Classic Cryptid: the Legend of the Jersey Devil Pt. 1

[Daveski]

Almost everyone who lives in the northeastern United States has heard of the Jersey Devil once or twice. It?s one of the most famous early American legends, and one of the most often investigated and sought-after cryptids; the earliest reported encounters with it date back as far as the late 1700s or early 1800s. And as with many legends, there are almost as many different versions of the creature?s origins as there have been sightings of it.

The most common version of the legend goes a little something like this: In the 1700s, a woman named Deborah Smith emigrated from England to marry a Mr. Leeds, and went to live in the area of New Jersey now known as the Pine Barrens. When the story of the Jersey Devil truly begins, Mrs. Leeds had given birth to twelve children, and had discovered that she was about to give birth to her thirteenth.

Some versions of the story say that when she learned that she was pregnant with her thirteenth child, she reacted with fury and disgust, crying out ?I hope it?s a devil!? or ?May it be a devil!? Other variations say that she invoked the devil during the particularly difficult and painful labour that followed. Be that as it may, when the child was born it was either immediately known to be unnatural by its appearance ? being born with horns on a horse-like head, wings and a tail ? or shortly after its birth changed into a devil-like creature. Again, these differences depend on the version.

~ Who Forted?

http://whofortedblog...-part-1-legend/

My guess is that it is a northern cousin of the chupacabra but speaks with a Jersey accent.

[whitebread]

I love stories like this :)