Ghost Story of the New Jersey Devil Essay -- Ghost Stories Urban Legen

The New Jersey Devil The Legend of the Jersey Devil is the most prominent legend that is told to citizens of New Jersey; it is mainly told to elementary school aged children. There are a variety of settings that the story has; however, the most common location that is used when retelling the tale is Leeds Point, NJ, which is in the Pine Barrens region of the state. This tale of the Jersey Devil recounts the existence of a supernatural creature that is said to have terrorized the New Jersey Pine Barrens and surrounding areas for the last 260 years. The teller of this version of the legend is a Caucasian female who is eighteen years of age and attends the University of Maryland. She comes from a middle class family and believes in the Christian faith. As a New Jersey native, this young woman was originally told this story when she was a child in school. She admits that as a child, she believed the tale as true; however, at this age, she no longer believes in the existence of the New Jersey Devil. Wh ile on the way to class, we discussed New Jersey’s most famous legend, and she was able to recount the tale: Well about three hundred years ago, there was a woman by the name of Mrs. Shrouds. She lived in the New Jersey Pine Barrens with her family. Times were hard for her, and she couldn’t deal with having such a big family. Since she was so angry about her children and having to grow and cook food for them, she said, ‘If I have another child, I want it to be the devil.’ Well, then she got pregnant†¦ again, and she had her thirteenth child. The child was born deformed and actually looked like a devil. It had horns and wings and everything. Because of its deformity, Mrs. Shrouds kept her child locked in the basement so t... ...exemplifies the belief of society that witches can only be allied with the sin and malevolence. In addition, the Jersey Devil is used as a scapegoat; it is to blame when farm animals are missing or crops are destroyed. The story telling abilities of the young woman recounting the tale of the Jersey Devil showed its currency as well as the storytellers skepticism. She told it as if the story was common knowledge, performing the tale somewhat matter-of-factly. This tone of voice made the legend seem less of a supernatural occurrence. Consequently, it became obvious that the teller had little belief in the story, for she minimized the mystical elements. She did incorporate a few pauses in her speech in an attempt to make the story slightly suspenseful. Works Cited Juliano, David. â€Å"The Jersey Devil 4 x 4.† http://www.the-jersey-devil.com/devilstory.html