 Horror/Scary: February 01, 2023 Issue [#11785] |
This week: Mother Leeds' Thirteenth Child Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week:
Quote for the week:
“Walls have ears.
Doors have eyes.
Trees have voices.
Beasts tell lies.
Beware the rain.
Beware the snow.
Beware the man
You think you know.
-Songs of Sapphique”
~Catherine Fisher, Incarceron |
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The New Jersey Pine Barrens is a remote region covering more than seven counties of south central New Jersey in the northeastern US. The area was given the name "barrens" because it's sandy, nutrient poor soil is not suitable for agriculture, but it is far from barren. The Pine Barrens is a unique ecosystem that is home rare pygmy pitch pines, dense cedar swamps, several species of orchids, and carnivorous plants. It is also home to one of America's myths, the Jersey Devil.
Native American tribes used the Pine Barrens as a hunting ground and reportedly used fire to encourage the growth of desirable plants and flush out game. European colonists eventually established some small permanent settlements in the area, but it was never heavily populated by Native Americans or Europeans because of the poor agricultural soil. In spite of proximity to the metropolitan areas of New York City and Philadelphia, the population of the Pine Barrens is still mostly rural today. In this strange, beautiful, and forbidding area, the Jersey Devil was born.
There area many legends of the Devil's origin. One of the best known versions states that in 1735, a woman known as Mother Leeds was pregnant with her thirteenth child. Mother Leeds did not want another child and was heard saying that she hoped the devil took it. In some versions, Mother Leeds was a witch, the baby's father was Satan himself, and she hoped it would be a demon. When the child was born, it initially looked normal, but its body soon became twisted and deformed and it sprouted wings. The creature uttered a frightening shriek, and then flew up the chimney and out into the night.
The Jersey Devil, or Leeds Devil as it is sometimes called, is said to be a kangaroo like creature about three or four feet tall, with batlike wings, the head of a horse or goat, the tail of a lizard, and the hind legs of a deer.
There have been many reported sightings of the Jersey Devil, mostly in the 19th and early 20th Centuries. In some sightings it is blamed for killing cattle and other animals. In others it is harmless and even comical. It was often reported circling overhead and uttering a piercing scream.
Joseph Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon is said to have seen the Jersey Devil while hunting in the area. Commodore Stephen Decatur is said to have fired a cannonball at the Jersey Devil, but the creature was not harmed. The ghost of Captain Kidd, a pirate who was said to have buried treasure in the Barrens, has been reported in company of the Jersey Devil.
A rash of sightings took place in 1909, possibly due to newspaper articles and other publicity about the Jersey Devil. The creature was reported seen in several local towns, vandalizing trolley cars and terrorizing patrons at a social club. The publicity caused some schools to close and residents feared to venture outside. It also resulted in hunting parties roaming around the Barrens attempting to catch the Jersey Devil. In response to a rumor that the Philadelphia Zoo would pay $10,000 to anyone who captured the creature, many hoaxes were concocted, including a kangaroo with glued on wings.
The Jersey Devil legends may have simply arisen from local folk tales made up to frighten children into behaving. Sightings of the creature in flight may have actually been either a sandhill crane or a great blue heron. Both of these are long legged wading birds four or five feet tall with a wingspread of 6-7 feet. While neither of these birds can be described as screaming, both have loud, harsh calls that can be heard for some distance. Native Americans in the area were said to refer to the Barrens by a name that meant "place of the dragon" so legends of a dragon like creature may have predated the arrival of European colonizers.
Stories that referred to the creature as the Leeds Devil may have been attempts to discredit the Leeds family, who published The American Almanac, which eventually became a competitor to Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac. Quakers in the area did not trust Daniel Leeds, the patriarch of the Leeds family, because they believed the methods he used to predict the weather and astronomical events were "too pagan." Interestingly, the Leeds family crest depicted a wyvern, a bipedal dragon similar to the reported appearance of the Devil.
The Pine Barrens are also home to several other supernatural creatures. Many of these are harmless or benevolent, helping lost travelers or leading them away from danger. These include as the ghost of a black dog, a ghostly white deer that saves travelers from harm, and the spirit of a kind African doctor was said to have practiced medicine in the isolated nearby communities in spite of being denied a medical license due to his race.
Something to try: Write a horror story that takes place in the Pine Barrens. |
| | The Temple (13+)
A homeless man maintains a temple to an unlikely God accepting extreme sacrifices.
#2191232 by J.B. Ezar  |
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| Question for next time: What subjects would you like to see covered in future horror newsletters? |
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