thing is now in front of them.
(29:36):
And as they get closer,they can hear the click clack
sounds as it movesdown the roof, closer to the door.
Lori and her son hit the door,
throw themselves inside,and have simultaneous meltdowns.
The next morning, Glenn wakes her upsaying, oh my God, you got to see this.
They go outside, look up on the roof,and there are footprints
(30:00):
right where Lori said they would be.
It had stopped snowingand there wasn't really any wind.
So the tracks are in perfect condition.
Glenn takes pictures of the tracks.
They take the pictures to a friendof theirs who's an expert hunter.
He has no idea.
They take them to a wildlife expertat their local park and rec department.
(30:22):
He has no clue.
So finally, Laurie calls the police.
An officer comes out, conductsa perimeter search,
looks at the tracks on the roof,has no idea what made them, but estimates
whatever it is to be somewherein the neighborhood
of 200 and 400 pounds.
He asks Loriif they have guns in the house.
(30:45):
Lori says no.
And the officer tells herMaybe you should get some.
Chris Differ, author of the book“Jersey Devil Update 2022:
More Stories of New Jersey'sEnduring Legend”, is keeping tabs on
some of the more recent sightingsas they are reported to him,
including this one shared with himby a guy named Joe Brick.
(31:07):
It's early January, 1 a.m.
as Joe steps off the trainin an Iron Maiden T-shirt,
skinny jeans in his well-wornleather jacket.
He's just getting backfrom a concert in Philadelphia.
He'd had a pretty good timeat the concert, but by the time
the cold air hits his face,he can feel that most of his buzz is gone.
(31:29):
As he braces against the coldand heads for the stairs,
he sees this massive figurestanding on the other side of the tracks.
Joe looks at it, gets the feeling
it's looking back at him,but it's silhouetted
by the streetlight behind it sohe can't really see it all that clearly.
What he can see gives him the distinctimpression that it's not human.
(31:53):
It has skinny legs from the knees downand overly broad shoulders.
But Joe keeps moving.
He gets down from the platformand onto Main Street,
and as he's walking,he can hear footsteps behind him.
Except they're not really footsteps.
Sounds more like hooves clomping.
(32:14):
He hears what sounds like wings
flapping and just starts running,
knowing in his gut,this is the Jersey Devil.
Joe turns right and heads down an alley.
Whatever this thing is,it follows him into the alley,
but its wing hits the side of the brickbuilding, causing it to go down.
(32:34):
Joe keeps runningthrough the alley across the street
and ends up on the frontsteps of a theater.
He tries to get in,but the doors are locked.
Having nowhere elseto go and seeing this creature
getting closer,he just keeps shaking the doors.
Suddenly the doors open and Joethrows himself inside, past the two actors
(32:55):
dressed in togas, evidently staying late
for a little extra “rehearsal time.”
As they try to recoverfrom the surprise of Joe
barging in on them,they look out beyond him, and they, too,
see the beast flying at them before Joequickly pulls the door shut behind them.
All three of themstay holed up in the theater
(33:15):
for at least a half an hour with the girl,
a young 20s blond girl, kind of laughingbut shaking at the same time.
They talk about it and all agreethat they all saw the same thing.
Like, we saw that right?
Once they figure they've waitedlong enough for the creature
to vacate the area, the young manstarts his car with his remote starter,
(33:40):
and the two make a run for itinto his car, as Joe
makes his way back to Main Street,looking all around as he goes.
By this time, it's like 130-1:45.
And as he's walking, something at an oldbank building catches his attention.
It's the thing just standing there.
(34:01):
To Joe's horror,he watches as the creature stretches
its wings and takes to the air again,heading right at him.
He starts running again,looking for another alley
or someplace to hide,when the thing swoops right over
Joe's head and sinksits claws into Joe's shoulders.
(34:23):
Joe feels the groundfall away from under him
as the thing carries himhigher and higher.
His fight or flight kicks in,and he starts to wiggle
as much as he can and managesto wiggle himself out of his jacket,
falls, landing on a roof, rolling
down over the gutter and onto a car.
(34:44):
The car's alarm goes off, and both Joe andthe thing clear the area at high speed.
As he's running.
Joe can feel blood running down his armfrom a gash
he got from the gutter,but he just keeps running.
He makes it to the 7-Eleven,and runs into the couple from the theater,
who are just coming out, munchies in hand.
(35:07):
I don't think there'sa whole lot of people
on the streets of Hammonton at 2 a.m.
on a weeknight.
Joe piles into the back of their car.
They're a little startled,but they look at Joe and he's got blood
running down his arms and roofshingle grit all over.
And the girls like,“What happened to your jacket?”
Joe tells her, “I wiggled out of itwhen the Jersey Devil was carrying me
(35:30):
away.” Whether they believe him or not,they can tell he's pretty beat up
and just looks like someonewho needs a ride home.
Today, Joe doesn't get off the trainby himself anymore
and has severely cut down his nighttimeactivity attendance, has a brand new 2.5in
scar on his arm as a permanent souvenir,and still really misses that jacket.
(35:56):
But lest you think that there is no placethat the Jersey Devil can't get you,
I leave you with this piece of wisdomfrom Paul Evans Peterson
Jr, author of the book “The Legendary PineBarrens.
New tales from Old Haunts.”According to Paul,
if you find some Jersey Devil hoof prints,
take a little shovel, carefully dig outthat track, put it into a glass jar,
(36:21):
put the lid on the jar, and keepthe jar under your bed.
As long as you keepthat track under your bed,
the Jersey Devil will never hurt you.
I'm going to leaveyou with a little piece of trivia today,
which is that New Jersey
is the only state in the countryto have an official demon,
(36:42):
after voting in 1939 to have the JerseyDevil hold that honor for their state.
By the way, how did Chris Differ
end his book on modern JerseyDevil sightings?
With the words “Be careful
out there.”My brother from another mother.
If you want to leap right into anothercryptid adventure, click right here.
(37:05):
Be careful out there
and I will see youhere again, on The InBetween.
Thanks for tuning into The InBetween Podcast.
Enjoy the full visual experiencewith me over on YouTube.
Just search for @TheInBetweentales.
I'm Carol Ann,and until next time, be careful
(37:28):
out there.
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