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URECAT - UFO Related Entities Catalog

Beginning of August 1930, Mays Landing, New Jersey, USA, people:

Brief summary of the event and follow-up:

The Leeds Devil" or "Jersey Devil" of 1909 and later years in the USA, appeared in ufology books and catalogues decades later. Not all cases made it. This one didn't. It appeared in the newspaper The Millville Daily, in Millville, New Jersey, USA, on page 1, for August 2, 1930.

The newspaper reported quit vaguely from Mays Landing, on August 2, that the "strange creature that has been terrorizing this neighborhood of Leeds Point, or another that answers the same description, has been reported as having been on the road between Mays Landing and Ocean City two nights this week."

The newspaper commented that many people in this section believe implicitly in the legend of Leed's Devil and its origin in Estelville, near here, and a number of the older residents swear they have seen it and that it is as fearsome a beast as has been described. They add that rear of the supernatural seems to stand in the way of any organized hunt for the creature.

Then, on August 5, 1930, the newspaper The Daily Journal, of Vineland, New Jersey, gave an explanation theory. Berry picking season in Atlantic county had just started, so it is believed, they said, that the "Leeds Devil" scare was "started by berry pickers who hoped to frighten rival pickers and townspeople out of the woods during berry season. This gave them a monopoly of the berry patches", and made the prices of berries rise.

The newspaper noted that this year, the trick didn't work out fine: "But this year, the same effect as in the past has been missing. Cause folks aren't being scared off the berry fields at Leeds Point or Mays Landing, as they were in the past."

Basic information table:

Narratives:

[Ref. md1:] "THE MILLVILLE DAILY" NEWSPAPER:

[Ref. dj1:] "THE DAILY JOURNAL" NEWSPAPER:

Points to consider:

Ufologists, with varied opinions on the matter, wrote about these cases of "Jersey Devil". Many cases can be found in my page on the year 1909 in this catalog, by checking the cases in New Jersey, USA.

The rather unconvincing resurgence of these stories in the 1930s went much unnoticed by ufologists. It must be clear that in my opinion, this story has nothing to do with UFOs and does not tell us anything about UFO occupants; but it reveals a somewhat belated but interesting explanation about the "Jersey Devil", at least about the 1930 Jersey Devil: berry pickers spreading such stories again to keep the competitors away from their berry fields!

In this case, notice the differences with those of the year 1909:

• Absolutely no description of the "Jersey Devil" is given.
• No witness name is published.
• No observation circumstance is given.

List of issues:

Evaluation:

Possible hoax, not UFO-related.

Sources references:

* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.

• [md1] * Article in the newspaper The Millville Daily, Millville, New Jersey, USA, page 1, August 2, 1930.
• [dj1] * Article in the newspaper The Daily Journal, Vineland, New Jersey, USA, page 1, August 5, 1930.

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This page was last updated on September 27, 2018.