The origins of the New Jersey devil

Been to Jersey so many times. I had family members, friends and former girlfriends who once lived in the Garden State. New Jersey, the place where the New Yorkers and Philadelphians go to live when the city life gets too expensive. I have a lot great memories here. However, I always wondered about the origins of the New Jersey Devil. Well, this post is to spread some information about this mythological creature.

Leeds family home Photo courtesy of https://www.newjerseyhauntedhouses.com/real-haunt/leeds-point-pine-barrens.html

Now the origins of this creature is not something out of a fairy tale. This story is pretty dark and disturbing. So if you get scared easily, you might not want to continue reading.

So, it was all started with a family named Leeds. The Leeds family lived in South Jersey. In a place called the Pine Barrens, a wooded area outside of the Philadelphia metropolitan. A woman of the leeds family had twelve children. In time, she was pregnant with her 13th child. In an angered state, she put a curse on the child before it was born. When the child was born, it came out normal. However, it soon changed into a monster. It’s appearance changed into a creature with a horse like head and a lower half of a goat. The devil stood up straight like a human and it had two wings like a bat. It killed the midwife, then ran off into the wilderness.

The Jersey Devil photo courtesy of https://www.lastpodcastnetwork.com/blog/2018/4/27/episode-314-the-jersey-devil

According to the locals folklure, the origin story has few differentiating details. Some say, the mother of the Devil was a witch. Others say, it was born during a stormy night and during a demonic ritual. It’s even stated that the father of the child might had been the devil himself. All these things are very interesting. The most creepy thing about this that it could be true.

In state records, there was a family that lived in the Pine Barrens. In the state census, it does shows a family with the name Leeds that had twelve children.

Safe travels everyone and much love!

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The legend of La Llorona

Growing up in California, the Mexican influence is very strong. From having Mexican restaurants in nearly very city in the state, Mexican folklore is very familiar to Californians. One story that we are constantly told as kids is the one of this crying woman. Our Mexican friends usually told us about the story of La llorona.

La llorona Photo courtesy of https://www.mexico.mx/en/articles/horror-stories-the-legend-of-la-llorona

There is a lot variants of this story’s origins. This is a horror story that has been passed down for about 500 years. So, there will always be some details that were changed. For the most commonly told, it’s starts with a beautiful woman named Maria. In reference, I will be sharing the version my friends told me as a kid.

Picture of a beautiful Mexican woman photo courtesy of https://koterohome.com/products/mexican-calendar-girl-by-jesus-helguera

Maria was said to be so beautiful. Her beauty attracted a wealthy rancher. Maria was a very vain woman. She loved attention and being the center of it. This flaw would come back and haunt her.

Eventually, the wealthy rancher and Maria had three children. She loved those kids. After some time, her husband stop paying Maria attention. His focus was more on the ranch and his three children. Maria slowly grew to envy her children.

La llorona photo courtesy of https://www.jeffersonmuncy.com/folklore/llorona?format=amp

One day, Maria saw her husband with his mistress. Lost in rage, she went to her children. Seeing her husband in her children, she took out her anger on them. With her kids, she went to a local river. Drowned each of them, slowly and with cruelty.

After killing her kids, she came back to reality. Maria started to regret what she just did. In guilt, she drowned herself. Now Legend states, her ghost walks rivers of the American Southwest and Mexico looking for children to kill.

This myth brings so much nostalgia to me. It reminds me of the times I spent camping with my friends as a kid. Their parents used to tell us the story of La Llorona so we wouldn’t wander too faraway. Of course, now I do not believe in this story. I just think it was a kid’s horror story. However, as a kid I was truly scared. With all that, still wanted to share this with you all. Next time you are in the southwest usa or mexico, you will be informed in case you hear a woman crying by the river.

Thank you so much for reading! Much love and safe travels! Since it’s October, I will be sharing some American and Latin American folklore.

Check out our eBook “How to Travel for Dirt Cheap” by Hugo Morel for ways to make your dreams of traveling come true without breaking the bank. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M848M47?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420&fbclid=IwAR0_mRF-eE9tODIshljVr7CQ8h6vKT6hHn_8gZfJ94DySY1ylPO2Itu2Qe

A sprinkle of Icelandic folklore

I don’t usually go into depth with the local folklore of the countries I visit. However, after exploring the lava caves and learning about the elves got me interested. Especially, with the local mythology having to do with the new Marvel movies. Yes, Thor is related to this Island way up North.

Lava cave tour guide telling us about the elves photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Mythology has never been my strong point. I was always been interested in the mythological adventures and thier characters. Sadly, at a young age I was discouraged to stop reading “fairy tales.” Coming from a Christian household, anything with multiple gods was against the house rules. So, it wasn’t until I was older that I got back into reading folklore.

Photo courtesy of Marvel Comics

The awesome thing about Iceland is that it’s a Nordic country. Meaning that it’s culture is similar to Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Yes, Iceland is home to the Vikings. All Nordic cultures share the same gods before christanity arrived. Having the Marvel movies being such a dominant force in Hollywood, the god Thor came to mind.

Being the god of lighting, Thor is claimed to be the protector of humanity. There are many gods like Odin and Loki. So many movies have been made out these gods from the Pre-Christian times. I could write 100’s of posts just on this topic. However to not get off topic, I will focus more on the elves of Iceland.

Icelandic elf photo courtesy of https://www.re.is/blog/the-hidden-people-of-iceland

From what are tour guide told us, Icelanders are obsessed with elves. It’s really engraved in their culture. When something goes missing, they blame it on huldufólk or the hidden people. That’s what the people of iceland call elves.

Hidden people Photo courtesy of https://icelandictimes.com/elves-in-iceland-the-hidden-people/

According to the local folklore, elves live among humans in a parallel universe. Icelanders are told to not throw rocks in fear of hitting one of the hidden people. Some of the Icelandic people truly believe that if you anger the elves/huldufólk, they will get thier revenge on you. By casting spells, damaging your car or causing you to get into a car crash. Not the elves we probably grew up to know and love. These ones are not as kind.

Elf running away Photo courtesy of https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulduf%C3%B3lk

Of course, not all Icelanders believe in this folklore. Actually, the mass majority believe the hidden people are just stories to scare children. Most believe these fairytales are used to keep children in good behavior. Looks like the locals are not fooled by the fairy dust. Our tour guide seemed to think otherwise. To me, it’s just another interesting part of the local culture.

Ps. Sorry for that random post that was untitled. Not sure why it was published. Must had a been a glitch with the wordpress application. Thank you all for the continued support!

Thank you for reading. Much love and safe travels!

Check out our e-book “How to Travel for Dirt Cheap” by Hugo Morel for ways to make your dreams of traveling come without breaking the bank: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M848M47?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420&fbclid=IwAR0_mRF-eE9tODIshljVr7CQ8h6vKT6hHn_8gZfJ94DySY1ylPO2Itu2Qe0

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