Jersey devil

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Cryptid Petting Zoo

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Hiding with Schrödinger's cat

The Jersey Devil is a cryptid rumored to live in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The local professional hockey team is named for the creature.

Contents

[edit] Appearance

It waits for its prey to fall down laughing before it strikes

While the appearance of the beast varies depending on the eyewitness, most accounts describe the devil as having the head of a dog, the face of a horse, bat wings, a tail, and (of course) hooves.

[edit] Folklore

[edit] Birth

According to folklore, the creature was born in 1735 at Estelville, New Jersey as the child of a Mrs. Leeds. She had cursed the unborn baby out of frustration (it was her thirteenth child) and declared that it would be born a devil. She apparently got her wish and soon after its birth it transformed into a devil and fled into the Pine Barrens. Other accounts vary when it comes to the family the creature was born into or the location of its birth.

[edit] Other miscellaneous accounts

There are other various myths associated with the Jersey Devil. In one a clergyman was able to exorcise the devil from the Pine Barrens in 1740, but it returned 150 years later (apparently exorcisms have expiration dates). Two famous accounts state that the devil was seen by Commodore Stephen Decatur and Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte.

[edit] Possible explanations

Some people have stated that the creature is a bird, a pterodactyl[1], or a supernatural harbinger of disaster.[2]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. This theory is bound to be accepted by the YECs
  2. The Jersey Devil
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