Devil may care

Day #30 of 31 days of Halloween

Devil may care.

While Halloween is traditionally a night of treats, the night before Halloween aka, Mischief night or Devil's Night — has historically been known for its tricks. The meaning of the night before Halloween has evolved considerably over time, from being associated with helping young women find husbands, to coordinated witch hunts, to protests and vandalism throughout the centuries that increases during times of economic and social strife.In a more dangerous iteration of the holiday, Devil's Night got that particular name after anti-police riots in Detroit led to a tradition of setting fire to local buildings and dumpsters year after year, as was detailed in the 1994 movie The Crow.

However tonight we are going to look into the Jersey Devil. It is a creature that exists according to legend to have started in southern New Jersey. Said to look like a combination of a kangaroo and a goat, with bat-like wings. This is along with the fact that it is said to have a “blood-curdling” screech.

One story about the origin of the “Jersey” Devil is about a woman named Janet Leeds from the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. The legend states that Mother Leeds had twelve children and, after finding she was pregnant for the thirteenth time, cursed the child in frustration, crying that the child would be the Devil. October 30th, 1735, Mother Leeds was in labor on a stormy night while her friends gathered around her. Born as a normal child, the thirteenth child changed to a creature with hooves, a goat’s head, bat wings, and a forked tail. Growling and screaming, it killed the midwife before flying up the chimney and heading into the pines. In some versions of the tale, Mother Leeds was supposedly a witch and the child’s father was the Devil himself. Some versions of the legend also state that there was subsequently an attempt by local clergymen to exorcize the creature from the Pine Barrens, or that the creature proceeded to kill local children.

Okay so sounds like a fun made-up story, okay so why over the centuries have there been over 2500 sightings, some as many as 40 a year!. Not just in New Jersey anymore either. People never describe it the exact same but similar enough that each witness can absolutely agree they say the same creature without a doubt due to the screech that haunts them. Sightings heighten under the moons of Devil's night when the winds are strong and the leaves blow. The mild chill in the air that makes you shiver. Silence comes in the night between 3am and 4am and that is when he will show himself…by then it's too late.

Some eyewitness’ AccountsIn 1909 a Woodbury, New Jersey resident described an encounter with the Jersey Devil: “I heard a hissing and something white flew across the street. I saw two spots of phosphorus – the eyes of the beast. There was a white cloud, like escaping steam from an engine. It moved as fast as an auto.”

In 1927 a taxi driver was pulled over when he said the Jersey Devil “pounded” on the roof of his vehicle

In 1982 A man and his girlfriend were walking home from dinner, a hush gust of wind surrounded them, a cloud-like steam engulfed the couple then a horrible screech enough to break glass was heard and it was gone. The noise, whatever it was, was said to have broken the streetlight above them showering them both in the broken shards.

In 2018 NYU Intercollegiate Rowing Team was out at 3:45am to set up for a morning fall row, when 6 members of the team witnessed a “bird like a pterodactyl, launch into the water making a wave that moved the dock, it flapped its wings and the rancid smell came across the water. They were all drug tested before practice All clean, all with stories down to the details of “phosphorus eyes”