Mythical creatures such as the Jersey Devil, Bigfoot, and the chupacabra have been fascinating mankind for decades now. The thought of something paranormal in the world thrills people and adds excitement to their lives, especially anyone who has been brave enough to go to a weird New Jersey site. Before this class, I had heard about all three of the creatures I mentioned, but there are still hundreds more urban legends in "existence" today. Although I have heard of all these legends before, to this date the closest thing I have seen to the Jersey Devil is the Jersey Devil t-shirt that is sold in a restaurant called Lucille's in Warren Grove New Jersey. Nonetheless, these stories do persist, and today stories such as the Jersey Devil are known as urban legends.
The Jersey Devil is said to be a winged horse hybrid creature that terrorizes the pine barrens. Bigfoot is declared to be numerous things from an alien, all the way to an ancient species that is near extinct. The chupacabra is said to be a vampire-like creature that sucks the blood from its prey and leaves chunks from its bite marks. There have been many "sightings" of all of these creatures, but there has never been real photo evidence. There hasn't been any form of solid evidence for that matter, but the tales of these creatures live on.
While I don't personally believe that they are real, urban legends such as the Jersey Devil play an important role in our society. These legends allow for entertainment, excitement, and most importantly they teach a lesson. Urban legends teach us about the fears and values of our society. Urban legends that stick around for a few decades teach us about relatable fears that all of society shares with one another. In legends such as the Jersey Devil, it teaches us that people are afraid of the pine barrens, and the deeply wooded area that it is. At the same time, the legend of the Jersey Devil stands as a testament to the rugged nature of those who inhabit the pine barrens. Urban legends can be a lot of fun as well. Think of times when you went camping, and someone told you a horror story in order to poke fun at you. In my opinion, mythical creatures are simply a way for people to explain the unexplained, in the same way, that ancient societies used religion to explain natural phenomena.
https://jerseyhistory.org/legend-of-the-new-jersey-devil/
https://www.livescience.com/7107-urban-legends-start-persist.html
watch this video to get background on how urban legends originated and stuck around.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj8hR3HlKv0
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Hi Frank,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your take on Mythical Creatures. Despite the lack of evidence of creatures that lurk through the shadows, their story will live on through people and storytelling which I find intriguing. We are responsible for keeping these urban legends alive and relevant in society. Great job!
Hi Frank, I enjoyed reading your thoughts on Mythical creatures. What really intrigued me was your talk on how these legends also are used to teach a lesson. I feel like thats an important thing to obtain when hearing these stories rather than them just being scary stories.
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