what is the legend of the jersey devil???

Answer 1

Hi JoJo,

There are many versions of the legend, here is the first and the others can be found on the following web site:

Version 1.0

Probably the most well-known version, outlined in The Jersey Devil, goes something like this:



In 1735, a woman named Leeds, who had already had 12 children, gave birth to a 13th. During labor she proclaimed, “May the Devil take this one!”. The baby, upon being born, turned into a monster with the head of a collie, the wings of a bat and cloven feet. It promptly flew out the window and has been haunting the Pine Barrens ever since, mutilating animals, scaring the locals and bringing bad luck.

Just goes to show we should be careful what we wish for?!!

Answer 2

I have a book at home called North American Monsters or something like that and it has a section on the Jersey Devil, which I flipped past but didn't read in detail. But it has a picture and he's an ugly little sucker about 3 1/2 feet tall, with wings and a goofy horsey head.

Now, on the X-Files, the Jersey Devil was just a feral human with no outrageous characteristics. Basically, everybody was just surprised that a wild humanoid was living in the woods in New Jersey.

Answer 3

The following was copied directly from my source site. MUCH more information can be found at that site.

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The story begins in 1735 when a Mrs. Leeds of Smithville was pregnant. This was to be her thirteenth child, and Mrs. Leeds was feeling old before her time. As her labor began one stormy night, she cursed the unborn baby during a fit of painful contractions, saying, "Let this child be a devil!" Mrs. Leeds soon forgot her curse when a beautiful baby boy was placed in her arms by the midwife. Suddenly the baby's body started to mutate, and Mrs. Leeds watched in horror as the baby's face elongated to resemble a bat or horse, and long, dark wings sprouted from his shoulderblades. His legs grew long and thin and his pudgy feet hardened and formed into hoof-like extremities. Fear gripped all in the room as long claws grew from the baby's fingertips and his blue eyes yellowed. The creature before them now showed no resemblance to the baby it had been just moments before its transformation. The beast let out an ear piercing scream and then turned, burst through the roof of the cabin and flew off into the night.

There are also several variations on the events of the Jersey Devil's birth. Some say that the creature was born as a devil and never resembled a human. Other variations also say that before the Jersey Devil flew off into the Pine Barrens, it killed and ate all people present in the cabin. It has also been said that (assuming it did not kill all in the room) the Jersey Devil would return to its home for years and sit perched on a fence. After a while, Mrs. Leeds/Shourds, not knowing what to do with her deformed child, "shooed" it away, and it never returned.