The True Story Of Galloway's Jersey Devil

GALLOWAY, NJ — Throughout the 1 million acres that makes up the New Jersey Pine Barrens, you can find a wealth of local folklore and history. But none is perhaps more iconic than the Jersey Devil, the state's own cryptid.

The winged, hoofed demon lurks deep in the woods according to legend. Many sightings have been reported throughout the years, including by Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. A wave of sightings in 1909 went from South Jersey and Philadelphia, expanding all the way to Delaware and Maryland.

Since then it has ingrained itself in New Jersey history, even giving the name to the state's hockey team. In 2023, Fairleigh Dickinson University released a poll revealing that 1 in 6 New Jerseyans think that the Jersey Devil could be real.

As the most common version of the story goes, it was 1735 when Mother Leeds in Leeds Point (now Galloway) gave birth to her 13th child and cursed her "dire straits." When the child was born, it turned into a bipedal creatures and flew into the woods. Thus was born the Jersey Devil, also known as the Leeds Devil. It has haunted the depths of the Pine Barrens ever since.

The Leeds family has strong roots in South Jersey, and descendants remain in the area today. One of those descendants, Norman Goos of the Atlantic County Historical Society, previously told Patch all about the Jersey Devil.

In the 1700s, his ancestor Titan Leeds published an almanac for the region, following in his father Daniel's footsteps. This "occult almanac" focused on astrological influences on farming. This competed with Benjamin Franklin's iconic "Poor Richard's Almanac." Franklin, to undermine Leeds' reputation, satirized him and called him a "demon" from New Jersey. This may be the source of the "Leeds Devil."

Goos told Patch that sightings of the Jersey Devil can be explained by an optical phenomenon - tired eyes at night may see wings where trees arch. The Pinelands itself has also been subject to a negative reputation for many years.

Still, the legend of the Jersey Devil remains an iconic part of New Jersey culture. But that legend persists today, and Pinelands visitors and residents alike swear they saw a creature with wings and hooves while driving through South Jersey roads.