The Search for the Jersey Devil: Footprints

by Chris Chaos

Trifid

Trifid (Split into 3 parts)...or Drake's feet, 3 toes. A popular carving technique for the legs of tables or chairs. Back in 1941 a strange footprint was found in Batsto, New Jersey and many suspected that is was from the Jersey Devil. A cast was promptly made and then a wooden imprint was made of it. Currently this wooden imprint resides at Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge in Medford, New Jersey. Back in November of 2013 the Courier Post did a front page story with me concerning my Jersey Devil documentary they photographed me holding it in the photo shoot.

Chris Chaos holding the wooden print

Back in 1941 a strange footprint was found in Batsto, New Jersey and many suspected that is was from the Jersey Devil. A cast was promptly made and then a wooden imprint was produced from it. Currently this wooden imprint resides at Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge in Medford, New Jersey. Back in November of 2013 the Courier Post did a front page story with me concerning my Jersey Devil documentary, they photographed me holding it in the photo shoot.




One thing that was inconsistent to me was that by popular accounts most witnesses stated that the Jersey Devil had cloven hooves..like a goat, or the Devil Himself. The wooden imprint is more that of a dragon, or some sort of three toed lizard. There are not all that many three toed animals that are that large: Capybara, rhinoceroses, crow, turkey and the Emu are a few. Many dinosaur era birds had 3 toes with a 4th toe backwards turned that assisted them with gripping tree branches.

Above: Heron footprints next to average sized human foot. 

 

Starting around 1948 there was a hoaxer running around the US (and world) leaving fake 3 toed impressions and he was dubbed “Old Three Toes”. He claimed that the prints were that of a large penguin and tormented Florida with these false prints. There were several pics available with this hoaxer wearing his self made boots that left the 3 toed impressions. They curiously resemble (although a bit larger) the ones supposedly left by the Jersey Devil in Batsto...for more information please check out the following link:

3 Toe Hoax

Old Three Toes

There are many explanations that could shed light on the origin of this wooden footprint cast: A real animal that was mentioned above, a hoax, an attempt for tourism and publicity...or the actual Jersey Devil. Be sure to let us know what you think.

To follow along with the progress of the film, go here:
The Search for the Jersey Devil

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv_1ZctVV30&feature=youtu.be

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey. He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com)

The Search for the Jersey Devil: Hammerhead Bat Theory

by Chris Chaos

If you look at pictures for the hammerhead bat that is native to Africa, you will see that its face does resemble traditional depictions of the Jersey Devil. The sizes are a bit off given that some people stated that the Jersey Devil was between 6-8 feet tall and the bat has a wing span of 27-38 inches and a total length of 7.7-11.2 inches, weighing 8-15.9 ounces and the females are slightly smaller.

One theory could be that someone in the area was keeping a Hammerhead bat as a pet and it escaped. But once again, the sizes between the Hammerhead Bat and the Jersey Devil are way off. The comparison between the two animals is not to far off since throughout time many residents of New Jersey have kept exotic animals as pets. There also have been quite a few zoos, circuses and what not associated with the area.

As far as the face of the Hammerhead Bat it appears to be a better explanation of what people of the Pine Barrens have been seeing as opposed to the Sandhill Crane. But the one up that the Crane has over the bat is that the Crane is native to New Jersey and the bat is native to Africa.

The Sandhill Crane is a herbivore, but since the Jersey Devil has been accused of stealing and attacking livestock and chickens he is thought of as a carnivore. Also the Crane stands about 40-48 inches (3-4 feet) tall and the Jersey Devil is about 72-96 inches (6-8 feet). It is noted that the crane has a loud screech and legend has it, that the Jersey Devil does too.

 The Sandhill Crane in flight and standing

Many skeptics and those people looking for a rational explanation as to what people have been seeing for several hundreds years in the New Jersey Pine Barrens have searched desperately for an answer. One of the most common and logical given answers has been the Sandhill Crane.

For More information:

www.facebook.com/TheSearchForTheJerseyDevil

The Video:

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey.  He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, has a black cat named Jynx, 2 rats named Phantom and Opera, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com)

THE JERSEY DEVIL SPOTTED!?!?!

THE JERSEY DEVIL SPOTTED!

by Chris Chaos

    

The photo of what was thought to be the Jersey Devil (Photo Courtesy of Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation)

In the summer of 2013 there were news reports (and a photo!!) that supported that the Jersey Devil did exist. The photo made its rounds all over the internet, along with much speculation on what was depicted.

It is curious to note that the animal in the photo does not have wings as many popular renditions of the Jersey Devil portray him as possessing. Also this animal does not have cloven hooves as many eyewitnesses reported. That aside, to the casual photo gazer, the creature in this photo can appear pretty misleading.

A few months later, another photo taken at the same location and of the same creature, but from an alternative angle, surfaced.

 Alternative angle of the hairless squirrel (Photo Courtesy of Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation)

This photo clearly showed what the creature was...a squirrel. Now this was either a hairless squirrel or one that suffered from mange or rabies (due to it lacking hair). But you could clearly see that it was a squirrel and not the Jersey Devil.

Also it came to light that the photo was taken in Oklahoma and not in New Jersey as originally reported. As a side note, the photo in question was also making the rounds as proof of the Chupacabra.

Here is a link to the video by Axis Video:

For more info:

The Search for the Jersey Devil

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey. He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com)

The Devil's Tower: Alpine New Jersey

by Chris Chaos

A legendary tower featuring tales of suicide, Satanists, martial infidelity and ghosts which is located in Rio Vista, New Jersey. It was stated that some of the work crew members died when they attempted to tear this structure down.

Another legend says that if you drive your car around the tower six times in reverse, the ghost of sugar baron Manuel Rionda's wife (or the Devil Himself) will appear. We did this several times but nothing happened. Eventually the tower was sealed up because of break-ins.

In 2012, Forbes ranked Alpine as America's most expensive ZIP code with an average home price of $4.25 million, many of hip hops elite call this zip code home, along with Jay-Z, Oprah Winfrey and Chris Rock.

The Devil's Tower is located in Rio Vista and is an upscale neighborhood in the southern section of Alpine. The Tower is a stone clock tower that is claimed to be haunted, that was originally built by sugar baron Manuel Rionda (1854–1943) in order to allow his wife to see New York from the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. His mansion was the biggest one on the Palisades, with a mansion on the cliffs where the present-day Alpine Lookout is located.

The legend has it that when his wife saw him with another woman, she committed suicide by jumping off the tower. In reality Harriet Rionda died of natural causes in 1922 and was interred nearby for approximately 20 years; her coffin was moved to Brookside Cemetery, Englewood. The estate was later sub-divided into 197 housing sites consisting of miles of roadway, infrastructure, and related facilities in the mid-1980s but was mostly woodlands through the 1970s.

Devil's Tower video

More info can be found at:
https://www.facebook.com/Cursedbook

(Chris Chaos is a long time resident of South Jersey who once again resides in and writes from Gloucester City, New Jersey. He is a filmmaker, a business owner, writer, urban explorer and investigator of the odd and weird, a proud parent, happily taken and a connoisseur of hot wings. Chris can be reached at AxisVideo@aol.com)