Sightings - A Devil In The Pine Barrens: New Jersey, 1909

Episode Date: March 10, 2025

Deep in an ancient forest where twisted trees cast endless shadows and silence swallows every sound, one man is about to learn why locals warn against venturing too far into the dark.  Sightings is a REVERB and QCODE Original. Find us on instagram @sightingspod Help keep Sightings free by trying this episode's sponsor Marley Spoon! Head to MarleySpoon.com/OFFER/SIGHTINGSand use code SIGHTINGSfor up to 27 FREE meals! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I've got this condition where I don't feel pain. You're a superhero. This is how intense Nova Kane sounds. Oh wow. Imagine how it looks. Sam Orr? Yeah, big time. Nova Kane, forming theaters March 14th.

With the Fizz loyalty program, you get rewarded just for having a mobile plan. You know, for texting and stuff. And if you're not getting rewards like extra data and dollars off with your mobile plan, you're not with Fizz. Switch today, conditions apply, details at fizz.ca. The truth is, no one does it alone. And why would you want to? We all need someone to make us believe.

Hashtag, you got this. Hashtag, you got this. Some forests welcome you with open arms. Others warn you to stay away. And in one part of New Jersey, there's a forest whose terrifying legends stretch back for centuries. But what if these legends aren't just warnings passed down through generations? What if, in these primordial woods, something else is waiting? Something that's been here longer than the trees themselves? Something that still haunts these woods to this very day?

Welcome to Sightings, the series that takes you inside the world's most mysterious supernatural events. Each week, we bring you a thrilling story that puts you at the center of the action, followed by a discussion that dives into the accounts that inspire the story and our takes on them. I'm McCloud. And I'm Brian. And today we're heading into the woods as we discover what lurks inside

the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. It's a dark, dense place full of lore and mystery. But does it also hide one of the most legendary supernatural creatures of all time? Find out on this episode of Sightings. Let me tell you about a place called the Pine Barrens, and not the way folks from the city talk about it. I mean the real Pines, the way us locals know it. See, most folks think New Jersey's nothing but factories and dockyards and quiet suburbs. But there's this place, this vast, dark place that takes up damn near a quarter of our state. Over a million acres of dense pine

forest stretching clear from the Delaware River to the Atlantic Ocean. And I tell you, there's spots in there where the trees grow so thick, so twisted together, that daylight barely touches the ground. Even at high noon, it's like permanent twilight down there. And the silence there, it's not like normal quiet. No, it's, um, deeper, heavier. Like the forest itself is always holding its breath, waiting for something. And it turns out that something came just last month. My name's Nelson Beringer, by the way, and I was born and raised in Burlington City, right on the edge of all that darkness. I've spent my whole life here, 53 years of watching those woods from

my back porch. And that whole time, I never gave much thought to rumors of strange things lurking in the pines. That is, until last month, of course. And I know what you're thinking. Here's another old-timer spinning yarns about things that go bump in the night. But I swear on my mother's grave every word I'm about to tell you is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but. It was Saturday morning, January 16th, when everything started.

I was having my usual morning coffee at Decker's when Paul Hauser came bursting in, white as a sheet. Now, Paul wasn't the type for dramatics. He was an accountant down at the bank and dealt in facts and figures. But that morning, something had him spooked bad. He said he'd been out for his usual dawn walk over in Riverside, that's just a few miles from here, when he heard something pass overhead. And when he looked up, he saw this large, dark shape like nothing he'd ever seen before. And its eyes, well, Paul said they glowed impossibly red, like fiery rubies.

Of course, I and everybody else tried to calm him down. We told him it was probably just an owl or maybe his eyes playing tricks in the dim light. But Paul wouldn't have it and just kept saying this was no bird. It was something else altogether. Now, I'd just written the whole thing off as Paul having too much coffee before his walk. But then word came in from across the Delaware River. It seemed folks in Bristol had been seeing something strange too. In fact, multiple people reported seeing a huge thing with wings that walked upright

on two legs, if you can believe that. But lending credence to the whole affair was the fact that one of the witnesses was an officer I knew named John Sackville, who actually fired his service revolver at the thing. And even though he knows he missed, he saw the bullet hit a tree, the thing still let out this horrible scream of a devil. No one had the first clue of what to make of any of this. I'd have trusted John Sackville with my life, but what he and others had been describing... Well, let's just say a bunch of us had a good laugh there in Deckard that morning.

Yeah. And good God, what fools we were. So McCloud, as you know, I go to Area 51 every once in a while to, you know, do top secret stuff. But whenever I do, I always like to make a stop in Las Vegas because I have to admit, I love casinos. Yeah, some games of chance, get the blood pumping.

Now I wanna go to a casino. Well, now you can with Golden Nugget Online Casino. Wait, I can, can I use real money? Oh yeah, if you're in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia, you sure can. And right now, new players can play just $5 and get 250 casino spins on a featured game with our promo code Sightings.

That's 250 chances to win after you play just five bucks or more. So don't wait. The best rewards and the brightest moments are waiting at Golden Nugget Online Casino. Whether you're spinning slots, five bucks or more. So don't wait. The best rewards and the brightest moments are waiting at Golden Nugget Online Casino. Whether you're spinning slots, doubling down on Blackjack, playing roulette, or any of our exclusive games

you can't find anywhere else, you can make any moment golden at Golden Nugget Online Casino. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Please play responsibly. 21 plus, physically present in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia only. Void in Ontario. New customers only. Non-withdrawable

casino spins valid for featured game only and expire in 168 hours. See terms at goldennuggetcasino.com slash promos. Ends 4-27-25 at 11.59 p.m. Eastern Time. It was just past four the next morning when I heard someone pounding on my front door. I sleep lied. Being a volunteer firefighter for 20 years will do that to you. But this wasn't a gentle knock. This was desperate. I opened up to find Molly Henderson standing there, shaking like a leaf in autumn. Molly lived next door with her teenage daughter ever

since her husband passed five years back. She was usually calm and collected. I'd seen her face down door-to-door salesmen without batting an eye, but right then something had her terrified. She kept saying there was something on a roof, something big. Now we'd had problems with raccoons before, especially in winter when they're hunting for warm spots, so I figured that's all it was. But I still pulled on my boots and coat, grabbed my lantern, and headed outside with her. Of course, there was nothing out there that I could see.

But she was insistent, Molly was, so I went and got my ladder and climbed up to check the roof. And sure enough, the beam of my lantern caught something up there, a line of prints in the fresh snow, but not like anything I'd seen before. If I didn't know better, I'd have said they were horse hooves. And they walked right up to the edge of the roof and just... stopped. right up to the edge of the roof and just stopped. Like whatever made them had just stepped off into thin air. So I told Molly I'd keep watch outside with my dog Bo until sunrise and despite what I'd seen this wasn't out of character. Folks in the neighborhood had always looked to me in times of trouble and I was always happy to help. So I went to get Bo from his doghouse, only to realize

he wasn't there. In eight years, Bo had never run off, not once. Honestly, I didn't even think he could jump a fence. But I still went looking and found his tracks in the snow back on the far reaches of my lot, and he appeared to be walking in a straight line, like he was tracking something, until his tracks just vanished completely. Just like whatever had been on the roof, Bo had simply vanished in the middle of pristine snow. So let me tell you something. I loved that dog something fierce.

He'd stayed by my side through my wife's passing, stayed with me through the darkest of dark, and since the thought of something happening to him set my blood boiling, I ran inside to grab my rifle and started searching the dark. For what, I don't know exactly. But after a few minutes, I spotted more of those strange hoof prints in the snow. They were smaller than a horse's, but bigger than a deer's. And they walked in a way that made no sense. Sometimes they'd

appear in a straight line like something walking on two legs. Other times they'd vanish completely only to pick up again a few dozen feet away. And by now some other neighbors were up because of all the commotion and one called out to me from down the way because they'd found more prints, and I ran over and Bill Loudon showed me they'd found more prints. His trash can had been knocked over, rubbish scattered everywhere with those same hoof marks all around it. But what really got me was when Bill pointed up at his wall and there they were again, tracks going straight up it like it had been flat as a pancake. At this point I realized we were out of our league, so I headed to the police station just as day was breaking. But I wasn't the first one

there, no. The place was packed with people all talking over each other about strange sounds in the night, something flying overhead, prints in the snow. Every story was different, but they all had one thing in common. Something unnatural was stalking our town. Then Jimmy Parker burst through the door, gasping for breath like he'd run all the way from the river, and he said that right that very moment there was something perched on top of the Methodist Church, so we all ran outside. But wouldn't you know it? Whatever Jimmy saw was already gone. But wouldn't you know it, whatever Jimmy saw was already gone. All that remained were those damned prints in the snow. That morning, the Burlington police organized a search party,

just in case some kind of wild predator was on the loose. Of course, I joined them, and they even brought in dogs to try and track the thing. But every time they'd seem to catch a scent, they'd tuck their tails and refuse to move. In all my years of hunting I'd never seen dogs act like that. It was like they knew something we didn't. Soon the others started getting spooked and talked of heading back, but I couldn't. Not with Bo still missing. So I shouldered my rifle and headed out into the pines alone. Nobody tried to stop me and not one soul followed. The forest was dead

quiet that morning. Not even the wind dared make a sound. And though the snow had drifted deep between the trees, I could still make out those strange tracks here and there. They led me deeper and deeper into the pines until the trees grew so thick I could barely see the sky. And you know that feeling you get sometimes, like you're being watched? Well, that's exactly what I felt, but worse. And I kept spinning around thinking I'd catch something moving, but there was nothing. Just trees and snow and that awful silence. Then I saw something out of the corner of my eye, just a shadow there and gone. Then

this high piercing screech erupted from my right, and I turned to find something coming straight at me and fast. I tried to raise my rifle, but it was too late. Something slammed into me like a runaway horse, knocking me flat on my back in the snow. And by the time I scrambled to my feet and grabbed my gun, all I could see was a huge winged shape disappearing past the treetops. So, I'd finally seen it for myself. This strange thing with wings and horse hooves, and one hell of a sneaky disposition. And as I stood there, alone in the snow, heart pounding, I realized that whatever was terrorizing our town wasn't natural in the least. And worse, I had a feeling my encounter

in the pines was only the beginning. McCloud, I have to tell you, all these supernatural stories are making me realize I would be an absolutely miserable ghost. Because you'd be stuck in eternal purgatory? Well, yes. But mostly because ghosts can't eat. I love good meals. And since I found Marley Spoon, I've been having incredible meals every night right

at home. Marley Spoon. I love Marley Spoon. It helped me fast track my way to eating well without all the stress. And listeners, with our code SIGHTINGS, you can get up to 27 free meals. And for those nights when you need dinner faster than a ghost can blink out of existence, Marley Spoon's new 15-minute express recipes are convenient, delicious, and on the table in minutes.

And with over 100 recipes to choose from each week, there's something for everyone. Like everything bagel crusted sirloin steak. I'm gonna say that again for you. Everything bagel crusted sirloin steak. Come on. That sounds delicious. And it makes me so glad I am not a ghost without a stomach. And by the way, if you don't have time to cook at all, Marley Spoon also has delicious ready to heat meals.

They are absolute lifesavers. Lifesavers? Sounds like the ghosts needed those. I know. So this new year, fast-track your way to eating well with Marley Spoon. Head to marlyspoon.com slash offer slash sightings, and use code SIGHTINGS for up to 27 free meals.

That's right, up to 27 free meals with Marley Spoon. One last time, that's marlyspoon.com slash offer slash sightings for up to 27 free meals. And make sure you use our promo code sightings so they know we sent you. Thanks Marley Spoon for sponsoring this episode. Are you crushing your bills? Defeating your monthly payments? Sounds like you're at the top of your financial game.

Rise to it with the BMO Eclipse Rise Visa Card. The credit card that rewards your good financial habits. Earn points for paying your credit card bill in full and on time every month. Level up from bill payer to reward slayer. Terms and conditions apply. News of what was happening in and around Burlington spread through the region like wildfire. Some folks barricaded themselves in their homes, while others, the braver or more foolish, depending on your perspective, started forming hunting parties. And despite what had happened to me earlier, I found myself joining one.

Maybe it was worry for Bo, or maybe it was something deeper. A need to face whatever was out there head on. I ended up paired with John Croydon, and I couldn't have asked for a better hunting partner. The Croydons had been in these parts since the colonial days, and John knew these woods better than anyone. So as we trudged through the snow, he started telling me stories about the area and its, I suppose you could say, supernatural history. He said the Lenape, the indigenous people who first lived in these parts, called the pines Papuessing, a word that meant the place of the dragon, and they had legends about something in these woods, something unnatural, that protected the forest from those who do

it harm. Then back in 1735, long after the Lenape were pushed out, there was allegedly this woman named Leeds living out in the pines. She already had twelve children, and when she found herself pregnant with a thirteenth, she cursed it, saying that if she was going to have another, let it be the devil. At this point, John paused to light a pipe, and I noticed his hand trembling ever so slightly. But he went on, telling me that the baby was born normal enough, but then it...

changed. Its head elongated into something like a horse's, wings burst from its shoulders, hooves replaced its feet. Then it killed the midwife and flew up the chimney, disappearing into the pines. I thought about what I'd seen earlier, that massive winged shape that knocked me down. Could it really be the same creature from 1735? And if so, had it been living out here all this time, hidden in the vast darkness of the pines? Before I could voice any of these questions, a gunshot echoed through the trees. John and I exchanged glances, then ran toward the sound. We found Tommy Weber,

one of the dairy farmers from the edge of town, standing in a clearing with his rifle still smoking. He gasped that he'd seen it plain as day, big as a horse with wings like a bat. He said it flew off towards Moorstown, and I could tell from his voice that he was badly shaken. Soon word came in that other hunting parties had spotted it heading towards Morristown, so we regrouped and headed that way. But by the time we arrived, the whole town was in an uproar. Just outside the train station, a crowd had gathered around a police officer, a station agent, and Reverend Phillips from the Methodist Church. The officer said he saw it clear as day, a creature with the head of a horse and the

body of something else entirely. The station agent swore it had a tail like a serpent that whipped through the air as it flew. And the reverend, well, he wouldn't say much at all, just kept crossing himself and muttering prayers under his breath. Then a woman's scream cut through the chaos. Without even thinking, we all started running toward the sound, where we found a woman in her backyard beating at something

with a broom and screaming bloody murder. And as we got closer, this huge dark shape rose up into the air from where she'd been swinging. And everyone with a gun, myself included, started shooting. But the thing moved impossibly fast, banking and weaving through the air like no natural creature could. When it was gone, we realized that the woman had been trying to protect her puppy from the thing.

But she failed, and I saw that the poor dead thing had had a massive bite taken out of it. I immediately thought of Bo, of what could have happened to him. And I hate to say it, but my heart sank. The incident with the puppy sent the whole region into a panic. Parents kept their children indoors. Farmers sheltered their livestock. Armed men patrolled the streets at night, but still the sightings continued.

A trolley car conductor claimed the thing landed on his roof as he was making his night run, causing his passengers to scream and faint. An old coupling glossed her, said they watched the thing eat a whole fox atop their shed, and two hunters claimed to track it into the pines, but lost it in a ditch. Through it all I kept searching for bull. For two days straight I combed every inch of the forest I could reach, and each night I'd come home to more stories of sightings, more panic, more fear. But I couldn't give up.

That dog was all I had left in this world. Then on the third day, just as hope was starting to fade, I heard it. A weak bark coming from somewhere in the trees. I ran toward the sound, my heart pounding, and there was Bo. He was alive, thank God, but badly hurt. A deep wound on his back leg had him limping, and he was thinner than I'd ever seen him. But I was relieved to have found him, so much so that I didn't even catch the movement that must have been happening overhead. Then I saw Bo's tail drop between his legs, and then I heard it.

A sound like leather stretching, like massive wings unfurling. Because 20 feet above us, perched on a thick pine branch, was the devil itself. Its head was like a horse's, but elongated and twisted with teeth that no herbivore should have. Its body was lean and muscular, covered in dark fur or hide, I couldn't tell which. The wings must have spread fifteen feet when fully extended, and they weren't feathered like a bird's.

No, they were leathery, like a bat's, with pronounced joints and visible veins running through the membrane. And that tail everyone mentioned? It was there, all right, long and serpentine, wrapping around the branch like it had a mind of its own. The thing stared down at me in bow, and I swear I saw intelligence in those burning eyes. Not animal cunning, but something deeper, something that knew exactly what it was doing.

So I raised my rifle sure and steady and took aim right between those terrible eyes. The creature didn't move, didn't even flinch. It just kept staring at me with that unnatural gaze. And then I pulled the trigger. I've never told another soul what happened after that. The important thing is that the sighting stopped after that day. Bo is healing up just fine and life in Burlington seems to be getting back to normal.

But the Pine Barrens, those million acres of darkness that stretch from the Delaware to the Atlantic, it feels different now. And sometimes when I'm out on my back porch at night looking out at all that vastness, I think about how much of those woods we've never really seen. How many places there are where the trees grow so thick, so twisted together that anything could be hiding there, just beyond where the light touches. Because I've seen what hides there for myself. And trust me, I'm never, ever going back.

Sightings will be back, just after this. FanDuel Casino's exclusive live dealer studio has your chance at the number one feeling, winning, which beats even the 27th best feeling, saying I do. Who wants his last parachute? I do. Enjoy the number one feeling, winning, in an exciting live dealer studio,

exclusively on FanDuel Casino, where winning is undefeated. 19 plus and physically located in Ontario gambling problem Call 1-866-531-2600 or visit kinectsontario.ca Please play responsibly This episode is brought to you by Samsung Galaxy Ever captured a great night video only for it to be ruined by that one noisy talker with audio erase on the new Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra you can reduce or remove unwanted noise and relive your favorite moments without the distractions At Desjardins, we speak business. We speak equipment modernization.

We're fluent in data digitization and expansion into foreign markets. And we can talk all day about streamlining manufacturing processes. Because at Desjardins Business, we speak the same language you do, business. So join the more than 400,000 Canadian entrepreneurs who already count on us and contact Desjardins today. We'd love to talk business. Welcome back to Sightings. I'm super excited to get into this one with Brian here, everybody, because up until now, really, my only awareness of the Jersey Devils was like as a hockey team. So where did this story come from?

Did you, clearly you didn't make this up, otherwise there wouldn't be a hockey team. That's right. No, it is a very real legend in New Jersey. And I should say that I did make up the main character that you read. He's kind of a composite of a whole bunch of people. But all the things that happened in the story in 1909 in and around the Pine Barrens,

all that stuff actually allegedly happened. And all these people were seeing this creature and shooting guns at it. Which is amazing. I mean, like, did it really happen in such a condensed form where there was this haunted, like, you saw it, you saw it, Tina saw it, Tim saw it down the street, because it's like a, it's like a gothic horror fantasy tale,

like The Witch or something, but with more people. No, it happened quick. Over the course of a week, it popped up, hundreds and hundreds of people were seeing it, and then it vanished. I compressed the timeline just a little bit, so that way we could get from point A to point B to point C with our main character a little bit more concisely.

But yeah, all that stuff was happening over the course of two or three days in and around Burlington, New Jersey, which is right on the Delaware River. Fascinating. Well, before we kind of zero in on that week, there was something in the story alluding to like this creature or sightings of it or mythology about it going back generations even before that. Yeah, so as we heard in the story, there were the Lenape people who were the Native Americans who lived in that area before the Europeans arrived. And they had legends about this pine barren region that, you know, there was something strange going on in these woods and they called the whole area the place of the dragon. And they believed that a powerful spirit of some kind lived there and that spirit happened

to be a deer-like creature with dragon wings. And then when the English settlers did arrive in the 1600s, they presumably thought they were just superstitions at first. And still they started seeing something themselves. Yeah, absolutely. Because as we're going to go through, there were a lot of other discrete sightings from European settlers in the region from that time onward. And of course, the most famous of all those sightings happened in 1909 when it just was

a week where everything went pretty ballistic. But as we heard in the story, it all kind of started back in the 1730s with that woman in the Pine Barrens who allegedly gave birth to- So it sounded like a devil or the devil in this story. Yeah, pretty much. There seem to be two versions of this particular story though. One named the woman Mrs. Shroud, the other named it Mrs. Leeds. In both cases though, both women

had their 13th child. Isn't that like an unlucky, well yes, it's an unlucky number, unlucky number 13. But that's also a lot of children. Yes, it is. I will say at that number I'd also be like, oh my gosh. Yeah, and they had the kid anyway and it eventually, either right away or within a few days, transformed into this horse-headed, hoofed-winged creature, and then it flew away.

In this case of Mrs. Leed's story, it has allegedly happened because she was dabbling in witchcraft, so that could have contributed to it. And both of these stories happen in the Pine Barrens? Yeah. In or near them, I don't know the actual towns that they were in necessarily. But it's worth noting though that there is no record of a Mrs. Leeds living anywhere in that area though at that time.

However, there was a guy named Daniel Leeds who lived in that area. And apparently the Leeds family crest had this dragon type figure on it. And further, this Daniel Leeds who lived in that area. And apparently the Leeds family crest had this dragon type figure on it. Ooh. And further, this Daniel Leeds guy apparently had a beef with Benjamin Franklin. Like the Benjamin Franklin? The very one.

And it was over some almanac or something like that. So since this was called the Leeds devil before it was known as the Jersey devil, I wonder if the origins of this whole story kind of came from like a smear campaign in a weird way. They're like, oh, well, you know, if you've got a devil on your crest, I'm going to make your name out to be associated with this horrible monster. Interesting.

So it was just like talking smack through the press kind of spreading stories. I guess so. So I'm starting to see how like some random happenings and some little bits and pieces of various lures could start coalescing into a bigger legend here. Well, yeah, of course. And I guess in this particular case, more than some other ones, why wouldn't it? Because these Pine Barrens are this really strange

and kind of dark and terrifying setting for all this kind of stuff to be happening. Yeah, the story really painted a creepy picture of this place. And I mean, have you ever been? Are they really this creepy? I've driven through it. I haven't gone like gallivanting about in the Pine Barrens. Why didn't you go for a good gallivant?

But I think the best way to describe it is take a look at it on a map. Granted, it's smaller now than it probably used to be. But from about Philadelphia to the Atlantic Ocean, there's just this big dark forest on Google Maps. Oh, wow. Allegedly, it's a really dense forest that could be hiding just about anything. Because it's full of monsters. So we have these lore from before this 1909 outbreak. Were there actual sightings before that?

There were a couple and one of them might win the prize for the most reputable sighting of anyone we've had a sighting from any of our episodes so far. So in the early 1800s, there was this guy named Stephen Decatur, and he was a US Naval officer. He had five warships named after him. His face was on the $20 bill, and legend goes that he was

in Burlington, New Jersey, visiting a cannonball factory. And when he was there, and I guess outside firing some cannons, as one does at a cannonball factory, he saw an impossible creature flying overhead. And of course, what does he do being the decorated war veteran that he is? He aims the cannon at it and shoots it. And apparently he hit the creature, but it kept on flying. And then in 1909, it just runs rampant. Yeah, from January 16th to January 23rd, hundreds of people reported seeing this thing.

But it's also worth noting that 1909 was not the last time that this thing was seen. In 1987, a woman in Vineland, New Jersey reported that her German shepherd had been killed overnight. And the dog, unfortunately, had been torn to pieces and dragged over 25 feet from the end of its chain, I guess. And the only evidence that authorities could find were hoof prints around the body. Ooh. Yeah, being 1987, my instinct would have gone to hoax, but killing a dog is horrible. Yeah, if anything, I feel like a hoax

would maybe be more plausible in the 1909 story. Like, I guess I could see somebody strapping on some horse shoes, or like, and like, kind of like tramping around, leaving tracks, and like, I don't't know maybe flying a kite I think the thing that really differentiates This story of the pine barons and the Jersey Devil from other stories is just the sheer number of people who saw this thing Yeah, you know hundreds of people over upwards of a dozen towns like either this thing is real or it's kind of a mass

hysteria type phenomenon I think for me the thing before we get into the theory is that thing that might kind of a mass hysteria type phenomenon. I think for me, the thing, before we get into the theories, the thing that might kind of jump is, if there is a creature that, you know, has the head of a horse and the feet of a horse and wings and is running around in this forest, since theoretically before settlers arrived or it was born or birthed

when that woman gave birth to a Demon child or whatever. I don't know if I necessarily believe that story Well, either way if there's only one creature that thing is old Yes, or is there a population of them who are living in this isolated? No, this is the thing I think it can't be a real non-supernatural creature. If this thing is real, it has to be supernatural in my mind. All right.

I never thought I would get those... Well, yeah. I don't know if I believe in it at all, but I'm saying if it is real, I don't think it's just a bunch of cranes in the woods. Okay. Well, now you mentioned cranes. Let's jump to the theories. Okay.

You kind of spilled the beans on the first one. Oh, I did? A little bit, yeah. So the first theory that people have purported is, and this is a repeat of our Mothman suspect, is the Sandhill Crane. Okay. That's why it came to mind for me. Yeah.

So for those of you who haven't listened to our Mothman episode, go back and listen to it. But the Sandhill Crane is this giant bird, multiple feet long wingspan. But I think the most notable part of it that's relevant for this story is it has reddish plumage around its eyes, which people reported seeing the red eyes of the Jersey Devil and just like with the Mothman,

red eyes for the Mothman. I feel like the Crane might be a better suspect for this story than the Mothman, because with the Mothman, it pretty clearly seemed to be a man shape. And I could see the long crane beak and head maybe evoking a horse head. Ah. But it doesn't answer the kind of telltale thing about the horse hooves. That's right. Yep. And that seemed to me to be one of the most defining features of this,

was the tracks just seem to be everywhere. And it's such a poignant visual where you're following horse tracks and then they vanish. You know? Right, right. And then they come back, you know, 20 yards or a hundred yards later, it's like, what in the world is this horse doing?

Absolutely. The other big thing, which you also touched on a little bit earlier, was mass hysteria has been purported as an explanation for all of this. Yes, Yes. What are your thoughts on that? That it's plausible.

I guess what are the nature of the 1909 stories? Is it just kind of reports and newspapers or? A lot of newspaper reports, a lot of, I guess, firsthand accounts that have been written down and told over and over and over again. Yeah. But this isn't just like a spoken word thing that's just kind of been... Right. It's not an urban legend. Like...

This seems to be a thing. Right. Right. You know? I mean, it's just such a... I don't wanna lose the just cool, like, coolness of the story and the lore and there's's, like, the Native American name for it, being the place of dragons. I think it definitely speaks volumes, that this is an ancient myth or legend

built into this culture. But then you've got this guy with a dragon on his crest, and you've got Ben Franklin. You can see the points where, like, story A influenced story B influenced story C. You can see the connective tissue of all this legend building up to something. But the fact that so many people saw it. Yeah. So I am just completely twisted up in fascination with this and just my enjoyment of this lore is getting in the way of my ability to decipher it or have

a good theory. So as always listeners, we'd love to hear your theories. Help me out because I'm struggling here and I need you to throw me a line. Yeah, you can find us on Instagram at SightingsPod or hit us up on Spotify. Leave a comment on there. A lot of people are doing it. It's awesome. We respond to them. I do read them. I enjoy reading them. So Brian, where are we headed to next week? We are actually staying in the same part of the country. We're heading, I guess, just down the Delaware River a little bit to Philadelphia for a supernatural

slash conspiracy slash really crazy story that I think is going to blow your mind. I am clueless. I have no idea. So I'm looking forward to being walloped. And I hope you listeners are too next week. Same time, same place, right here on Sightings. Thanks everyone. Sightings is hosted by McLeod Anders and Brian Sigley. Produced by Brian Sigley, Thanks everyone. artwork by Nuno Cernatus. For a list of this episode's sources, check out our website at sightingspodcast.com. Sightings is presented by Reverb and Q-Code. If you like the show, be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform

so you're first to hear new episodes every week. And if you know other Supernatural fans, tell them about us. We'd really appreciate it.