Thursday, May 12, 2022
Forest Haven Asylum
Sunday, May 8, 2022
Jungle Habitat (Abandoned) West Milford, NJ
Jungle Habitat
West Milford, NJ
An abandoned drive through zoo that was located in North Jersey. Tales of escaped and left behind animals plagued this location for years. Nature has once again taken over and the only remains of this zoo is the parking lot, a ticket booth and the tunnels that lead under the road from the parking lot. Not much left to see. this is a cool spot to do some hiking though.
Thursday, May 5, 2022
The Jersey Devil: The Red Kangaroo Theory
Phantom Kangaroo |
In January 1909 the Jersey Devil was revived by a hoax and displayed in a private museum (9th and Arch Museum) in Philadelphia, the creature was actually a kangaroo outfitted with fake wings affixed by a harness and painted with green stripes. To make it leap at spectators when the curtain was drawn, a boy hidden at the rear of the cage prodded the unfortunate animal with a stick and a nail attached to it. The showman's name was Jacob Hope (or Norman Jefferies RIP May 25, 1933) and he claimed JD was an Australian Vampire and offered a reward for its capture.
In the 1800's and early 1900's many residents of New Jersey did keep exotic animals as pets and traveling circuses were the norm. So a kangaroo being either kept as a pet (or at a circus) could have possibly escaped and was spotted in the Pine Barrens mistaken for the Jersey Devil. I think you could look at a kangaroo in the dark woods and see a deer due to the very similar facial structure and body type. In modern times, it is "illegal" to have a kangaroo in the state of NJ but you can obtain an exotic pet license and a permit for the kangaroo.
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
The Jersey Devil: Hammerhead Bat Theory
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.
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.
Tuesday, May 3, 2022
The Jersey Devil's Birth House
The Jersey Devil's Birth House
On November 2nd, 2013 Kenneth Sooy Sr met up with us to provide a detailed interview
concerning the Jersey Devil. He is the town historian and proved to be a wealth of
information concerning the legend and history of the Jersey Devil and the surrounding
area. Ken is a descendant of the Shrouds and his wife is a Leeds.
We met at Scott's Landing Road in Leed's Point/Galloway area and conducted the interview
at this location. Afterwards he showed us the location where the famous Shroud's House
once stood. The house burned to the ground in 1952 and only a small "overgrown clearing"
remains.
Afterwards he took us to a location in Smithville that is protected by development and we
walked to a very old cemetery and then over to the lake where the cement foundations of a
house still rests that burned in the 1950's. This location also has been claimed to be the
birthplace of the Jersey Devil..on both the Leed's and the Shroud's side of the tree.
The Jersey Devil: Hammerhead Bat Theory
The Jersey Devil: Hammerhead Bat Theory
Featuring: Kenneth Sooy Sr - Galloway Historian
Den Haller - Businessman
Lord Rick Rowe - The Paranormal and Ghost Society
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. 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.