Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Show Name: Unraveling the Unknown

Episode Title: The Devil in Jersey

You are listening to Unraveling the Unknown with your hosts Lily and Tessa.

In this episode of Unraveling the Unknown, the Podcast we will discuss: The Jersey Devil,

Segment 1: Story

Mary Ritzer Christianson was driving at night in 1972 in the dark when she spotted the Jersey Devil on Greentree Road. She said she had never been so scared in her life. Mary was driving from Blackwood to Glassboro when she said she saw a towering figure crossing the road around 25 feet behind her car. She described the figure to be extremely tall, taller than an average man, with goat-like features, and a wooly head with horns. Again in 1980, there was a brutal scene on a South Jersey farm where a pack of pigs had been killed. Their heads were eaten and their bodies were scratched and torn apart. This attack was unexplainable, could it be the Jersey Devil?

Wow, what a crazy story Tessa. Have you ever driven through the pine barrens?

No, I haven't, but now I'm not sure I ever want to. Have you?

Yes, I drive through the pine barrens when I go to visit my grandfather who lives close to the Jersey Shore.

Have you ever noticed or felt anything unusual driving through it?

I don't know if it's just at night, but whenever I drive through the pines it seems to be never-ending, and when I stare out of my window, it's like my mind is playing tricks on me. I can’t tell if what I’m seeing is real or not.

Do you think the Jersey Devil could have actually killed those pigs or could it have been something else?

I think it's possible that the Jersey Devil could have killed them. Pigs aren't small, so to eat the whole head and leave them lacerated would have had to be done by a large animal., I can't think of any carnivorous animal, especially not in New Jersey that would be big enough to eat the entire head of a pig.

Black bears are the largest land animals in New Jersey, which means they could have killed the pigs in this way, however, their diet mostly consists of berries and vegetation. Most of the meat they hunt is fish, not pigs.

For cougars and coyotes, it is very unlikely that they will eat the head off of an animal.

The pine barrens lost most of its top predators such as the American black bear, wolves, and cougars long ago to humans hunting and trapping. This leaves only one plausible predator, the New Jersey devil.

Segment 2: Origins, The Pine Barrens

Most of the lore surrounding the Jersey Devil involves a woman named Jane Leeds. In 1735 in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, this woman gave birth to her 13th child. It was a very difficult pregnancy, and apparently, before giving birth, Mother Leeds exclaimed “Let this one be the devil”. According to legend, instead of a human baby, Jane Leeds gave birth to a devilish creature with wings, horns, hooves, and a tail, The Jersey Devil. This creature then reportedly flew away out the chimney, howling through the night, Going on to terrorize residents of New Jersey for years to come.

Over the years, the original story and sightings of the Jersey devil have been questioned by historians. The origin story of the Jersey Devil, or Leed Devil, has been historically corrected by some as a child with deformities at birth that became exaggerated.

I think this was definitely an exaggerated story that got passed down and stretched to what it is now.

Interesting how oral storytelling changes events

One explanation of the Jersey devil's origins goes back to the surname Leed. Leed in Leed Devil may correspond to Daniel Leeds, a...