Sometimes the Devil’s mother is isn’t Mrs. Well, that’s one version of the story, at least. Leeds gave birth to a misshapen monster, a veritable devil, which flew out the chimney and took up residence in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, where it lives to this day. In her frustration she swore at her husband and shouted to the heavens, “I hope this baby will be a devil!” Leeds in Burlington who was none too happy that pregnancy was bringing an end to her party girl lifestyle. Now, way back in 1737 there was a young wife named Mrs. You know the story of the Leeds Devil, right? No? Then let me refresh your memory. Eventually they settled on a name that was maybe a bit on the nose: “The What-Is-It.”īut in their heart of hearts, everyone in New Jersey already knew what had made the tracks. The papers ran rife with speculation about the mysterious creature. They told a curious reporter that the tracks had been made an “air hoss” like the ones that could be found in the coastal swamps of Georgia. In Gloucester, two black men, Tom Hamilton and Hank White, followed the tracks for over twenty miles before they suddenly vanished.
There were more tracks over the next few days, and the creature that made them was no longer content to just roam. Whatever had made them had covered a lot of ground in a single night.Īnd it wasn’t done. Last but not least, the tracks could be found all over the state, from Perth Amboy to Deptford.
It was almost as if whatever made the tracks could fly. And even the tiniest pony can’t squeeze under a fence, beneath a wheelbarrow, or through a pipe less than a foot in diameter.Īnd horse tracks wouldn’t just stop dead in the middle of the street or in an empty field with no warning. Sure, a horse might somehow clamber on top of a doghouse, but it’s hard to imagine one climbing up to the roof of a two story house or balancing nimbly on the ledge outside a third story window. And they were single file, as if they were made by a creature walking on two legs and not four. They looked like they had been left by horseshoes, not an unshod animal. They looked like hoof prints, but that couldn’t possibly be right.įor starters, the tracks were too neat. When the sun rose on the morning of January 16th, the residents of New Jersey were surprised by strange animal tracks in the fresh-fallen snow. He did not stick around to get a better look at whatever had knocked him over. There was a white cloud like escaping steam from an engine. I saw two spots of fire like phosphorous - the eyes of the beast.
“I heard a hissing and something white flew across the street. As he turned to see what was following him, it rushed him and knocked him over. As he stumbled towards home, he suddenly became aware that he wasn’t alone. Shortly after midnight, Thack Cozzens wobbled out of a saloon in Woodbury, NJ. On Friday, Janua winter storm battered the eastern seaboard of the United States, bringing several inches of snow to New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and Delaware.īut snow wasn’t the only thing that came with the storm. Some say that it comes from too much “nose paint”īut whatever it is, it keeps folks guessingĪnd women proceed to faint “What-Is-It” by James W. Some say ’tis the devil, some say it ain’t What-Is-It? there's an animal roaming round the town that is certainly gaining great renown We are a proud member of That's Not Canon Productions, a podcast network for independent podcasters of all stripes.ĭesigned by #13 at Lodge #777. All rights reserved, all wrongs reversed. They are licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 License. These articles and episodes are ©2019-2022 by their respective authors, and published by the Ancient and Esoteric Order of the Jackalope.
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