In South Jersey and Philadelphia folklore in the United States, the Jersey Devil, also known as the Leeds Devil, is a legendary creature, or cryptid, said to inhabit the forests of the New Jersey Pine Barrens in South Jersey. The creature is often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many variations. The common description is that of 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 also said that it has 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".
Origin of the legend
Mother Leeds's 13th child The popular legend of the Jersey Devil or Leeds Devil is dated variously, and is almost invariably attached to "The Pines", or the South Jersey Pine Barrens, and sometimes specifically Leeds Point within the Pine Barrens. The devil's mother is usually a woman named Leeds, or "Mother Leeds" of Burlington, but other names such as the Shourds have occasionally been forwarded. 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 in frustration, 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. According to some, the child transformed into a creature with hooves, a goat's head, bat wings, and a forked tail. Growling and screaming, the child beat everyone with its tail 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 local clergymen subsequently attempted to exorcise the creature from the Pine Barrens. In a different telling, localized not at Leeds Point but at Esteville, near Mays Landing, a Mrs. Leeds became pregnant around 1855 and rejected her baby, wishing a stork would deliver a devil. Thus a winged devil was born and flew out the window; it would intermittently return but the mother would shoo it away.
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