Tag Archives: devil sightings

The Jersey Devil

Age: 20

Story: The first time I learned about the Jersey Devil I was at a barbershop with my brother in South Jersey. My dad had just picked us up from school and my brother needed to get a haircut, so we went and I sat down in the waiting area and stared at the pictures on the wall, and the books on the coffee table. I was insanely bored there, and my stomach hurt, and I just remember that I did not want to be in that barbershop at all. That’s when a certain book caught my eye. It had a picture of what looked to be a horned goat, standing on two legs, with black devilish wings coming out from its back. This was the Jersey Devil.

I picked up the book, which turned out to be a picture book of “sightings” of the Jersey Devil all throughout New Jersey and I was just in awe, and a little terrified, of this “monster” that was potentially living in my backyard. 

After looking through the book for maybe three minutes, a man sitting next to me and my dad looked to me and said, “Be careful, don’t go into the woods at night…that’s when the Jersey Devil can get ya!” I remember laughing out loud, but inside, I was petrified. I also remember going home that day and looking up everything there was to know about the Jersey Devil. I read so many stories about the legend tearing up cars, terrorizing children, and ripping them from their families and flying into the woods with them, never to be seen again.

Even as I’ve gotten older, I’m no longer afraid of the Jersey Devil itself, but there’s part of me that will never stop believing that the Jersey Devil lives in the woods in my great state of New Jersey.

Analysis: This story is a phenomenal example of narrative folklore. The story of the Jersey Devil is one I’ve heard myself, and I too remember it terrifying me as a young kid. The fear and curiosity that this person had after learning of the legend is something I resonate with deeply. It’s powerful folk legends like this one which shows what can become when one connects it with someone’s sense of place and identity.

This story also, is the epitome of a legend or myth that unites a region. Specifically, in the Pine Barrens of South Jersey, the Jersey Devil has been a legend for over 100 years. From scaring children to giving parents something to scare their children with, this story has been reinvented and developed over many years, across many generations, and through many families. 

What I also find beautiful is how the Jersey Devil has become a symbol for New Jersey, almost a mascot for the state. How fascinating it is that a weird folk legend like this, can almost represent the weirdness of the state itself…

Devil Sightings on Horse at Night – Mexico

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA/ Georgia
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

KF: People have tales of like because uh Mexico is like predominantly like Catholic um…people say that like they’ve seen the devil on like their horse- on his horse…like just like galloping like if you stay up really really late at night, you’ll see him like come through like the town or something.

 

Background:

Location of story – predominantly Mexico, according to informant

Location of Performance – Interviewer’s dormitory room, Los Angeles, CA, night

 

Context: This performance took place in a group setting – about 2-3 people – in a college dormitory room. This performance was prompted by the call for stories about beliefs, ghosts, or superstitions as examples of folklore via a group message. KF approached me two days prior to this interview, but schedules did not allow for a recording until she came to ask a homework and remembered. I am good friends with KF. This story followed one of KF’s previously about La Llorona.

 

Analysis: It is interesting to note that the devil only appears late at night. In Catholic tradition, one is always at risk to sin and the Devil, but for some reason, these monsters only seem to reveal themselves at night. In Mathias Clasen’s article “Monsters Evolve: A Biocultural Approach to Horror Stories,” Paul Shepard is quoted as saying, “our fear of monsters in the night probably has its origins far back in the evolution of our primate ancestors, whose tribes were pruned by horrors whose shadows continue to elicit our monkey screams in dark theaters” (Clasen 1). In other words, tradition has conditioned us to believe that the night brings about supernatural activity. This phenomenon can possibly be explained by a communal need to feel protected from evils, such as the Devil, by having times dedicated to explore and be free and then times dedicated to retreat and hide.

 

Additional Reading:

Clasen, Mathias. “Monsters Evolve: A Biocultural Approach to Horror Stories.” Review of General Psychology, vol. 16, no. 2, June 2012, pp. 222–229, doi:10.1037/a0027918.

Shepard, Paul. The others: How animals made us human. Island Press, 1997.