New Jersey's Official State Demon

The Jersey Devil
NJ's 'Official' State Demon...or Not?

Here in West Virginia we have a lot of official state 'stuff.' Our state bird is the majestic cardinal. In 2021, pepperoni rolls finally became our state food. And, of course among several others, our state song is the world-wide favorite, Country Roads. What we don't have, however, is an official state DEMON. As far as I can tell, that honor has only been bestowed upon the state of New Jersey.  Or has it...

There's a 'fun fact' floating around the paranormal world that in 1939, the Leeds Devil, more popularly known as the Jersey Devil, became the official state demon of New Jersey. Unfortunately, when you look at the actual state laws (yeah, this official state stuff is actually presented as a bill, voted on and passed by state government) there is no mention of the Jersey Devil being the state's officially recognized demonic being. So where did this information come from?

The New Jersey State Library puts out a wonderfully informative newsletter for its employees, and in issue No. 33, covers the origin story fantastically. 

Back on October 31, 1979 The Washington Post published an article stating that the Jersey Devil/Leeds Demon had been New Jersey's official state demon since 1939. This assertion was supported by a 1970's documentary on the Jersey Devil produced by the NJ Public Broadcasting Authority, stating the same thing.  But, it all really does date back to 1939. 

That year, a book called New Jersey: A Guide to Its Present and Past was published. The book contained a chapter entitled Folklore and Folkways, which opened with: By default, the title of official State demon has rested for nearly a century with the Leeds Devil, a friendly native of Atlantic County who has traveled extensively throughout southern New Jersey.

This tongue-in-cheek commentary was accompanied by the assertion that the Jersey Devil was also at the time studying for his doctorate degree at the University of Hell, and enjoyed discussing Republican politics over breakfast. I guess just flapping around the Pine Barrens is a little too low-brow for everyone's favorite winged, horse-faced monstrosity!

So unfortunately, the Jersey Devil isn't really recognized officially as New Jersey's Official State Demon...but he's certainly their unofficial state demon! We can only hope that one day, what started as a joke in 1939 may very well be voted on for real one day. At the very least, it's given me something fun and silly to share on today's Friday Funnies blog post! I hope you all have a great weekend, and as always, stay spooky! 

Demon Chases Deer Hoax

This photo has been around since at least 2005, but it continues to pop up every few years, each time with a new 'location' and a new back story.  It has morphed from the Jersey Devil to a chupacabra, to a regular ol' demon...most recently being caught on a trail camera in Canada. But, as you can see, this is another one of those photos that is simply too good to be true.  The bottom photo is the original as it was posted on a hunting forum.  The 'demon' version was cropped and edited to give an appearance of night-vision.

Debunked.

 

 

Book Review for Haunted Jersey Shore

Title: Haunted Jersey Shore--Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Garden State Coast
Author: Charles A. Stansfield, Jr.
Published by Stackpole Books (2006)
Amazon Info (Also available on Kindle)

My boyfriend was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, so we were both delighted--and rather surprised--to find a copy of this book at our local Goodwill store. I have to say, it was the best 50 cents I have spent in a long time!

At 114 pages, this book is short, but that makes it a perfect, quick read for this time of year!  I had my reservations at first, because I had previously read other books by different authors in this publisher's same series.  While still pretty good, these books tended to be a little sparse when it came to the actual number of stories covered.  This book was the complete opposite!  Divided by geographical area, there are several dozen stories packed between its covers. 

Most of the tales are only about half a page in length, and therefore, there's not a lot of history or extraneous information detracting from the meat of the story.  As a historian for my paranormal investigation group, I really value and appreciate a thorough historical profile for my research, but sometimes I just want to read the good parts and enjoy a good scare!  Again, that makes this the perfect little book to read during the Halloween season as it focuses on the spooky part, and doesn't worry about proving or disproving the tales.  Of course, enough details are given so that anyone interested in learning more can do their own research with or without the aide of the bibliography.  Also included in the text are links to different area paranormal groups and websites, and information about how to find companies that conduct ghost tours in the area.

If you have any ties to the Jersey Coast, definitely pick this one up for some spooky reading!  But, if you're NOT familiar with the area, don't be intimidated; its still a very enjoyable read that doesn't rely on a previous understanding of the history or geography of the area.  And seriously...how could you not love the cover illustration of the Jersey Devil?

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