Welcome everyone to another Friday
entry at the Magical Mystery Blog.
Halloween is filled with candy,
frights, and of course, scary stories. Around this time, tales of ghostly hands
on the back of car windows, headless horsemen, and other chilling legends come
to light. As mentioned before, I’m a Jersey girl who happens to live not too
far from the Pine Barrens. Around here, we have an urban myth of our own
entitled The Jersey Devil.
Years ago in the county of Batsto,
there was a woman who had nothing but daughters. On her final pregnancy she
cursed her child to be a boy and when she delivered, she had a son. Regretting
her words, she loved for the boy dearly and treated him like a little prince.
However, the hex she placed upon the child surfaced as he sprouted demonic
horns, cloven hooves, leathery wings, and other features that mortified his
family. Without hesitation, he bared his glistening fangs, and proceeded to
devour each member of his family. When he was finished his feast, he took off
into the Pine Barrens to search for more victims. To this day, he still roams
the forest.
Throughout the years, people have
claimed to have witnessed this devilish beast. Tons of shows like Ghost Hunters, Destination Truth, and Paranormal State
would set off into the Pine Barrens, take footage, and analyze it to see if
they captured the myth. Even locals and Jersey natives would search the Pine
Barrens for this fabled beast; they still do so to this day. Others have based
short independent films around this Jersey legend while others have written
stories about it.
There are different ideas based on
what the Jersey Devil looks like. This
is based on what people supposedly see, the legend itself, people’s
imaginations, and their take on a classic beast. While I have not seen the
Jersey Devil myself, I have seen various interpretations of the monster.
The most common image of the Jersey Devil is the illustration below.
The most common image of the Jersey Devil is the illustration below.
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| wikipedia.org Here he is trying out for the Pegasus sequence in Fantasia |
The image was also used for an evolving item on the RPG web site, Gaia Online. Comparing this idea of the Jersey Devil to the legend, leads me to one unyielding question: what the Hell?
This particular image makes the
Jersey Devil look like a reject Pegasus with a goofy smile. It’s not scary,
non-threatening, and makes Bigfoot look terrifying. Based upon the legend and
what have people reported seeing of the Jersey Devil, it should be depicted as
something that menacing, carnivorous, and horrifying.
Below are my top five fear inducing
representations of the Jersey Devil.
5) It’s a Fall evening and boredom has consumed you. You decide to walk through the Pine Barrens, which so happens to be your backyard. You’ve lived here almost all your life and not once have you ever seen the Jersey Devil. At most you’ve heard falling trees and rustlings in the woods but brushed them off as nothing more than wildlife. You’ve taken walks through the forest as long as you remember and never before have you seen anything abnormal. Just as you start to head back to your house, you hear branches snapping like bones over your head. Tilting your gaze upward, the moonlight illuminates a horrific figure.
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| turtlepedia.wikia.com |
You wonder how long that’s been in the Pine Barrens.
4) There’s a rumor that if you chant ‘Jersey Devil’ three times, he’ll appear; much like the Bloody Mary legend. On Halloween, you decide to put this myth to test. The Pine Barrens isn't too far from you, so you decide to take a ride. Driving out there seems much more different than normal. The wind propels your vehicle forward, encouraging you to execute your idea. Within ten minutes you arrive at your destination and enter the forest until you’re completely surrounded by nature. Leaves throw themselves at you, pressing you to chant. Jersey Devil. Jersey Devil. Jersey Devil. Silence hangs in the air before it’s interrupted by a howl of blood lust just over your head.
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| cryptozoo.monstrous.com |
You regret chanting his name.
3) Camping out in the Pine Barrens seemed like a fantastic idea. Alone with the wilderness on a chilly, Autumnal evening; what could be better? You’ve heard the stories of the Jersey Devil around the camp fire and disbelieved every one. You’ve seen the programs and thought they were nothing more than entertainment. As you douse the fire, a shadow speeds by a cluster of trees in front of you. Disregarding it as a deer, you turn in for the night.
Snuggling into your sleeping bag, you stare at the pointed roof above you. A darkened being as tall as the trees looms over your shelter. From what appears to be its head, two antlers branch out into the night sky. A pair of lengthy bat wings protrudes from its back. Terrified, you grab your knife from your backpack and prepare for the worse as it tears into your tent.
3) Camping out in the Pine Barrens seemed like a fantastic idea. Alone with the wilderness on a chilly, Autumnal evening; what could be better? You’ve heard the stories of the Jersey Devil around the camp fire and disbelieved every one. You’ve seen the programs and thought they were nothing more than entertainment. As you douse the fire, a shadow speeds by a cluster of trees in front of you. Disregarding it as a deer, you turn in for the night.
Snuggling into your sleeping bag, you stare at the pointed roof above you. A darkened being as tall as the trees looms over your shelter. From what appears to be its head, two antlers branch out into the night sky. A pair of lengthy bat wings protrudes from its back. Terrified, you grab your knife from your backpack and prepare for the worse as it tears into your tent.
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| usaonrace.com |
You instantly wonder if those television programs were onto something.
2) So your friends dared you to go searching for the Jersey Devil and you accepted their challenge. It’s nine by now and you’re scouring the forest with nothing more than a backpack full of essentials, a flashlight, and a camera recording every sight you see. You’ve been marching through the woods for at least two hours and already you’re bored with this mission. There’s no such thing as the Jersey Devil you tell yourself, and trudge onward.
A half hour passes and by now you’re wishing you could call the whole thing off. As you start to text your friends, a branch snaps behind you. The noise sends tremors through the Earth and shivers beneath your sneakers. It boggles your mind as you quickly flash some light on the area. Your shadow dissolves as a large, fallen limb appears beneath a pair of ivory eyes and an icy wisp of breath.
2) So your friends dared you to go searching for the Jersey Devil and you accepted their challenge. It’s nine by now and you’re scouring the forest with nothing more than a backpack full of essentials, a flashlight, and a camera recording every sight you see. You’ve been marching through the woods for at least two hours and already you’re bored with this mission. There’s no such thing as the Jersey Devil you tell yourself, and trudge onward.
A half hour passes and by now you’re wishing you could call the whole thing off. As you start to text your friends, a branch snaps behind you. The noise sends tremors through the Earth and shivers beneath your sneakers. It boggles your mind as you quickly flash some light on the area. Your shadow dissolves as a large, fallen limb appears beneath a pair of ivory eyes and an icy wisp of breath.
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| wikipedia.com |
You suddenly believe in the Jersey Devil.
1) As you walk through the shadow cloaked Pine Barrens, the Fall leaves crunch beneath your feet. However, something seems off. In the distance, there’s another crunching that makes your hair stand on end, and piques your curiosity. CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH. As you near the destination of the sound, the crunching gets louder. CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH. Through the decaying trees, you see this monstrosity crunching on the bones of some unlucky victim.
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| Rushelle Kucala, deviantart.com |
It’s the Jersey Devil, finishing off his dinner but he’s not completely satisfied. Before the rotting cadaver, the beast unleashes a ghastly shriek that pierces your ears. Whipping its head around, its crimson eyes lock with yours. Its gaping maw exposes fangs covered in gore from its previous victim.
You better run.
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