For some 260 years there has lurked a creature the likes of which the world has not encountered before. In a large area in the South East of New Jersey lie the Pine Barrens, an aptly named section of woods which has been inhabited by very few. It is in the depths of this unforgiving forest that we encounter the closest thing to hell that exists on earth. It's name is The Jersey Devil.

The story of the Devil begins in the 1700s with multiple sightings of a terrific creature stalking or being stumbled upon by local Hunters. In fact, Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, claimed to have witnessed it while hunting. Despite these accounts by many hunters and local residents, the story of the Jersey Devil goes largely unaccounted until the early 1800's.

There are many stories surrounding the origination of the Devil. The most common of these is that a woman by the name of Mrs. Shrouds, of an area known as Lead's Point, was pregnant with her thirteenth child. Not wanting the child, she cursed its existence. Upon giving birth, the child was horribly deformed (in some accounts having horns and wings while others just claim physical deformity). Shrouds tried to keep the child at home away from a public that might question it, but soon after birth it escaped the house into the woods never to be seen again. Or so many thought.
 

For years, strange sightings have occurred in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Many credible witnesses have reported screaming in the woods on quiet nights. Mutilated animals, including 2 German shepherds in one account (which could not be harmed by any fox, badger, deer, or raccoon; the native animals to this area) were ripped to shreds along with a barn full of livestock. Among some credible witnesses, numerous police reports have been made of officers shooting at an creature of "unknown origin" in the remotest locations of the woods. Also, on councilman of a local large urban area reportedly saw the beast.

So, does there exist a demon in the forests of New Jersey, possibly. Knowing that this area is a scant 40 miles from my home, perhaps I will one day venture off it this unfriendly place and decide for myself. For now, however, I'll let this be my decision.