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Why would I do a paper on the New Jersey Devil? The answer to that is quite simple. Ever since I was a little child, I would travel on Route 206 to the shore, this road slices the pines all the way from Trenton to the Shore. Many thoughts entered my mind during this long drive. Will the beach be crowded? Will the salt water make me gasp as I stick my feet in?
Will I hear the bells of the ice cream man? But as I asked myself these questions, I could not help to stair into the dense rows of pines. As I got lost in these endless trees, stories began to spring up in my mind about New Jersey's famous creature: The New Jersey Devil. Ever since those long car rides, I have been wondering about this fascinating creature, and this paper gave me the perfect opportunity for all of my questions to be answered on one of the world's greatest mysteries. I would not consider myself a scholar on the New Jersey Devil, in fact I barely know anything about the creature. One piece of information that I do know is that the creature supposedly inhabits the Pine Barrens, but can be found throughout South Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania.
The New Jersey Devil is considered evil and has a hair-raising appearance. Along with the tad-bit of knowledge I hold on the devil, I have many queries on it. To start off, is it real? What does it look like? Is it dangerous to humans?
What is it's purpose? Is it related to the devil? How has it come into existence? After I am finished my research, no rock will be left unturned, and all my questions on the New Jersey Devil will be answered. My next task was to gather as much information as I could on the New Jersey Devil. To accomplish this task, I had to go through many a strenuous task.
I found that it was difficult to do research on a creature that might not even exist. Most of my research came from the internet. For hours at a time, I would slave away at the IBM "wonder machine" and visit all the search engines known to man: Yahoo, Alta Vista, Excite, Dogpile, etc. Information came scarce on all of these engines due to the fact that whenever I used the keywords "New Jersey Devil, " the hockey team would always come up as my answer instead of the mythical creature. Every once and a while, I would discover an excellent site that would lend me all of my information that I needed.
I managed to find two books on the New Jersey Devil, but it wasn't easy. First I went to the Mount Laurel library, and came out empty handed. Then I traveled to the Burlington County Library and had the same results. It was then I remembered that my friend loved everything about the Pines and would most likely have books on the New Jersey Devil. He indeed had books on my topic, two of them.
I quickly read through them, gobbling up all the information inside. During my library visits, I stumbled upon a video on the New Jersey Devil. I checked the movie out and popped it in my VCR. Though the sound was bad and the movie atrocious, it produced a lot of information for me. My paper would be more powerful if I had conducted an interview, but in order to complete this task, I would have had to drive out to the middle of the Pines and talk to some nut that does not have contact with the outside world. For my own safety, I elected not to conduct an interview.
I finished my research with a poll of the people, "Do you believe in the New Jersey Devil?" Next time I pick a topic to research, I'm not going to chose a topic that people aren't positive that exists! On a stormy night in 1735, a Quaker woman gave birth during a horrendous thunderstorm. The room had an eerie feeling to it as the candlelight flickered. The impoverished woman, known as mother Leeds, was believed to have many other children-as many as twelve, and did not want another. As the child was being delivered, strange characteristics appeared on the baby boy. Characteristics such as an elongated body, winged shoulders, a large horse-like head, cloven feet, and a thick tail.
According to the legend, the creature killed the half-wife and flew up the chimney into the dark night. The New Jersey Devil was born (NJN Video, Mother Leeds' 13 th Child)! There are many different thoughts on how the New Jersey Devil was created. Some stories are farfetched and a little hard to believe.
One story tells of a young Leeds Point girl, who fell in love with a British soldier during the Revolutionary War. The local townsfolk opposed the couple, so they cursed the girl. When she later gave birth to a child, it was known as the New Jersey Devil (James F. McCloy, Ray Miller, Jr. , 25 - 26).
Others tell a tale that the Devil himself was "involved" with Mrs. Leeds, and the New Jersey Devil was one of their children. Several people testified that they frequently saw the Devil entering her house (web). In all of these stories, Leeds Point, New Jersey was linked to the birthplace of the New Jersey Devil. To understand the New Jersey Devil, one must know the place he calls home, the Pine Barrens. This is a remote region extending 1, 700 square miles across southeast New Jersey (web).
Many consider this land to be dry and desolate, but it is actually a giant aquifer with dense strands of white cedars. The air is calm, still, and cool. The cedar stands throughout the swamp and stains the streams blood red. With all of these obstacles, people still managed to travel throughout the pines.
In early days, travel was extremely difficult, for the cedar swamps were great obstacles. Even though the soil was very sandy, roads were still able to be built. Some roads are old Indian trails, others are old stage coach roads, some roads are paved, and others remain dirt trails. All these roads lead to places that were once booming during the early days of the United States. This is what the New Jersey Devil calls home.
The precise origins of New Jersey's most famous otherworldly creature remain shrouded in ambiguity. But throughout the nineteenth century, tales of his exploits were commonplace. Crop failure, droughts, and cows not producing milk were said to be his doing. He also blew the tops off trees, frightened man and beast, and pierced the still night air with awful screams.
Some claim that the Jersey Devil appears every seven years and is the harbinger of evil. Although the seven year cycle for his appearances does not always seem to be accurate, the Jersey Devil does seem to appear before wars. Due to his deeds, the New Jersey Devil has become world famous. Legend has it that Commodore Stephen Decatur, early pine...
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