The Jersey Devil

One of my favorite "off the beaten path" subjects to read about here on Above Top Secret is the cryptozoology forum. Cryptozoology is the study of creatures, whose existence has not been substantiated. The list of creatures, or 'cryptids' as they are informally known is quite extensive. Some are quite famous, Sasquatch or Bigfoot for example. Others are very little known, like the Mongolian Death Worm. And some are quite bizarre, bordering on the paranormal, like my friend, the New Jersey Devil.

For some reason, the idea of strange creatures co-existing with us here on planet Earth is very fascinating to me. I suppose it is the unknown that attracts me, the exploration of which initially led me to this website. Some cryptids seem fantastic, but are eventually proven to exist, such as the Giant Squid. The Giant Squid, genus Architeuthis, was once the subject of scorn and ridicule by most people, yet today we know it lives in oceans all over the world. Other cryptids are not so fantastic, like out of place big cats. All over Great Britain, and to a lesser extent other places in the world, have reported from time to time evidence of panthers, and other large cats that are not native to those regions of the world. But these animals have a rather mundane explanation for why they are where they are. People keeping, often illegally, exotic animals as pets. The pet either escapes or is let loose, and the owner does not come forward.

As I said, I follow these cases quite closely, as they are the source of great interest to me. And every now and then I am really taken back. Such was the case here on ATS. One of the stranger cryptids as I said is called the Jersey Devil. Now, there are many different stories about the creatures origin, most of which tend to move the monster more into the area of the paranormal. However, there is no denying that over the years at least 2,000 people have claimed to have seen the devil. So while it may be surmised that this mythical animal probably does not exist, was probably not the son of a witch etc... one has to wonder why so may people have claimed to have seen it.

So I was quite surprised when I came across this thread here: Is This the Jersey Devil?

In it, an ATS contributer noticed a bat that looks strikingly similar to descriptions given of the Jersey Devil. While not conclusive evidence that this is the animal responsible for the legends, it does raise an interesting possibility. So I invite you to read this discussion for yourself. It's a part of what makes the community so great.

     William One Sac
     Administrator





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