A 60-person research team delves into the Pine Barrens of New Jersey in
search of the legendary Jersey Devil, a horse-headed, bat-winged
creature reportedly haunting the area for the past 250 years.
The
Jersey Devil is a legendary creature or cryptid said to inhabit the
Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey, United States. The creature is
often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many
different variations. The most common description is that of a
kangaroo-like creature with the head of a goat, leathery bat-like wings,
horns, small arms with clawed hands, cloven hooves and a forked tail.
It has been reported to move quickly and often is described as emitting a
"blood-curdling scream."
The Jersey Devil has worked its way
into the pop culture of the area, even lending its name to New Jersey's
team in the National Hockey League, and appeared on an early episode of
The X-Files.
There are many possible origins of the Jersey Devil
legend. The earliest legends date back to Native American folklore. The
Lenni Lenape tribes called the area around Pine Barrens "Popuessing",
meaning "place of the dragon". Swedish explorers later named it "Drake
Kill", "drake" being a word for dragon, and "kill" meaning channel or
arm of the sea (river, stream, etc.) (in Dutch)
