31 Days of Halloween | Day 8: The Jersey Devil

In January of 1909, strange tracks began appearing in the snow across New Jersey.

They crossed yards. Climbed fences. Appeared on rooftops. Witnesses reported hearing wings outside their homes and seeing something with hooves, glowing eyes, feathers, fur—and occasionally a head like a horse.

Schools reportedly closed. Armed posses went looking for it. Newspapers put it on the front page.

And suddenly, everyone was talking about an old story from deep inside the Pine Barrens.

According to the legend, in 1735 a woman known as Mother Leeds discovered she was pregnant with her thirteenth child and cursed the unborn baby:

Let this one be the Devil.

But buried underneath the familiar monster story is a real colonial family that had been associated with Satan for decades, a feud involving Benjamin Franklin, a massive newspaper-fueled panic—and a Philadelphia showman who decided the best way to capitalize on the hysteria was to paint a kangaroo and give it wings.

Tonight, we're heading into the Pine Barrens for the strange history of New Jersey's most famous monster.

Welcome to Day Eight of 31 Days of Halloween.