The Jersey Devil
- Date of account
- Tradition attested from the 18th century; modern publicity especially from 1909
- Location
- Pine Barrens, New Jersey, United States
- Source
- model_recalled_reference
- Record updated
- 2026-10-10
Record summary
The Jersey Devil is a regional legend associated with the Pine Barrens and the Leeds family story, in which a supposed thirteenth child became a monstrous figure. Earlier versions are linked to colonial-era folklore, while a concentrated wave of reported sightings and newspaper coverage occurred in January 1909. The tradition matters for comparing how local storytelling, family lore, and press amplification produce a durable legend. Uncertainty concerns the earliest textual forms, the relationship between different Leeds narratives, and whether any reports were independent observations or publicity-driven elaborations.
Investigate related details with Anomaly Graph’s account-based search, or read how matching and provenance work.