The Jersey Devil
The thirteenth child of Mother Leeds, born wrong in 1735. Horse head, bat wings, cloven hooves. Thre
The Leeds curse
The oldest version says that a woman named Jane Leeds, pregnant with her thirteenth child, cursed the baby in exhaustion. When it was born it transformed in the room and flew up the chimney into the night. The Pine Barrens gave the legend a home. A dense million acre forest where strange sounds carry far and the dark is complete.
First recorded
1735, Burlington County, New Jersey.
Sighting peak
January 1909. Dozens of reports in five days, schools closed.
Range
The Pine Barrens, 1.1 million acres of protected coastal plain forest.
Official status
Named the state demon of New Jersey in 1938.
"It had the head of a horse, the body of a dog, and great bat wings. It stood on two legs, screamed once, and was gone.
"Witness report
The 1909 panic was partly fuelled by newspapers competing for readers. Some editors later admitted to exaggerating or fabricating accounts entirely.
Sandhill cranes and large owls produce sounds that match historical descriptions. Both live in the Pine Barrens and look strange at night.