Hear The Chilling Legend Of The Jersey Devil Sunday

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — With Halloween right around the corner, it's only fitting to explore the infamous folklore surrounding the Jersey Devil. Hear the chilling legend behind the urban legend on Sunday at the Bernards Township Library.

"As the story goes, in a small community, Leeds Point, at the coastal edge of the Pine Barrens, lived the Leeds family. The year was 1735. Already having given birth twelve times, Mother Leeds was about to deliver for the thirteenth time," the library recounts.

"Feeling tired and weary of the burden, she cursed the unborn child, wishing she had never married Daniel Leeds. But she took revenge on Mr. Leeds that night when she gave birth to the devil’s child, who now lurks in the Pine Barrens of South Jersey," according to the library.

The legend will be presented by Angus Kress Gillespie, Ph.D. a professor of American Studies at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

Gillespie is a Fulbright professor and a New York Times best-selling author. A Yale University graduate, he did his graduate work in folklore at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Gillespie has a keen interest in the folklore of the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey. He has a special interest in the legend of the Jersey Devil.

The event will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. at the library at 32 S. Maple Ave. in Basking Ridge. For more information or to register call 908-204-3031 or CLICK HERE.

(Image via Bernards Township Library)

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