For three centuries the tale of the Jersey Devil has fascinated and frightened people. While the Jersey Devil is now a hockey team mascot and folkloric legend, there was a time when New Jerseyans were truly terrified of the beast, especially when newspapers were even regularly reporting sightings.

Historians on the Jersey Devil

Historian and NJ tour expert Levi Fox, Ph.D., previously offered a program through NJCH’s Public Scholars Program exploring the history of the Jersey Devil and how the legend evolved over time.

For Halloween 2022, Dr. Brian Regal, Associate Professor for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine at Kean University, presented new scholarship on the political origins of the Jersey Devil myth at an NJCH-sponsored event. According to Regal, the true origins of the Jersey Devil stem from colonial-era politics, religious disputes among Quakers, and the mischievous marketing tactics of future Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.

Rather than being birthed by an overstressed mother, the devil legend more likely stems from a political characterization of Daniel Leeds (1651–1720), a prominent member of the Quaker community in the Pinelands area and printer of “almanacks.”

Leeds became embroiled in controversy due to his printing of almanacs that incorporated astrological elements deemed heretical by members of his devout Quaker community. This conflict escalated, eventually prompting Leeds to leave the Quaker community, convert to Anglicanism, and begin publishing anti-Quaker materials.

Combined with his known association with the despised British Royal Governor of New Jersey, Leeds became a target of political rhetoric and was accused of working on behalf of the devil.

After Daniel Leeds died, his son Titan continued the family’s almanac business. In 1728, Titan began printing the Leeds family crest on his almanacs. The crest incorporated the symbol of the wyvern, a winged dragon-like mythical creature that bears resemblance to the modern image of the Jersey Devil.

Some years later, the Leeds’ business encountered competition from Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack. To drum up sales for his Almanack, Franklin began a semi-friendly feud with Leeds. Franklin floated predictions of Leeds’s impending death and encouraged readers to purchase future editions of the almanac to see if the predictions proved true. He later accused Leeds of being a “ghost” who had already died. These tactics played on the occultist reputation that had followed the Leeds family from the previous conflict with the Quaker community.

NJCH grantee Whitesbog Preservation Trust has been working for years to capture and preserve the distinctive stories and culture of the Pine Barrens through a comprehensive oral history project. Learn more about how they’re doing it and why we support this important humanities work »

Regal says that by the 19th century, the “Leeds Devil” or “Devil of Leeds” had become a part of Pine Barrens lore. During the 20th century, supposed sightings of this mythical creature were widely reported in newspapers, and proud New Jerseyans came to adopt the creature as an unofficial symbol. In 1982, fans voted to name the state’s new NHL franchise after the fearsome beast.

A prolific writer, presenter, and commentator, Regal is the co-author of the book The Secret History of the Jersey Devil: How Quakers, Hucksters, and Benjamin Franklin Created a Monster and author of the book Searching for Sasquatch: Crackpots, Eggheads and Cryptozoology.