In the 1900’s, Someone Claimed They Caught The Jersey Devil
After such a famous person like Joseph Bonaparte claiming that he saw the Jersey Devil, other sightings seemed a lot less crazy. Stories of the legendary monster have continued on for over 200 years.
In 1909, there was a dramatic spike in Jersey Devil sightings. Over 1,000 people claimed that they spotted the creature. There were so many sightings reported it in the newspapers that citizens were genuinely scared. All of Gloucester County, New Jersey shut down their schools and businesses to hide inside, for fear of being chased by the actual devil. Later, it was spotted further north in New Brunswick and Trenton.
This was so perplexing, that the Smithsonian thought they needed to investigate. Was the Jersey Devil a newly discovered species of animal? The Philadelphia Zoo offered a $10,000 reward for capturing the beast. No one ever came forward with the animal. But the nearby Arch Museum decided to capitalize on the publicity by claiming that they had successfully trapped it before the zoo.
The poster for the exhibit said, “9th and Arch Museum. Caught! And Here!!! Alive!!! The Leeds Devil. Captured friday after terrific struggle. Exhibited exclusively here at $1,000 a week. The fearful, frightful, ferocious monster that has been terrifying two states. Swims! Flys! Gallops! Exhibited and securely chained in a massive steel cage. A living dragon more fearsome than the fabled monsters of mythology.” And all of that excitement was just 10 cents per ticket.
In reality, they took a kangaroo and painted it green, adding fake wings on its back. Some historians believe that everyone was seeing a rare migration of sandy hill cranes.
In 1929, a huge group of people also claimed that they saw the Jersey Devil in the woods of Clayton, NJ. The hysteria was so real, it even lead to a group of men grabbing their rifles and combing the woods, looking for the monster they would never find.
Even in the 2000’s, some people claim that they saw something in the woods that is beyond any rational explanation, and they are completely convinced that it was the Jersey Devil. No matter what we see out there, the truth remains- Don’t go into the woods alone.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
The Secret History of the Jersey Devil: How Quakers, Hucksters, and Benjamin Franklin Created a Monster. Brian Regal and Frank Esposito. JHU Press. 2018.
Jersey Devil: Fact, or Fiction? Atlantic County New Jersey.
The Legendary Jersey Devil. History Channel. YouTube.
Joseph Bonaparte and The Jersey Devil. S.E. Schlosser. American Folklore. 1997.