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Bigfoot vs. the Jersey Devil

Whether you're a resident of New Jersey or not, you've probably heard the tale of the Jersey Devil. It's a popular piece of local lore. The story varies from place to place, but the most common telling is of a woman in Leeds Point during the 1700's who — when giving birth to her thirteenth child — is heard to say something to the effect of, "I'd rather give birth to the devil himself!" Her request is apparently fulfilled and upon birth the child changes form into a hideous winged creature, flies into the fireplace, up the chimney and away into history. The Story of the Jersey Devil has been with us for over 250 years.

Aside from inspiring the name of New Jersey's own hockey team, the name "Jersey Devil" is on occasion misused to refer to sightings or stories of hairy giants. To maintain the integrity of the legend, and to prevent confusion for those who do not know the difference, I must clarify here: the New Jersey Devil is not Bigfoot. It should not be considered a catch-all name, as has been suggested by some. Ask any New Jersey resident if they've heard of the Jersey Devil and the ones who have will understand that it pertains to the Leeds Devil tale.

The historical description of the Jersey Devil is that of a creature with the head of a horse, a long neck, a kangaroo-like tail, hooves at the bottom of spindley legs, and large leathery, bat-like wings. It is also said to snort fire and emit piercing screams in the night. Many such screams have been heard in the Pine Barrens, where the Jersey Devil allegedly makes his home.

Bigfoot have allegedly been seen in the Pine Barrens too, and are also said to emit such piercing screams. But standing in excess of 7 feet, wingless, hairy, stinky and walking upright on two legs, Bigfoot are much different than the Jersey Devil, so a distinction must be made. Not to mention that the Jersey Devil is nothing more than lore, with hoaxing and misidentification at its root.

This is not to say that the hunt for Bigfoot hasn't produced a fair amount of hoaxing and a ton of misidentification, but it seems more plausible than a single creature who has survived hundreds of years with a tale of origination at the hands of the supernatural. More evidence has been uncovered to suggest the existence of undiscovered prmates than has been collected to support the existence of the Jersey Devil. Even if the evidence for Bigfoot seems at times insubstantial.

Drew Vics — 7-17-06