Ah, The Garden state of America, known for its farm land, great food, 24 hour diners,
big sports teams and The Jersey Shore.
But it isn’t all sunshine and ripe tomatoes, legend has it that a monster is on the loose
in the pines.
Argh!
But of course, this is just folklore, but what if it wasn’t.
Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions.
I am your host Rebecca Felgate and today I am asking What if the Jersey Devil Was Real.
Before we crack on into this video I just want to ask you guys to leave me a comment
and let me know if you believe in the Jersey Devil….or any devil for that matter!
Also do hit the thumbs up button if you like our channel.
The Jersey Devil has been an American Urban Legend since the 1700s.
The most popular of the stories goes that in 1735, a Pine Barren resident, Mrs Leeds,
or Mother Leeds, fell pregnant for a 13th time.
Having already squeezed out 12 babies, as you can imagine, she wasn’t overwhelmingly
enthused and you cannot blame her really.
Some say that Mother Leeds cursed the baby, some say a witched cursed the child, others
say the father was the devil himself…either way, the story goes that the baby was no baby….but
a monster.
The infant had two hooved legs, wings, a horselike face, with horns and an overall grotesque
kangaroo type vibe.
Folklore has it that soon after being birthed, the creature flew up the Leed’s family Chimney
and flew into the Pines, where it has lived, causing chaos ever since.
Indeed, there have been many sightings over the years, some from seemingly reliable sources,
including Napoleon’s older brother, Joseph Bonaparte who thought he saw it while hunting.
Sightings were rife in the mid 1800s and early 1900s with the devil even blamed for the death
of live stock.
Since the 1700s there have been around 2000 individual reports of devil sightings… but
generally these have been dismissed…what would happen if the devil was real though?
Well firstly, watch out garden state, because there is a wee beasty running amock.
In all descriptions of the devil, it doesn’t sound huge, but who knows what generations
of breeding in that pine will have led to.
Maybe those honies have got bigger, maybe they’re ready to rear their horsey heads!
The devil was rumoured to eat live stock, especially smaller animals like chickens.
This could play havoc with New Jersey’s farming industry – which currently generates
cash receipts of a billion dollars a year.
Jersey is mainly known for its fruit and vegetable produce, though, so hopefully the devil didn’t
develop a taste for super foods.
Another food group that the Jersey Devil is reportedly down with is people – or – more
specifically, children.
This is where things get a bit awkward.
It’s all fun and games having a state monster until local kids start dying then you have
a problem on your hands.
If it and its devilish little family did start bumping off babies, I am sure local or even
national authorities would get involved to try and detain the pests….
And then there are the vigilantes.
People would team up and try and take out the devil and its family…
how do you hunt for a Jersey Devil?
When legend has it you might hear it before you see it!
Rumour has it that it has a blood curdling scream.
Back in the 1960s there was a reward of 10 thousand dollars for capturing the devil,
so who knows what the capture reward would be if the devil was proven to be real.
100 thousand dollars?
More?
If it was captured, would it be killed?
I certainly hope not as there could be a lot to learn from studying the devil.
Before we get into the truly pressing issues here – let’s have a little ponder about
the sports team named after the monster – the three time Stanley Cup winning Hockey team,
the New Jersey Devils.
If the Jersey Devil was real, and was going around killing live stock and local children,
would it be appropriate to wear its likeness on their jerseys and generally align themselves
with the devil’s brand?
No bud, no.
Maybe though – maybe it would increase their popularity – maybe it would increase the
state’s popularity…perhaps New Jersey would no longer be in the state shadow of
New York…perhaps people would flock to the Garden state to try and catch a glimpse of
the pest.
Then again, maybe they would stay away, fearing for their lives.
I suppose it depends how rampant and raucous the old devil is!
Okay but being semi serious, if the Jersey Devil was real, wouldn’t this… um… not
to be dramatic or anything, but like…totally change everything we think about life?
So far as science and ecology is aware, there is no such thing as hoven winged monsters.
If we found that there was, what would this mean for other mythical creatures like the
Lochness Monster, the Abominable Snowman, the Sasquatch?
Would this mean mermaids are real?
Fairies?
Pokemon Go?
Where would all these creatures be hiding?
How are they evading us in the modern day?
Furthermore….the New Jersey devil is…A DEVIL….would this mean there is more than
one devil, that there are devils plural?
Would this mean there are angels?
Would this prove the existence of heaven and hell?
What kind of sociopolitical global impact would that bombshell have?
Mate….
We can but speculate… but let’s be fair here… it would be big news.
World news.
If the Jersey Devil was real then maybe, just maybe anything could be possible.
Well, that is one fanciful question run away with there for you.
What do you think would happen if the Jersey Devil was real?
Let me know in the comments section down below?
Have you ever seen anything like it?
How would you explain the sightings?
Let me know in the comments section down below.
Okay, so, time for me to bust out of here so I can get answering a whole new question.
Do click on that notification bell to be the first to hear a big answer and why not also
hit that thumbs up button.
I am your host Rebecca Felgate, I’ll catch you in the next video, but until then…stay
curious, stay alert and never ever stop questioning.