Related Research Articles
American folklore encompasses the folklores that have evolved in the present-day United States since Europeans arrived in the 16th century. While it contains much in the way of Native American tradition, it is not wholly identical to the tribal beliefs of any community of native people.
Atlantic County is a county located along the southern coast of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population of 269,534, a -1.9 change from the 274,549 enumerated in the 2010 Census. Its county seat is the Mays Landing section of Hamilton Township. The most populous place was Egg Harbor Township, with 43,323 residents at the time of the 2010 Census; Galloway Township, covered 115.21 square miles (298.4 km2), the largest total area of any municipality, though Hamilton Township has the largest land area, covering 111.13 square miles (287.8 km2). Atlantic County forms the Atlantic City–Hammonton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also part of the Delaware Valley Combined Statistical Area.
Ocean Township is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 8,332, reflecting an increase of 1,882 (+29.2%) from the 6,450 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 1,034 (+19.1%) from the 5,416 counted in the 1990 Census. The 2010 population was the highest recorded in any decennial census.
In the Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia folklore of the United States, the Jersey Devil is a legendary creature said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of South Jersey. The creature is often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many variations. The common description is that of a bipedal kangaroo-like or wyvern-like creature with a horse- or goat-like head, leathery bat-like wings, horns, small arms with clawed hands, legs with cloven hooves, and a forked tail. It has been reported to move quickly and is often described as emitting a high-pitched "blood-curdling scream".
The púca, pooka, phouka is primarily a creature of Celtic folklore. Considered to be bringers both of good and bad fortune, they could help or hinder rural and marine communities. Púcaí can have dark or white fur or hair. The creatures were said to be shape-changers, which could take the appearance of horses, goats, cats, dogs, and hares. They may also take a human form, which includes various animal features, such as ears or a tail.
The Bogeyman is a type of mythic creature used by adults to frighten children into good behavior. Bogeymen have no specific appearance and conceptions vary drastically by household and culture, but they are most commonly depicted as masculine or androgynous monsters that punish children for misbehavior. The Bogeyman or conceptually similar monsters can be found in many cultures around the world. Bogeymen may target a specific act or general misbehaviour, depending on what purpose needs serving, often based on a warning from the child's authority figure. The term "Bogeyman" is sometimes used as a non-specific personification or metonym for terror, and in some cases, the Devil.
Legend tripping is a name bestowed by folklorists and anthropologists on an adolescent practice in which a usually furtive nocturnal pilgrimage is made to a site which is alleged to have been the scene of some tragic, horrific, and possibly supernatural event or haunting. The practice has been documented most thoroughly to date in the United States.
In English folklore, Black Shuck, Old Shuck, Old Shock or simply Shuck is the name given to a ghostly black dog which is said to roam the coastline and countryside of East Anglia, one of many such black dogs recorded in folklore across the British Isles. Accounts of Black Shuck form part of the folklore of Norfolk, Suffolk, the Cambridgeshire Fens and Essex, and descriptions of the creature's appearance and nature vary considerably; it is sometimes recorded as an omen of death, but, in other instances, is described as companionable.
The New Jersey Pine Barrens, also known as the Pinelands or simply the Pines, is the largest remaining example of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecosystem, stretching across more than seven counties of New Jersey. Two other large, contiguous examples of this ecosystem remain in the northeastern United States: the Long Island Central Pine Barrens, and the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens. The name pine barrens refers to the area's sandy, acidic, nutrient-poor soil. Although European settlers could not cultivate their familiar crops there, the unique ecology of the Pine Barrens supports a diverse spectrum of plant life, including orchids and carnivorous plants. The area is also notable for its populations of rare pygmy pitch pines and other plant species that depend on the frequent fires of the Pine Barrens to reproduce. The sand that composes much of the area's soil is referred to by the locals as sugar sand.
In Northern English folklore, the Barghest or Barguest is a mythical monstrous black dog with large teeth and claws, though in other cases the name can refer to a ghost or household elf, especially in Northumberland and Durham, such as the Cauld Lad of Hylton.
Wharton State Forest is the largest state forest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the largest single tract of land in the state park system of New Jersey, encompassing approximately 122,880 acres (497.3 km2) of the Pinelands northeast of Hammonton. Its protected acreage is divided between Burlington, Camden, and Atlantic counties. The entire forest is located within the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecoregion as well as the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve. The forest is located in the forested watershed of the Mullica River, which drains the central Pinelands region into the Great Bay. The forest is under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.
New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve is a national reserve that encompasses the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
The church grim is a guardian spirit in English and Nordic folklore that oversees the welfare of a particular Christian church, and protects the churchyard from those who would profane and commit sacrilege against it. It often appears as a black dog but is known to take the form of other animals. In modern times, when black dogs are kept as pets in churches and their attached parsonages, these are called church grims since they reside on and guard ecclesiastical property.
The cadejo is a supernatural character from Central American folklore. There is a good white cadejo and an evil black cadejo. Both are spirits that appear at night to travelers: the white to protect them from harm during their journey, the black to kill them. The sight of the cadejos are sometimes exchanged according to local tradition. In some places, the black cadejo is seen as the good one and the white cadejo the evil one. They usually appear in the form of a large, shaggy dog with burning red eyes and a goat's hooves, although in some areas they have more bull-like characteristics. According to the stories, many have tried to kill the black cadejo but have failed and perished. It is also said that if a cadejo is killed, it will smell terrible for several days, and then its body will disappear. Some Guatemalan and Salvadoran folklore also tells of a cadejo that protects drunks against anyone who tries to rob or hurt them. When the cadejo is near, it is said to bring about a strong goat-like smell. Most people say never to turn your back to the creature because otherwise you will go crazy. Speaking to the cadejo will also induce insanity.
The glaistig is a ghost from Scottish mythology, a type of fuath. It is also known as maighdean uaine, and may appear as a woman of beauty or monstrous mien, as a half-woman and half-goat similar to a faun or satyr, or in the shape of a goat. The lower goat half of her hybrid form is usually disguised by a long, flowing green robe or dress, and the woman often appears grey with long yellow hair. A sighting of the glaistig is rare, but the loud cries and wails would often be heard.
Warren Grove is an unincorporated rural community that is a part of Stafford Township, Barnegat Township and Little Egg Harbor Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. Its location in the heart of the Pine Barrens makes it one of the most secluded and remote corners of the state.
In the folklore of Cambridgeshire, the Shug Monkey is a creature that shares features of a dog and monkey, which reportedly haunted Slough Hill Lane. The creature, believed to have the body of a jet-black shaggy sheepdog and the face of a monkey with staring eyes, was believed to be a supernatural ghost or demon. Local writer and broadcaster James Wentworth Day, who first related stories of the Shug Monkey in Here Are Ghosts and Witches (1954), described it as a curious variation of Black Shuck, while local folklorist Polly Howat suggests that both share common origins in Norse mythology.
The black dog is a supernatural, spectral or demonic entity from English folklore. It is usually unnaturally large with glowing red or yellow eyes, is often connected with the Devil, and is sometimes an omen of death. It is sometimes associated with electrical storms, and also with crossroads, barrows, places of execution and ancient pathways.
Haunted highways or roads refer to streets, roads or highways which are the subject of folklore and urban legends, including rumors and reports of ghostly apparitions, ghostly figures, phantom hitchhikers, phantom vehicles, repeating or looping highways, or other paranormal phenomena.
References
- ↑ "Jersey Devil & Folklore" Archived 2013-12-04 at the Wayback Machine , Pinelands Preservation Alliance. Accessed September 24, 2015. "Designated in 1938 as the country’s only state demon, the Jersey Devil is described as a kangaroo-like creature with the face of a horse, the head of a dog, bat-like wings, horns and a tail."
- ↑ McMahon, William. Pine Barrens Legends & Lore, p. 42. B B& A Publishers, 1987. ISBN 9780912608198. Accessed September 24, 2015.
- ↑ Homer, larona C.; and Bock, William Sauts. Blackbeard the pirate and other stories of the Pine Barrens, pp. 90-92. Middle Atlantic Press, 1979. ISBN 9780912608105. Accessed September 24, 2015.
- ↑ Maloney, Nick. Beyond Area 51, p. 48. Penguin Publishing, 2013. ISBN 9781101595213. Accessed September 24, 2015.
- ↑ Jacob’s Chapel, Mt. Laurel, NJ~ Final Resting Place of the Black Doctor of the Pines, South Jersey Explorer, October 21, 2003. Accessed September 24, 2015.
- ↑ Brown, Edward. Just Around the Corner, in New Jersey, p. 82, ff. B B& A Publishers, 1984. ISBN 9780912608174. Accessed September 24, 2015.