It is said that in 1735 a Mrs Leeds who lived in New Jersey became pregnant for the 13th time, 13 being an inauspicious number prompted the woman to predict that her baby would turn out to be a devil.  Mrs Leeds upon birth was proven to be correct as her offspring was born a hideous monstrosity, with a horses head, bats wings, cloven hoofs and a tail.  This is said to have been the birth of the Jersey Devil, and upon birth it is said to have flown away into the forests of southern New Jersey.

Little was heard of the Jersey Devil following this until 1909, at which point over 100 sightings of the Jersey Devil were reported.  One sighting of the jersey devil involved a postmaster from Pennsylvania who claims to have seen a glowing ram-headed creature flying over the Delaware river.  Two others also witnessed the apparition including a police officer who opened fire at it. 

Descriptions given by those who claimed to have sighted the Jersey Devil were varied, some claimed the creature had a horses head whilst others claimed it had the head of a ram, others claimed that it breathed fire and had skin like a crocodile.  The last reported sighting of the Jersey Devil took place on the 24th of February 1909 when a farmer from Salem County claimed to have seen a strange bird-like creature with human feet.