For more than 200 years, people living in or passing through New Jersey's Pinelands have reported seeing a strange, winged creature that...
For more than 200 years, people living in or passing through New Jersey's Pinelands have reported seeing a strange, winged creature that has come to be known as the Jersey Devil.
There are tons of stories about the monster, and thousands of witnesses who claim they have encountered it.
Late Tuesday night, I received an email from a reader who recently became one of those witnesses.
Dave Black of Little Egg Harbor Township was driving home from his security guard job in Atlantic City when he saw what he thought was a llama running in and out of the trees lining the road.
"I was just driving past the golf course in Galloway on Route 9 and had to shake my head a few times when I thought I saw a lama," he wrote in his email.
What happened next is the bizarre part.
"If that wasn't enough, then it spread out leathery wings and flew off over the golf course."
Um...what?!
Black said he grabbed his cell phone and snapped off a few photos, but only one came out.
The creature quickly disappeared, he said, and left Black wondering.
"Either my mind is playing tricks on me or I just saw the Jersey Devil," he wrote.
After his encounter, Black said he stared at the photo for an hour trying to come up with an explanation for image he had captured, before deciding to share it with NJ.com and its readers.
"Thought I'd send it in for you to share," he wrote. "I'm not looking for anything in return, just thought someone else could maybe explain this in a more rational way."
Before I could write about his experience and print the photo, I had to be sure he was sincere.
"Yes, I swear it's not Photoshopped or a staged thing," Black responded when I asked if he was willing to let me use his name and state that the photo he sent was not manipulated in any way. "People have said it's fake, but it's not. I'm honestly just looking for an explanation for what I saw."
Being a paranormal investigator, I'm very skeptical and need proof before I believe in anything that could be considered paranormal.
The photo, if it truly has not been messed with or wasn't set up, is quite...interesting.
MORE: My uncle, the Jersey Devil: Man's quest to set the record straight
You can clearly see wings on the creatures back and horns on its head. Its feet are cloven and the fur is dark brown.
And it's obviously off the ground.
I don't see any wires or string holding it up like a piñata.
However, what is it?
"The mind plays tricks on you," Black admitted. "A friend suggested that maybe it was an animal running and an owl grabbed it, the photo being a combination of them. That's still not my first instinct, but I don't know how to explain it otherwise."
His final statement on the incident was simply, "I think I saw a large, flying mammal about the size of a deer."
Have you ever seen the Jersey Devil?
Do you believe in the legend?
What do you think of the photo captured by Black in Galloway Township?
Email me at kroncace@njadvancemedia.com or comment below with your thoughts. And while this is a controversial subject — as in some people believe and some simply do not — let's keep the conversation friendly.
Kelly Roncace is senior investigator and team leader with Jersey Unique Minds Paranormal Society, a professional paranormal investigation team based in Salem County. Do you know of a haunted location that JUMPS could research and investigate? Contact Kelly at kroncace@njadvancemedia.com and follow her on Twitter @KellyRoncace with your suggestions.
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