Terror In The Pines

IN JANUARY 1909, New Jersey was gripped by a wave of fear. In the span of one week, hundreds of Garden State residents from Camden to Cape May claimed to have seen a winged, hoofed monster in the night skies. Newspapers dubbed it the return of the Jersey Devil, a legendary creature long feared in the Pine Barrens. More than a century later, it remains one of the most bizarre events in Garden State history.

Even in 1909 the Jersey Devil was already considered an old folk story. As far back as the 18th century, South Jersey families had whispered about a strange beast that haunted the Pine Barrens. According to the best-known version of the legend, the creature was born in 1735 to a woman named Mother Leeds of Galloway Township. Already the mother of 12 children, Mother Leeds cursed her thirteenth pregnancy, declaring, “Let this one be the Devil!” The story goes that the thirteenth child was born human but soon grew into something more grotesque: sprouting wings, hooves, and a forked tail, and ultimately fleeing into the Pine Barrens.

For decades, farmers spoke of livestock mutilations. Hunters told of terrifying encounters. Travelers swore they could hear bloodcurdling screams echoing through the pines at night. By the early 20th century, the legend was woven into the very identity of New Jersey.

But in early 1909, the story came to life with a terrifying new chapter. On Jan. 16 of that year, the first strange tracks appeared in Burlington County, where residents awoke to find hoof-like prints in the freshly fallen snow. The tracks were unlike those of any known animal: They seemed to defy logic, running straight over fences, across rooftops, and even through narrow gaps where no creature could possibly fit. The news and speculation spread quickly.

Then came the encounters: In towns like Camden, Haddonfield and Collingswood, witnesses reported sightings of a winged beast. Some witnesses claimed that the beast had glowing eyes and a long neck. Around this point, an entire trolley car full of commuters even claimed to have seen this beast flying over the tracks.

In Gloucester, a group of witnesses described it as something resembling a winged kangaroo. In Bristol, Pennsylvania, a police officer reported firing his revolver at the creature after spotting it drinking from a canal, but the beast vanished into the night, unscathed.

In just a few short days, the sightings snowballed into statewide panic. By Jan. 21, newspapers in Philadelphia and New Jersey were running front-page stories about the creature. Schools across South Jersey shut down, as many parents refused to let their children walk near the woods. In some cases, rural businesses closed their doors. Some residents formed armed hunting parties, determined to capture or kill the Jersey Devil.

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

Throughout January 1909, the most unnerving reports came from ordinary households. In Collingswood, the Devil was said to have attacked a dog, leaping onto a roof before flying away. In Haddon Heights, a woman claimed the beast tried to break into her house. Meanwhile, throughout South Jersey, the strange hoofprints continued to appear in the snow, sometimes leading to doors or windows before vanishing without a trace.

Around this point, the Philadelphia Zoo even offered a $10,000 reward for the capture of the Jersey Devil, drawing crowds of opportunists and amateur monster hunters. No one ever claimed the prize.

And not everyone was convinced, of course. Skeptics suggested that the tracks were nothing more than misidentified animal prints, perhaps from a large bird or dog. Some believed pranksters were to blame, deliberately faking the footprints to create mass hysteria. Adding to the confusion were some of the wildly varied descriptions. Some witnesses said it was the size of a dog; some said it was 6 feet tall.

As days passed, local news reports only amplified the fear. Each new sighting, no matter how dubious, was carried by the press. But even as the media breathlessly reported the story, many reporters were simultaneously rolling their eyes.

“These city slicker reporters weren’t taking these sightings very seriously,” said Angus Gillespie, a Rutgers professor of American Studies, in a 2022 interview. “They suspected that rural New Jersey farmers were kind of backwards and superstitious. And as a result, the write-ups were patronizing, and the illustrations were almost comical. But these people in South Jersey weren’t stupid. It wasn’t a joke to them. This was a serious threat.”

In late January 1909, the sightings abruptly stopped. Snow melted. The hoofprints disappeared. Life in South Jersey seemingly returned to normal. Newspapers moved on to other stories, and the panic faded as quickly as it had erupted. But by that point, the legend of the Jersey Devil had been forever cemented in New Jersey folklore.

SPEAK OF THE DEVIL

Over the years, there have been countless claims of encounters with the Jersey Devil. Some were quickly debunked; some garnered national attention.

In December 1925, a farmer in Greenwich Township shot an unidentified animal that had been attempting to steal his chickens. The farmer described the animal as being the size of a terrier, with powerful hind legs and glowing yellow eyes. Even after photographs were taken of the animal’s carcass and the incident was reported in the Daily Times of Woodbury, nobody could identify the mysterious creature.

In October 2015, Little Egg Habor resident David Black was driving home from his job as a security guard when he saw what he first thought to be a llama, running through the brush. As he got closer, the creature allegedly sprouted wings and took flight. Black managed to snap a photo of the winged creature, which he ultimately believed to be the Jersey Devil.

The story was picked up by national news outlets, and Black’s photos have been shared and dissected online, but the general consensus remains skeptical. “I swear it’s not Photoshopped or a staged thing,” Black told the media back in 2015. “I’m honestly just looking for an explanation for what I saw.”

Generations come and go, but the story of the Jersey Devil has endured for centuries. Most of those encounters have centered around the Pine Barrens of South Jersey, where multiple ghost towns can still be found. Hikers in these parts still tell of hearing strange screams. Motorists still swear that some winged creature has crossed their headlights, late at night.

On the surface, these stories might sound like folklore. But consider the old saying, “Speak of the devil...”

Well, you probably know the rest.

BY M+B STAFF