A Devil In The Pine Barrens: New Jersey, 1909

Summary

Sightings: A Devil In The Pine Barrens: New Jersey, 1909
Hosted by REVERB | QCODE
Release Date: March 10, 2025

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Introduction

In the March 10, 2025 episode of Sightings, hosts McLeod Andrews and Brian Sigley delve into one of New Jersey's most enduring supernatural legends—the tale of the Jersey Devil in the Pine Barrens. This episode meticulously unpacks the mysterious events of 1909, weaving together firsthand accounts, local lore, and historical context to explore the origins and implications of this chilling phenomenon.

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The Pine Barrens and the Onset of Mystery

The episode opens with a vivid description of the Pine Barrens, a vast and dense forest spanning over a million acres in New Jersey. McLeod Andrews sets the stage by highlighting the forest's eerie silence and impenetrable darkness, suggesting that something ancient and malevolent may reside within its depths.

McLeod Andrews [00:00-02:26]:
"Some forests welcome you with open arms. Others warn you to stay away. And in one part of New Jersey, there's a forest whose terrifying legends stretch back for centuries. But what if these legends aren't just warnings passed down through generations? What if in these primordial woods, something else is waiting?"

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The 1909 Sightings: A Detailed Account

The narrative centers around Nelson Barringer, a lifelong resident of Burlington City, who recounts the harrowing events of January 1909. Barringer describes the arrival of Paul Hauser, an ordinarily pragmatic accountant, who reported witnessing a large, dark shape with glowing red eyes—a sight that unsettled the entire community.

Narrator [02:26-06:50]:
"It was Saturday morning, January 16th, when everything started. I was having my usual morning coffee at Decker's when Paul Hauser came bursting in, white as a sheet... He saw this large, dark shape... and its eyes, well, Paul said they glowed impossibly red, like fiery rubies."

The story escalates as multiple witnesses from different towns, including an officer named John Sackville, report seeing the creature. Sackville even fired his revolver at the entity, only to hear a devilish scream despite missing his target.

Nelson Barringer [02:26-06:50]:
"But Paul wouldn't have it and just kept saying, this was no bird. It was something else altogether... And good God, what fools we were."

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Escalation and Personal Encounter

As sightings proliferate, the community's fear intensifies. McLeod Andrews narrates significant events, including the disappearance of Barringer's dog, Bo, and the organization's futile search efforts. The tension culminates in Barringer's personal encounter in the depths of the Pine Barrens, where he confronts the creature face-to-face.

Narrator [17:11-24:57]:
"Then I saw Bo's tail drop between his legs. And then I heard it. A sound like leather stretching like massive wings unfurling because 20ft above us, perched on a thick pine branch, was the devil itself... I pulled the trigger. I've never told another soul what happened after that."

The aftermath sees the sightings cease, and life in Burlington gradually returns to normal. However, the Pine Barrens retain an ominous presence, hinting that the darkness within remains ever-watchful.

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Discussion: Unraveling the Legend

Following the narrative, McLeod Andrews and Brian Sigley engage in a thought-provoking discussion about the Jersey Devil's origins and the plausibility of the sightings.

Brian Sigley addresses the historical context, mentioning possible origins tied to local folklore and personal vendettas.

Brian Sigley [26:56-31:15]:
"So as we heard in the story, there were the Lenape people who were the Native Americans who first lived in that area... They had legends about something in these woods, something unnatural, that protected the forest from those who do it harm."

McLeod Andrews explores theories ranging from misidentified wildlife, such as sandhill cranes, to mass hysteria explaining the widespread nature of the sightings.

McLeod Andrews [34:02-36:25]:
"I think the thing that really differentiates this story... is just the sheer number of people who saw this thing. You know, hundreds of people over upwards of a dozen towns."

The hosts debate the likelihood of supernatural vs. natural explanations, ultimately acknowledging the Jersey Devil's place as a cultural and mysterious entity within New Jersey's heritage.

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Conclusion and Future Episodes

The episode wraps up with McLeod Andrews and Brian Sigley teasing future explorations into other supernatural occurrences, promising listeners more intriguing stories and analyses.

McLeod Andrews [38:08-38:37]:
"We are actually staying in the same part of the country. We're heading, I guess just down the Delaware River a little bit to Philadelphia for a supernatural slash conspiracy slash really crazy story that I think is going."

Listeners are encouraged to subscribe and engage with the podcast on social media to share their own theories and experiences.

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Notable Quotes

• Nelson Barringer [05:15]:
  "I swear on my mother's grave, every word I'm about to tell you is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but."

• Brian Sigley [26:56]:
  "No, it is a very real legend in New Jersey. And I should say that I did make up the main character that you read."

• McLeod Andrews [35:12]:
  "So the sandhill crane is this giant bird, multiple feet long wingspan... it has reddish plumage around its eyes, which people reported seeing the red eyes of the Jersey Devil."

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Final Thoughts

"A Devil In The Pine Barrens: New Jersey, 1909" offers a comprehensive and immersive exploration of the Jersey Devil legend, blending historical accounts with engaging storytelling and analytical discussion. For fans of supernatural lore and mysterious phenomena, this episode provides an enthralling glimpse into one of America's most enigmatic legends.

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For more episodes and details, visit sightingspodcast.com and follow Sightings on your preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

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[Narrator]

Some forests welcome you with open arms. Others warn you to stay away. And in one part of New Jersey, there's a forest whose terrifying legends stretch back for centuries. But what if these legends aren't just warnings passed down through generations? What if in these primordial woods, something else is waiting? Something that's been here longer than the trees themselves? Something that still haunts these woods to this very day. Welcome to Sightings, the series that takes you inside the world's most mysterious supernatural events. Each week, we bring you a thrilling story that puts you at the center of the action, followed by a discussion that dives into the accounts that inspired this story and our takes on them. I'm McLeod.

[McLeod Andrews]

And I'm Brian. And today we're heading into the woods as we discover what lurks inside the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.

[Narrator]

It's a dark, dense place, full of lore and mystery. But does it also hide one of the most legendary supernatural creatures of all time? Find out on this episode of Sightings. Let me tell you about a place called the Pine Barrens. And not the way folks from the city talk about it. I mean, the real pines. The way us locals know it. See, most folks think New Jersey's nothing but Factories and dockyards and quiet suburbs. But there's this place, this vast, dark place that takes up damn near a crowd. Quarter of our state. Over a million acres of dense pine forest stretching clear from the Delaware river to the Atlantic Ocean. And I tell you, there's spots in there where the trees grow so thick, so twisted together, that daylight barely touches the ground even at high noon. It's like permanent twilight down there. And the silence there, it's not like normal quiet. No, it's deeper, heavier. Like the forest itself is always holding its breath, waiting for something. And it turns out that something came just last month. My name's Nelson Barringer, by the way, and I was born and raised in Burlington City, right on the edge of all that darkness. I've spent my whole life here. 53 years of watching those woods from my back porch. And that whole time, I never gave much thought to rumors of strange things lurking in the pines. That is, until last month, of course. And I know what you're thinking. Here's another old timer spinning yarns about things that go bump in the night. But I swear on my mother's grave, every word I'm about to tell you is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but. It was Saturday morning, January 16th, when everything started. I was having my usual morning coffee at Decker's when Paul Hauser came bursting in, white as a sheet. Now, Paul wasn't the type for dramatics. He was an accountant down at the bank and dealt in facts and figures. But that morning, something had him spooked. Bad. He said he'd been out for his usual dawn walk over in Riverside, that's just a few miles from here, when he heard something pass overhead. And when he looked up, he saw this large, dark shape like nothing he'd ever seen before. And its eyes. Well, Paul said they glowed impossibly red, like fiery rubies. Of course, I and everybody else tried to calm him down. We told him it was probably just an owl, or maybe his eyes playing tricks in the dim light. But Paul wouldn't have it and just kept saying, this was no bird. It was something else altogether. Now, I'd just written the whole thing off as Paul having too much coffee before his walk. But then word came in from across the Delaware River. It seemed folks in Bristol had been seeing something strange, too. In fact, multiple people reported seeing a huge thing with wings that walked upright on two legs, if you can believe that. But lending credence to the whole affair was the fact that one of the witnesses was an officer I knew named John Sackville, who actually fired his service revolver at the thing. And even though he knows he missed, he saw the bullet hit a tree, the thing still let out this horrible scream of a devil. No one had the first clue of what to make of any of this. I'd have trusted John Sackville with my life. But what he and others had been describing. Well, let's just say a bunch of us had a good laugh there in Decker that morning. Yeah. And good God, what fools we were.

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It was just past 4 the next morning when I heard someone pounding on my front door. I sleep light. Being a volunteer firefighter for 20 years will do that to you. But this wasn't no gentle knock. This was desperate. I opened up to find Molly Henderson standing there shaking like a leaf in autumn. Molly lived next door with her teenage daughter ever since her husband passed five years back. She was usually calm and collected. I'd seen her face down door to door salesman without batting an eye. But right then, something had her terrified. She kept saying there was something on her roof. Something big. Now, we'd had problems with raccoons before, especially in winter, when they're hunting for warm spots. So I figured that's all it was. But I still pulled on my boots and coat, grabbed my lantern, and headed outside with her. Of course, there was nothing out there that I could see, but she was insistent. Molly was. So I went and got my ladder and climbed up to check the roof. And sure enough, the beam of my lantern caught something up there. A line of prints in the fresh snow, but not like anything I'd seen before. If I didn't know better, I'd have said they were horse hooves. And they walked right up to the edge of the roof and just stopped. Like whatever made them had just stepped off into thin air. So I told Molly I'd keep watch outside with my dog, Beau, until sunrise. And despite what I'd seen, this wasn't out of character. Folks in the neighborhood had always looked to me in times of trouble, and I. I was always happy to help. So I went to get Bo from his dog house, only to realize he wasn't there. In eight years, Beau had never run off. Not once. Honestly, I didn't even think he could jump a fence. But I still went looking and found his TR in the snow back on the far reaches of my lot. And he appeared to be walking in a straight line, like he was tracking something, until his tracks just vanished completely. Just like whatever had been on the roof, Beau had simply vanished in the middle of pristine snow. So let me tell you something. I loved that dog something fierce. He'd stayed by my side through my wife's passing, stayed with me through the darkest of dark. And since the thought of something happening to him set my blood boiling, I ran inside to grab my rifle and started searching the dark. For what, I don't know exactly. But after a few minutes, I spotted more of those strange hoof prints in the snow. They were smaller than a horse's, but bigger than a deer's. And they walked in a way that made no sense. Sometimes they'd appear in a straight line, like something walking on two legs. Other times, they'd vanish completely, only to pick up again a few dozen feet away. And by now, some other neighbors were up because of all the commotion. And one called out to me from down the way because they'd found more prints. And I ran over, and Bill Loudon showed me they'd found more prints. His trash can had been knocked over, rubbish scattered everywhere with those same hoof marks all around it. But what really got me was when Bill pointed up at his wall and there they were again. Tracks going straight up it like it had been.

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[Narrator]

At this point, I realized we were out of our league. So I headed to the police station just as day was breaking. But I wasn't the first one there. No, the place was packed with people all talking over each other about strange sounds in the night, something flying overhead, prints in the snow. Every story was different, but they all had one thing in common. Something unnatural was stalking our town. Then Jimmy Parker burst through the door, gasping for breath like he'd run all the way from the river. And he said that right that very moment, there was something perched on top of the Methodist church. So we all ran outside. But wouldn't you know it, whatever Jimmy saw was already gone. All that remained were those damned prints in the snow. That morning, the Burlington police organized a search party, just in case some kind of wild predator was on the loose. Of course, I joined them, and they even brought in dogs to try and track the thing. But every time they'd seem to catch a scent, they'd tuck their tails and refuse to move. In all my years of hunting, I'd never seen dogs act like that. It was like they knew something we didn't. Soon, the others started getting spooked and talked of heading back, but I couldn't. Not with Bo still missing. So I shouldered my rifle and headed out into the pines. Alone. Nobody tried to stop me, and not one soul followed. The forest was dead quiet that morning. Not even the wind dared make a sound. And though the snow had drifted deep between the trees, I could still make out those strange tracks here and there. They led me deeper and deeper into the pines until the trees grew so thick I could barely see the sky. And you know that feeling you get sometimes, like you're being watched? Well, that's exactly what I felt, but worse. And I kept spinning around, thinking I'd catch something moving, but there was nothing. Just trees and snow and that awful silence. Then I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Just a shadow there and gone. Then this high, piercing screech erupted from my right, and I turned to find something coming straight at me, and fast. I tried to raise my rifle, but it was too late. Something slammed into me like a runaway horse, knocking me flat on my back in the. And by the time I scrambled to my feet and grabbed my gun, all I could see was a huge winged shape disappearing past the treetops. So I'd finally seen it for myself. This strange thing with wings and horse hooves and one hell of a sneaky disposition. And As I stood there alone in the snow, heart pounding, I realized that whatever was terrorizing our town wasn't natural in the least. And worse, I had a feeling my encounter in the pines was only the beginning.

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[Narrator]

News of what was happening in and around Burlington spread through the region like wildfire. Some folks barricaded themselves in their homes, while others, the braver or more foolish, depending on your perspective, started forming hunting parties. And despite what had happened to me earlier, I found myself joining one. Maybe it was worry for Beau, or maybe it was something deeper, a need to face whatever was out there head on. I ended up paired with John Croydon, and I couldn't have asked for a better hunting partner. The Croydons had been in these parts since the colonial days, and John knew these woods better than anyone. So as we trudged through the snow, he started telling me stories about the area and its, I suppose you could say supernatural history. He said. The Lenape, the indigenous people who first lived in these parts, called the pines papuessing, a word that meant the place of the dragon. And they had legends about something in these woods, something unnatural, that protected the forest from those who do it harm. Then, back in 1735, long after the Lenape were pushed out, there was allegedly this woman named Leeds living out in the pines. She already had 12 children, and when she found herself pregnant with the 13th, she cursed it, saying that if she was going to have another, let it be the devil. At this point, John paused to light a pipe, and I noticed his hand trembling ever so slightly. But he went on telling me that the baby was born normal enough. But then it changed. Its head elongated into something like a horse's. Wings burst from its shoulders. Hooves replaced its feet. Then it killed the midwife and flew up the chimney, disappearing into the pines. I thought about what I'd seen earlier, that massive winged shape that knocked me down. Could it really be the same creature from 1735? And if so, had it been living out here all this time, hidden in the vast darkness of the pines? Before I could voice any of these questions, a gunshot echoed through the trees. John and I exchanged glances, then ran toward the sound. We found Tommy Weber, one of the dairy farmers from the edge of town, standing in a clearing with his rifle still smoking. He gasped that he'd seen it, plain as day, big as a horse with wings like a bat, he said. It flew off towards Moorestown, and I could tell from his voice that he was badly shaken. Soon word came in that other hunting parties had spotted it heading towards Morristown. So we regrouped and headed that way. But by the time we arrived, the whole Town was in an uproar. Just outside the train station, a crowd had gathered around a police officer, a station agent, and Reverend Phillips from the Methodist church. The officer said he saw it clear as day. A creature with the head of a horse and the body of something else entirely. The station agent swore it had a tail like a serpent that whipped through the air as it flew. And the reverend, well, he wouldn't say much at all. Just kept crossing himself and muttering prayers under his breath. Then a woman's scream cut through the chaos. Without even thinking, we all started running toward the sound, where we found a woman in her backyard, beating at something with a broom and screaming bloody murder. And as we got closer, this huge, dark shape rose up into the air from where she'd been swinging, and everyone with a gun, myself included, started shooting. But the thing moved impossibly fast, banking and weaving through the air like no natural creature could. When it was gone, we realized that the woman had been trying to protect her puppy from the thing, but she failed. And I saw that the poor dead thing had had a massive bite taken out of it. I immediately thought of Bo, of what could have happened to him. And I hate to say it, but my heart sank. The incident with the puppies sent the whole region into a panic. Parents kept their children indoors. Farmers sheltered their livestock. Armed men patrolled the streets at night. But still, the sightings continued. A trolley car conductor claimed the thing landed on his roof as he was making his night run, causing his passengers to scream and faint. An old couple in Gloucester said they watched the thing eat a whole fox atop their shed, and two hunters claimed to track it into the pines, but lost it in a ditch. Through it all, I kept searching for Bo. For two days straight, I combed every inch of the forest I could reach. And each night, I'd come home to more stories of sightings, more panic, more fear. But I couldn't give up. That dog was all I had left in this world. Then, on the third day, just as hope was starting to fade, I heard it. A weak bark coming from somewhere in the trees. I ran toward the sound, my heart pounding. And there was Bo. He was alive, thank God, but badly hurt. A deep wound on his back leg had him limping, and he was thinner than I'd ever seen him. But I was relieved to have found him. So much so that I didn't even catch the movement that must have been happening overhead. Then I saw Bo's tail drop between his legs. And then I heard it. A sound like leather stretching like massive wings unfurling because 20ft above us, perched on a thick pine branch, was the devil itself. Its head was like a horse's, but elongated and twisted with teeth that no herbivore should have. Its body was lean and muscular, covered in dark fur or hide, I couldn't tell which. The wings must have spread 15ft when fully extended. And they weren't feathered like a bird's. No, they were leathery like a bat's, with pronounced joints and visible veins running through the membrane. And that tail, everyone mentioned it was there all right, long and serpentine, wrapping around the branch, like it had a mind of its own. The thing stared down at me and Bo, and I swear I saw intelligence in those burning eyes. Not animal cunning, but something deeper, something that knew exactly what it was doing. So I raised my rifle, sure and steady, and took aim right between those terrible eyes. The creature didn't move, didn't even flinch. It just kept staring at me with that unnatural gaze. And then I pulled the trigger. I've never told another soul what happened after that. The important thing is that the sightings stopped after that day. Bo is healing up just fine. And life in Burlington seems to be getting back to normal. But the Pine Barrens, those million acres of darkness that stretch from the Delaware to the Atlantic? It feels different now. And sometimes when I'm out on my back porch at night, looking out at all that vastness, I think about how much of those woods we've never really seen. How many places there are where the trees grow so thick, so twisted together, that anything could be hiding there, just beyond where the light touches. Because I've seen what hides there for myself. And trust me, I'm never, ever going back.

[McLeod Andrews]

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[Advertiser 3]

Welcome back to Sightings. I'm super excited to get into this one with Brian here, everybody, because up until now, really, my only awareness of the Jersey Devils was, like, as a hockey team. So where'd this story come from? Did you clearly you didn't make this up, otherwise there wouldn't be a hockey team.

[McLeod Andrews]

That's right. No, it is a very real legend in New Jersey. And I should say that I did make up the main character that you read. Okay. He's kind of a composite of a whole bunch of people. But all the things that happened in the story in 1909, in and around the Pine Barrens, all that stuff actually allegedly happened. And all these people were seeing this creature and shooting guns at it, which is amazing.

[Advertiser 3]

I mean, like, did it really happen in such a condensed form where there was this hunt? And, like, you saw it, you saw it, Tina saw it, Tim saw it down the street. Because it's like a gothic horror fantasy tale, like the Witch or something, but with more people.

[McLeod Andrews]

No, it happened quick. Over the course of a week, it popped up. Hundreds and hundreds of people were seeing it, and then it vanished. I compressed the timeline just a little bit so that way we could get from point A to point B to point C with our main character a little bit more concisely. But, yeah, all that stuff was happening over the course of two or three days in and around Burlington, New Jersey, which is right on the Delaware River.

[Advertiser 3]

Fascinating. Well, before we kind of zero in on that week, there was something in the story alluding to, like, this creature or sightings of it or mythology about it going back generations, even before that.

[McLeod Andrews]

Yeah. So as we heard in the story, there were the Lenape people who were the Native Americans who lived in that area before the Europeans arrived, and they had legends about this Pine Barren region that, you know, there was something strange going on in these woods, and they called the Whole area, the place of the dragon. And they believed that a powerful spirit of some kind lived there and that spirit happened to be a deer like creature with dragon wings. And then when. When the English settlers did arrive in the 1600s, they presumably thought they were.

[Advertiser 3]

Just superstitions at first until they started seeing something themselves.

[McLeod Andrews]

Yeah, absolutely. Because as we're gonna go through, there were a lot of other discreet sightings from European settlers in the region from that time onward. And of course, the most famous of all those sightings happened in 1909, when it just was a week where everything went pretty ballistic. But as we heard in the story, it all kind of started back in the 1730s with that woman in the Pine Barrens who alleged, gave birth to.

[Advertiser 3]

So I sounded like a devil or the devil in this story?

[McLeod Andrews]

Yeah, pretty much. There seem to be two versions of this particular story, though. One named the woman Mrs. Shroud, the other named it Mrs. Leeds. In both cases, though, both women had their 13th child.

[Advertiser 3]

Isn't that like an unlucky? Well, yes, it's an unlucky number. Unlucky number 13.

[McLeod Andrews]

But that's also a lot of children. Yes, it is a lot of children.

[Advertiser 3]

I will say at that number I'd also be like, oh my gosh.

[McLeod Andrews]

Yeah. And they had the kid anyway and. And it eventually, either right away or within a few days, transformed into this horse headed, hoofed, winged creature and then it flew away. In the case of Mrs. Leed's story, it has allegedly happened because she was dabbling in witchcraft, so that could have contributed to it.

[Advertiser 3]

And both of these stories happen in the Pine Barrens?

[McLeod Andrews]

Yeah, in or near them. I don't know the actual towns that they were in necessarily. But it's worth noting though, that there is no record of a Mrs. Leeds living anywhere in that area. Though at that time, however, there was a guy named Daniel Leeds who lived in that area. And apparently the Leeds family crest had this dragon type figure on it. And further, this Daniel Leeds guy apparently had a beef with Benjamin Franklin that.

[Advertiser 3]

Like the Benjamin Franklin?

[McLeod Andrews]

The very one. And it was over some almanac or something like that. So since this was called the Leeds Devil before it was known as the Jersey Devil, I wonder if the origins of this whole story kind of came from like a smear campaign. In a weird way, they're like, oh, well, you know, if you've got a devil on your crest, I'm going to make your name out to be associated with this horrible monster.

[Advertiser 3]

Interesting. So it was just like talking smack through the press. Kind of spreading stories.

[McLeod Andrews]

I guess so.

[Advertiser 3]

So I'm starting to see how, like, some random happenings and some little bits and pieces of various lores could start coalescing into a bigger legend here.

[McLeod Andrews]

Well, yeah, of course. And I guess in this particular case, more than some other ones. Why wouldn't it? Because these Pine Barrens are this really strange and kind of dark and terrifying setting for all this kind of stuff to be happening.

[Advertiser 3]

Yeah. The story really painted a creepy picture of this place. And I mean, is. Have you ever been. Are they really this creepy?

[McLeod Andrews]

I've driven through it. I haven't gone, like, gallivanting about in the Pine Barrens.

[Advertiser 3]

Why didn't you go for a good gallivant?

[McLeod Andrews]

But I think the best way to describe it is take a look at it on a map. Granted, it's smaller now than it probably used to be.

[Narrator]

Sure.

[McLeod Andrews]

But from about Philadelphia to the Atlantic Ocean, there's just this big, big, dark forest on Google Maps.

[Narrator]

Oh, wow.

[McLeod Andrews]

And allegedly, it's a really dense forest that could be hiding just about anything.

[Advertiser 3]

Because it's full of monsters. But so we have these lore from, you know, before this 1909 outbreak. Were there actual sightings before that?

[McLeod Andrews]

There were a couple. And one of them might win the prize for the most reputable sighting of anyone we've had a sighting from any of our episodes so far. So in the early 1800s, there was this guy named Stephen Decatur, and He was a US naval officer. He had five warships named after him. His face was on the $20 bill. And legend goes that he was in Burlington, New Jersey, visiting a cannonball factory. And when he was there, and I guess outside firing some cannons, as one does at a cannonball factory, he saw an impossible creature flying overhead. And of course, what does he do? Being the decorated war veteran that he is, he aims the cannon at it and shoots it. And apparently he hit the creature, but it kept on flying.

[Advertiser 3]

And then in 1909, it just runs rampant.

[McLeod Andrews]

Yeah. From January 16th to January 23rd, hundreds of people reported seeing this thing. But it's also worth noting that 1909 was not the last time that this thing was seen. In 1987, a woman in Vineland, New Jersey, reported that her German shepherd had been killed overnight. And the dog, unfortunately, had been torn to pieces and dragged over 25ft from the end of his chain, I guess. And the only evidence that authorities could find were hoof prints around the body. Ooh. Yeah. Being 1987, my instinct would have gone to hoax, but killing a dog is horrible.

[Narrator]

Yeah.

[Advertiser 3]

If anything, I feel like a hoax would maybe be more plausible than the 1909 story. Like, I guess I could see somebody's training, strapping on some horse shoes or like horse and like, kind of like tramping around, leaving tracks and like, I don't know, maybe flying a kite.

[McLeod Andrews]

I think the thing that really differentiates this story of the Pine Barrens and the Jersey Devil from other stories is just the sheer number of people who saw this thing.

[Advertiser 3]

Yeah.

[McLeod Andrews]

You know, hundreds of people over upwards of a dozen towns.

[Advertiser 3]

Like, either this thing is real or it's kind of a mass hysteria type phenomenon.

[McLeod Andrews]

I think for me, the thing. Before we get into the theories, the thing that might kind of jump is if there is a creature that, you know, has the head of a horse and the feet of a horse and wings and is running around in this forest since theoretically before settlers arrived, or it was born or birthed when that woman gave birth to a demon child or whatever.

[Narrator]

Yeah.

[Advertiser 3]

I don't know if I necessarily believe that story.

[McLeod Andrews]

Well, either way, if there's only one creature, that thing is old.

[Advertiser 3]

Yes.

[McLeod Andrews]

Or is there a population of them who are living in this isolated.

[Advertiser 3]

No, this is the thing. I think it can't be a real, like non supernatural creature. If this thing is real, it has to be supernatural in my mind.

[McLeod Andrews]

All right. I never thought I would get those words.

[Advertiser 3]

Well, yeah, I don't know if I believe in it at all. But I was saying, if it is real, I don't think it's like just a bunch of cranes in the woods.

[McLeod Andrews]

Okay, well, let's. Now you mentioned cranes. Let's jump to the theories. Okay. You kind of spilled the beans on the first one, I mean. Oh, I did a little bit. Yeah. So the first theory that people have purported is, and this is a repeat of our Mothman suspect is the sandhill crane.

[Advertiser 3]

Okay. That's why it came to mind for me.

[Narrator]

So.

[McLeod Andrews]

Yeah. So for those of you who haven't listened to our Mothman episode, go back and listen to it. But the sandhill crane is this giant bird, multiple feet long wingspan. But I think the most notable part of it that's relevant for this story is it has reddish plumage around its eyes, which people reported seeing the red eyes of the Jersey Devil. And just like with the Mothman, red eyes for the Mothman. I feel like the crane might be a better suspect for this story than the Mothman, because with the Mothman, it pretty clearly seemed to be a man.

[Advertiser 3]

Shaped and I could see like the. The long crane beak and Head, maybe evoking a horse head. But it doesn't answer the kind of telltale thing about the horse hooves.

[McLeod Andrews]

That's right. Yep. And that seemed to me to be one of the most defining features of this was the tracks just seem to be everywhere and it's such a poignant visual where you're following horse tracks and then they vanish, you know.

[Advertiser 3]

Right, right.

[McLeod Andrews]

Then they come back you yards or 100 yards later. It's like, what in the world is this horse doing?

[Advertiser 3]

Absolutely.

[McLeod Andrews]

The other big thing which you also touched on a little bit earlier was mass hysteria has been purported as a. An explanation for all of this.

[Advertiser 3]

Yes. Yes.

[McLeod Andrews]

What are your thoughts on that?

[Advertiser 3]

That it's plausible, I guess. What is the, what are the nature of the 1909 stories? Is it, is it just kind of reports in newspapers or.

[McLeod Andrews]

A lot of newspaper reports. A lot of, I guess first hand accounts that have been written down and told over and over and over again. But this isn't just like a spoken word thing that's just kind of been. Right.

[Advertiser 3]

It's not an urban legend.

[McLeod Andrews]

This seems to be a thing.

[Narrator]

Right, right.

[Advertiser 3]

I mean, it's just such a. I don't want to lose the just coolness of this story and the lore and there's like the Native American name for it being the place of dragons.

[McLeod Andrews]

I think it definitely speaks volumes that this is an ancient or legend built into this culture.

[Advertiser 3]

But then you've got this guy with a dragon on his crest and you've got Ben Franklin.

[McLeod Andrews]

You can see the points where like story A influenced story B influenced story C. You can see the connective tissue of all this legend building up to something. But the fact that so many people saw it.

[Narrator]

Yeah.

[Advertiser 3]

So I am just completely twisted up in fascination with this and just my enjoyment of this lore is getting in the way of my ability to decipher it or have a good theory. So as always, listeners, we'd love to hear your theories. Help me out because I'm struggling here and I need you to throw me a line.

[McLeod Andrews]

Yeah, you can find us on Instagram, itingspod or hit us up on Spotify. Leave a comment on there. A lot of people are doing it. It's awesome. We respond to them.

[Advertiser 3]

Do you read? I enjoy reading them. So Brian, where are we headed to next week?

[McLeod Andrews]

We are actually staying in the same part of the country. We're heading, I guess just down the Delaware River a little bit to Philadelphia for a supernatural slash conspiracy slash really crazy story that I think is going.

[Advertiser 3]

To blow your mind I'm clueless. I have no idea. So I'm looking forward to being walloped.

[McLeod Andrews]

And I hope you listeners are, too. Next week, same time, same place, right here on Sightings.

[Advertiser 3]

Thanks everyone.

[McLeod Andrews]

Sightings is hosted by McLeod Andrews and Brian Sigley. Produced by Brian Sigley, chase Kinzer and McLeod Andrews written by Brian Sigley Story music by Jack Staton Series music by Mitch Bain Mixing and mastering by Pat Kicklater of Sundial Media artwork by Nuno Cernatos. For a list of this episode's sources, check out our [e-mail] Sightings is presented by Reverb and Q Code. If you like the show, be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you're first to hear new episodes every week. And if you know other Supernatural fans, tell them about us. We'd really appreciate it.