This is one of the paranormal phenomena that I have known about the longest. It was always in Urban Legend books, and jumped out to me because this is where I have lived most of my life. I have seen that there are different accounts of what exactly the Jersey Devil is, and how it came to be. An old book I got in Cape May a long time ago said that the baby was born, and looked like a goat with bat wings. Once it was free, it flew out the Leeds chimney, and began to wreak havoc on the countryside.
I think part of what this could stem from is jealousy. It seems as if the Leeds family was pretty well off. The lecture says there was some kind of dispute with Ben Franklin. So, rumors could have been started that the Quaker family was involved with some kind of devilry that would harm their reputation. Living in a creepy area like the Pine Barrens would heighten this.
The Jersey Devil falls into the cryptid area, with other myths like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster. Those two have famous “proof” of them, that was later debunked. I think people are open to the idea of creatures like this, because they’re so outside the normal realm. There’s an “easy” explanation as to why they’re so elusive. If there’s only one of them, it would be easy for them to hide and avoid detection. Bigfoot and Loch Ness can be explained as misidentification too. Bigfoot could easily just be a mistaken bear or great ape, and loch ness some kind of bigger fish, or a floating branch.
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Of course, the Jersey Devil has never been captured on photo or video. However, there is evidence of abnormal animal prints in mud and snow that depict a creature that was supposedly the Jersey Devil. Most of the "evidence" that was taken comes from the early 1900s. What is very interesting about the prints is that they could be seen going from ground level to rooftops as the pictures were taken after a small blizzard stormed through NJ.
ReplyDeleteI have a theory: the Jersey devil could be expand as a deer sighting, rustling bushes having hooves, kind of looks like a horse if you only get a quick glimpse of it, has "horns". I think people get a little spook deep in the pine barrens by a rustling noise and dont want to admit that it was a deer running away or an unseen animal moving though the brush, makes ya think doesn't it. why would some on do that, well it make a better story to say you were chased out by some embodiment of evil rather then you got scared so you bravely rain away by something that is not a predator.
ReplyDeleteI like how you mention that Bigfoot and the other myths can easily be explained away. I agree that they are not real which is why they have never been caught on camera and why they can be easily explained away.
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