Jersey’s Own Horse faced and Bat Winged Demon!
So I know, you’re thinking, “we’ve never done the Jersey Devil? But that’s like America’s #1 horse faced, witchly birthed, forest demon? How is that even possible?” And maybe you’d think I’d have a good answer but mostly I don’t, and am pretty sure it would be like explaining why i didnt see my sunglasses atop my head anyways. So let’s just get in there and do this!
So first lets talk setting. For those of you unaware, or from foreign lands, even though New Jersey is tucked right in there with our most populated urban metropolis, a great portion of the state is made up of scarcely populated mostly unchanged, pine barrens. A nutrient poor acidic soil, keeps it from being much use to agriculture and hence is chock full of wildlife, oddball plants and even the occasional bears! Oh and devils!
Now for origins, basically he’s the 13th baby born to a witch… but I’m not sure I can tell it better that the legend on wikipedia so here:
“It was said that Mother Leeds had 12 children and, after finding she was pregnant for the 13th time, stated that this one would be the Devil. In 1735, Mother Leeds was in labor on a stormy night. Gathered around her were her friends. Mother Leeds was supposedly a witch and the child’s father was the Devil himself. The child was born normal, but then changed form. It changed from a normal baby to a creature with hooves, a goat’s head, bat wings and a forked tail. It growled and screamed, then killed the midwife before flying up the chimney. It circled the villages and headed toward the pines.”
And careful readers would note you just got most of the descriptors but for the rest of us here they are in a quick bulleted list
- Body like a kangaroo or bipedal deer
- Head of a horse, goat or similar long snouted barnyard denizen
- Leathery batwings
- Cloven hooves on its back legs
- Razor sharp claws on its tiny front dinosaur arms
- A forked tail
- Moves like the wind
- Capable of blood curdling screams
So there you go! Keep in mind he’s been haunting the east coast for like 300 years and we have no idea how he ages or whether he has a family of his own now, so descriptors can always change. Just have fun with it!
