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by Mike Harris (Author)
To many people the Jersey Devil is real. It's not just a legend. Stories have been told for years about a demon of some kind living in the Pine lands and dirt roads of New Jersey that looks partly like a kangaroo, with the face of a horse, the head of a dog, bat-like wings and has horns and a tail. For more than three hundred years stories have been told about this creature, prowling the pine forests of Southern New Jersey and emerging from time to time to frighten and cause deaths of people living in the area. It seems the origin of the Jersey Devil started back in the 1700's, when Mrs. Lucy Leeds of Estellville, New Jersey gave birth to her thirteenth child. The child she delivered was reported to have been a baby devil that escaped into a nearby swamp and has been terrorizing people ever since. There have been lots of stories about the Jersey Devil over the years raiding chicken coops, farms, destroying crops, killing animals and even killing people. People in more than fifty different towns and villages in the area claim to have seen the creature whenever it has emerged from its lair in the Pine lands. On more than one occasion a posy has been formed to search for and catch the Devil, but so far all attempts have been unsuccessful. On one occasion a $100,000 reward was offered for anyone who could bring in the Devil, dead or alive. There have even been reports of the death of the Jersey Devil from time to time, but these have also proved to be inconclusive. Even the scientific community has not been able to prove or explain one way or the other, if the Jersey Devil truly exists or not? But a lot of people believe the Jersey Devil is real. Reliable people, including police, government officials, businessmen and others have claimed to have seen the Jersey Devil and the results of its destruction and killings. It's not unusual, even to this day, for someone to travel down the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey and report seeing something "unusual looking", off in the woods as they drive by! Is the creature real? Are the stories true? Or, is it just a legend made up by people who have too much time on their hands? In any case the story you are about to read recounts another of these stories, this one taking place in 1984. Did it really happen? Only you can read the account, make up your own mind and decide for yourself. But I don't think I would want to be taking any camping trips out into the Pine Barrens of New Jersey anytime soon. Like many others, I might not be able to return to tell others of my experience.
Author Biography
Mike Harris is an accomplished writer, explorer and film producer who has led major expeditions throughout the world, including the first expeditions to search for the Titanic. On Mike's first expedition in 1971 he led a group of divers and film-makers to Bikini Atoll in the Marshall islands where they dove on American, German and Japanese warships that were sunk by atom bomb testing after WWII. His film "Deadly Fathoms" featured famous 'Twilight Zone' producer Rod Serling and won a Silver Medal at the Atlanta International Film Festival. During Mike's second expedition he took a group of Biblical scholars to Turkey to search for Noah's Ark, his film "Expedition to Noah's Ark" featured acclaimed Hollywood actor Joseph Cotten as his on-camera host and narrator. Mike third expedition found him with a group of treasure hunters in Mexico. He produced "Pancho Villa's Treasure" which featured film and television celebrity Cesar Romero as his on-camera host and narrator. Then in 1980 Mike organized a group of marine scientists and oceanographers and led them on the first-ever expedition to search for the Titanic in the North Atlantic. His film, "Search for the Titanic" featured legendary actor Orson Welles as his on-camera host and narrator. On Mike's second Titanic expedition he produced "Return to the Titanic" which featured television star James 'The Virginian' Drury. Jim actually joined Mike on his second historic Titanic expedition. Mike is a member of The Explorer's Club of New York, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in London and has been listed in "Who's Who in America" since 2,000.
