|
The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature or cryptid said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey, United States. The creature is often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many different variations. The common description is that of a kangaroo-like creature with the head of a goat, leathery bat-like wings, horns, small arms with clawed hands, cloven hooves and a forked tail. It has been reported to move quickly and often is described as emitting a "blood-curdling scream."〔''The Jersey Devil'', by James F. McCloy and Ray Miller, Jr., Middle Atlantic Press. ISBN 0-912608-11-0〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Jersey Devil & Pine Barrens Folklore - New Jersey Pine Barrens - Pinelands Preservation Alliance )〕 ==Origin of the legend== The Lenape tribes called the area "Popuessing" meaning "place of the dragon".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Jersey Devil - Paranormal )〕 Swedish explorers later named it "Drake Kill" ("drake" being a word for dragon, and "kill" meaning channel or arm of the sea (river, stream, etc. in Dutch).〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=devil )〕 A popular origin of the story is as follows: "It was said that Mother Leeds had 12 children and, after finding she was pregnant for the 13th time, stated that this one would be the Devil. In 1735, Mother Leeds was in labor on a stormy night. Gathered around her were her friends. Mother Leeds was supposedly a witch and the child's father was the Devil himself. The child was born normal, but then changed form. It changed from a normal baby to a creature with hooves, a goat's head, bat wings and a forked tail. It growled and screamed, then killed the midwife before flying up the chimney. It circled the villages and headed toward the pines. In 1740 a clergyman exorcised the demon for 100 years and it wasn't seen again until 1890." "Mother Leeds" has been identified by some as Deborah Leeds,〔Mallowe, Mike, "The Enduring Reign Of The Jersey Devil" ''The Bulletin'' (Philadelphia), October 30, 2008〕 on grounds that Deborah Leeds' husband, Japhet Leeds, named twelve children in the will he wrote in 1736,〔''Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State Of New Jersey'', 1st Ser., Vol. XXX Ed. A. Van Doren Honeyman, (Union-Gazette, Somerville, N.J.)1918.〕 which is compatible with the legend. Deborah and Japhet Leeds also lived in the Leeds Point section of what is now Atlantic County, New Jersey,〔Rundstrom, Olive Conover, "Daniel Leeds and his Descendants", ''Atlantic County Historical Society Year Book'', vol. 6, no. 4, p. 156 (1971)〕 which is commonly the location of the Jersey Devil story. Brian Regal a historian of science at Kean University, wrote that Mother Leeds was merely part of the popular legend of the Jersey Devil created in the 20th century. Regal contends that long-forgotten "colonial-era political intrigue" involving early New Jersey politician and rival almanac publisher Daniel Leeds (1651–1720) led to the Leeds family being portrayed as "political and religious monsters", and it was his negative portrayal as the "Leeds Devil", rather than any actual creature, that spawned the later legend of the Jersey Devil. According to Regal: References to the Jersey Devil do not appear in newspapers or other printed material until the twentieth century. The first major flap came in 1909. It is from these sightings that the popular image of the creature—batlike wings, horse head, claws, and general air of a dragon—became standardized.〔Regal, Brian. (2013). ("The Jersey Devil: The Real Story" ). Csicop.org. Retrieved 2015-05-02.〕 Brian Dunning of ''Skeptoid'' also wrote that the "Leeds Devil" was likely created to discredit Daniel Leeds. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jersey Devil」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|