The JERSEY DEVIL

The Jersey Devil, the supposed mythical creature of the New Jersey Pinelands, has haunted New Jersey and the surrounding areas for the past 260 years. This entity has been seen by over 2,000 witnesses over this period. It has terrorized towns and caused factories and schools to close down, yet many people believe that the Jersey Devil is a legend, a mythical beast, that originated from the folklore of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Others disagree with this point of view. The following text will show there is evidence to support the existence of an animal or supernatural bring known as the Jersey Devil. The evidence consists of the stories of the Jersey Devil's origin, the sightings of it, and finally, the theories on it.
There are many different versions of the birth of the Jersey Devil. One of the most popular legends says a Mrs. Shrouds of Leeds Point, NJ made a wish that if she ever had another child, she want it to be a devil. Her next child was born misshapen and deformed. She sheltered it in the house, so the curious couldn't see him. On stormy night, the child flapped it's arms, which turned into wings, and escaped out the chimney and was never seen by the family again. A Mrs. Bowen of Leeds point said, "The Jersey Devil was born in the Shrouds house at Leeds Point." 1 Another story that also placed the birth at Leeds Point said that a young girl fell in love with a British soldier during the Revolutionary War. The people of Leeds Point cursed her. When she gave birth, she had a devil. Some people believe the birth of the devil was punishment for the mistreatment of a minister by the Leeds folk.
Another story placed the birth in Estelville, NJ. Mrs. Leeds, of Estelville, finding out she was pregnant with her 13th child, shouted,"I hope it's a devil". She got her wish. The child wad born with horns, a tail, wings, and a horse-like head. The creature revisited Mrs. Leeds everyday. She stood at her door and told it to leave. After awhile, the creature got the hint and never returned.
Burlington, NJ, also claims to be the birthplace of the Jersey Devil. In 1735, Mother Leeds was in labor on a stormy night. Gathered around her were her friends. Mother Leeds was supposedly a witch and the child's father was the devil himself. The child was born normal, but then changed form. It changed from a normal baby to a creature with hooves, a horses head, bat wings and a forked tail. It beat everyone present and flew up the chimney. It circled the villages and headed toward the pines. In 1740 a clergy exercised the devil for 100 years and it wasn't seen again until 1890.
There are many other versions of the legend. The legends say it was the

Encounter with Mothman,Mothman in Middle Tennessee?

In the mid-1960s, a mysterious creature that became known as Mothman frightened residents around Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Described as having large red eyes and enormous, silent wings, the creature has become legend in the area, and sightings are claimed to this very day. In the summer of 2005, Matt and his stepsister encountered something unknown, and they wonder if it was the Mothman monster. This is Matt’s story:

My stepsister Lynn and I were visiting her grandparents in Virginia. Her grandparents’ house is in the countryside with a 20-acre cornfield next to it. About 50 yards behind the house lays miles of forest.

The first night we were there, we were unpacking and getting ready to go to sleep. There was a bunk bed in the guest room, which our younger siblings were going to sleep in. There was a couch and a pull-out bed in the living room, which Lynn and I decided to sleep in. We were channel surfing on the TV, and we flipped to a show about urban legends in the United States. Since my stepsister and I have always been interested in paranormal happenings, we decided to stop and watch for a few minutes.

Something came on about a creature called “Mothman.” According to the show, sightings of Mothman were said to be

Do fairies, gnomes and goblins really exist? Suspend your disbelief for a moment, and consider these real-life encounters with creatures from the land of make-believe.

Most of us have grown up with the timeless fairy tales of The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson. They are wonderful stories populated by fairies, gnomes, trolls, goblins and other strange creatures that inhabit dark woods, foggy swamps, mystic meadows and mysterious mountains. They are also powerful stories that stay with us our entire lives because they tap into our primal fears of the unknown - creepy little archetypes of the human collective unconscious.

But are these creatures only the stuff of folklore and imagination? Do they have a basis in reality? Is that an idea too crazy to even consider? People around the world have claimed to have actually seen and even interacted with such beings. In moments of stress and unfamiliarity, are their minds merely recalling the fairy tales of their childhoods... or are their experiences real? Read the following accounts and decide for yourself.

SEBASTIAN POLIZAR, THE GNOME

I am now 22 years old, but when I was 17 I saw a gnome, and this is how it happened. My mom and I just moved to Puerto Rico. She bought an old house on a hill that she fixed it up, and soon we moved in. One day I came home early from school. No one was home, so I went to take a shower. I could hear my dog barking and chasing something, so I got out of the shower, ran to the window and saw what he was barking at: a gnome! He was standing behind a tree. He was very small, wore a white, cone-shaped hat and pointy shoes. Everything he wore was white. He saw me and we looked at each other. When I blinked, he was gone.

I decided not to say anything to anyone. Then a couple of days later when I saw him again outside my window, smiling at me... then he disappeared. The next time I saw him I yelled out, "What's your name?" To my surprise, he yelled back and said, "My name is Sebastian Polizar." I told my mom and she was like, "Yeah, right..." I told her that I would prove that it was true. I yelled his name out loud and told him to