By Morg a n K nud s en, Ent it ys e eker Pa r a nor m a l Re s e a rch & Te ach i n g s
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ew Jersey: The state associated with urban sprawl and bustling highways is not what many associate with its nickname, the Garden State. The primeval swamps and unfriendly soils that lay deep in the woods of what is infamously known as the Pine Barrens; a seemingly endless stretch of trees, strange shadows, water-logged marshes, tea colored rivers and a landscape that transports any visitor back in time to years where humans had not yet touched the continent. The very environment that spawns images and dark dreams of devils… and dragons… The Jersey Devil has become synonymous with legend. It has transfixed minds through books, pop culture, lore, and has even been recognized as the official state “demon”. It is harder to find a stranger pastiche of creatures than this bizarre gargoyle-looking beast, but as witnesses have said ‘If you imagine a dragon, you’re 75% of the way there’. It’s cloven hooves, long tail, spectacular leathery wings, horselike head, horns, and massive size has been stitched into the memories of all children that have heard the stories. The sound of hooves on the rooftops, the nearly silent flight of wings, and the graceful darkness it brings as its shadow swoops over cabins and trees brings nightmares to even the deepest sleepers.
But it is a nightmare. Or is it? As a paranormal researcher, the thing I’ve learned about legends is that there is often a kernel of truth somewhere in the middle. When you dig through the tales and lore, sometimes strange truths make an appearance if you keep your mind open. The factor that keeps them as lore is what the real world calls ‘insufficient evidence’. Whether it be tracks, hair, DNA, or even a body, a lack of satisfying the one thing we 28
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can quantify, our physical senses, leaves beasts like the Jersey Devil under the dark cover of myth. In Man and Beast in American Comic Legend, folklorist Richard Dorson outlines a six-point criteria for establishing distinction among legendary creatures of American folklore. Dorson specifies that the qualifier must exist in oral tradition, inspire belief and conviction, become personalized and institutionalized, is fanciful or mythical and contain a “comical side,” which endears it to the American public. Accounts of the Jersey Devil predate printed works such as newspaper accounts, and belief in the creature persists today in culture and on shows such as In Search of Monsters. Skeptics believe the Jersey Devil to be nothing more than a creation of early English settlers, similar to boogeyman stories created and told by bored Pine Barren residents; the byproduct of the historical local disdain for the historic Leeds family; the misidentification of known animals; and rumors based on biased perceptions of the local rural population of the Pine Barren (known as Piney’s). But just how deep does this strange legend really go? Have people really seen the Jersey Devil? For witnesses, the answer is a disturbing yes.
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ne such reported account was given to the television show, “In Search of Monsters”. A man, fishing in the deep wilderness of the Pine Barrens, was watching a herd of deer relaxing and nibbling on the foliage. The day was still, calm. The odd bird barely made a noise in the whispers of the breeze. No other animals seemed near that day, but something was out of line with nature’s force. A crack of branches, a sudden stirring. The deer were alert. Ears perked as another presence made itself known. A new smell on the wind as it tickled the deer’s noses. Another snap of
