According to folklore, the Jersey Devil originated with a Pine Barrens resident, Jane Leeds, "Mother Leeds" had twelve children; after discovering she was pregnant for the thirteenth time, she cursed the child in frustration, declaring that it would be the devil. In 1735, she went into labor; a stormy night, her friends gathered around for support. Born a normal child, it suddenly transformed into a monster with hooves, a goat's head, bat wings, and a forked tail. Growling and screaming, it lashed with its tail and fly up the chimney and into the darkness. Some add that Mother Leeds was a witch; others that the child's father was the devil. Later, it was said that local clergymen tried to exorcise the creature from the Pine Barrens. [1]

Regardless of its true origins, this chimera lurks only in southern New Jersey. Its high-pitched, blood-curdling scream echoes throughout the forest at night.

The Jersey Devil is a type of chimera—an animal that has an odd combination of characteristics that are not generally seen in nature or evoke the image of two or more animals cut and pasted together. A bipedal, hooved creature, the Jersey Devil usually has leathery wings sprouting from its back; others, however, are devoid of this third set of appendages. The most common variety is described as a bat-winged kangaroo with a horned, goat head, small, clawed arms, and a forked tail. The second most common variety is described with a horn-less. horse-like head instead.