Chris Joseph

Lore & Background

The popular legend is dated variously and attached to the South Jersey Pine Barrens, sometimes specifically Leeds Point. The devil's mother is usually a woman named Leeds, or 'Mother Leeds' of Burlington. According to one précis, in 1735, a woman named Leeds had twelve children and, after discovering she was pregnant for the thirteenth time, cursed the child, declaring, 'Let the child be the devil!'. The child, though born normally, immediately grew wings, a tail, and claws after birth and flew out to the Pine Barrens. In some versions, Mother Leeds was a witch and the child's father was the devil himself. Some versions state local clergymen attempted to exorcise the creature. In a different telling, localized at Esteville near Mays Landing, a Mrs. Leeds became pregnant around 1855 and rejected her baby, wishing a stork would deliver a devil; a winged devil was born and flew out the window.

Reader's Guide

The Jersey Devil is commonly described as a bipedal kangaroo-like or wyvern-like creature with a horse- or goat-like head, leathery bat-like wings, horns, small arms with clawed hands, legs with cloven hooves, and a forked or barbed tail. It is said to have a strange elongated body and a thick tail. It has been reported to move quickly and is often described as emitting a high-pitched 'blood-curdling scream'.

Did You Know?

• Before the early 1900s, the Jersey Devil was referred to as the Leeds Devil or the Devil of Leeds.
• Historian Brian Regal theorizes that the story of Mother Leeds originated from the reputation of the local Leeds family, involving colonial-era political intrigue with Benjamin Franklin and almanac publisher Titan Leeds.