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The New Jersey Devil by Donna Clovis It was a beautiful baby boy with chubby cheeks and blue eyes. When he was only a few minutes old, however, he began to change. Click to read Essay Profile of Author Bio of Author from ETG Essay, Late-breaking Developments Author's Comment on the ETG Experience Updated Bio Click to Purchase Send email to the author (The copyright on this essay is held by the author.  For permission to duplicate: copyright@cunepress.com)

The New Jersey Devil
It seems to appear in the crispness of autumn when the cool winds whisper through the swamps on moonless nights and when visitors have gone and the Pine Barrens, most quiet— something still lurks there as I speak tonight.

When I was a child, living in a small town in Easthampton, New Jersey, my mother used to tell me stories. The one that I remember most is the tale of the New Jersey Devil.

In 1735, there was a small, tattered cottage that belonged to Mother and Father Leeds and their twelve children. The cottage sat at the edge of a swamp near the Mullica River. This was the deepest and darkest part of the Pine Barrens region of New Jersey where green ferns grew in abundance in the sandy soil. There was a quaint village nearby. Tall pine trees surrounded the village for miles and miles.

Some villagers thought the Leeds were strange and whispered to others to stay away. Only a few spoke to Mother and Father Leeds on their infrequent visits to the village square. The Leeds family lived in isolation. Some say that Father Leeds was a farmer. Others believed him to be a hunter. No one really knew. And the darkness and quiet of the forest told no secrets.

Cooking and cleaning for twelve children day after day took its toll on Mother Leeds. Then she discovered she was going to have another child—the thirteenth. "I don’t want another child!" she shrieked. "Let this baby be a devil!"

Months later, on a cold winter’s night in February, Mother Leeds, with the help of a midwife, gave birth to her thirteenth child. It was a beautiful baby boy with chubby cheeks and blue eyes. When he was only a few minutes old, however, he began to change. In place of the chubby little face grew the head of a horse with two great horns. His blue eyes became fiery red coals. Bat-like leather wings grew out of his back, and his legs and feet turned to those of a goat. But most frightening were his hands which grew into powerful, bony claws. As hours passed, the baby lost the frail wailing of a newborn infant and began to make guttural animal sounds.

The day dawned cold and gray. By mid-morning the child was ten hours old and had become a creature with the strength of two men. That evening, the creature gave a bloodcurdling scream. His mother shrieked and his father lunged. But the creature quickly escaped through the chimney into the darkness of the Pine Barrens.

Though the creature was a devil, it also was the son of Mother Leeds. It lived in the shadows of the forest and never harmed the Leeds or their children, but preyed on forest creatures and sheep that strayed from the village. In time, Mother and Father Leeds died and their children passed away, but the creature lived on. The villagers hated the creature, and he took revenge by killing their livestock. Sometimes he even attacked travelers passing through the region. The New Jersey Devil continues to haunt the inhabitants of the pine woods. He has been sighted on desolate country roads and isolated campsites. Some have heard his bloodcurdling screams echo in the darkness.

If you ever come to the Pine Barrens, if you venture into a dense forest or swamp, or a long stretch of isolated beach on a moonless night, take care. When you hear the whisper of the wind through the trees—when branches crackle and break behind you—you may indeed have a visitor. Beware!

Profile
I must admit that I’ve known Donna Clovis for a long time. She started writing at the age of nine, yet I always expected her to be a doctor. How I arrived at this thought is difficult to say. Maybe it was the science courses she took and the Future Physicians Club in high school. But to my mind, it wasn’t her theatrics and writing that took precedence. I guess I created my own expectations.

Eventually, we come full circle and do what we are meant to do. I attended one of Donna’s first public readings in the crowded Borders book shop in East Brunswick. Donna read from a collection of her poetry which had won state awards. The audience was ecstatic, and I realized Donna is where she should be. She is my beloved daughter—the writer, the author, the teller of stories.

—Annye Brown

Bio
Donna Clovis
Place of residence: Princeton, New Jersey.
Day jobs: Educator. Consultant.
Education: B.A. in education. M.A. in linguistics.
Books: Metamorphosis—poetry.
Awards: New Jersey Education Award (1995). Nominated for National Education Hall of Fame (1996).
The real story at work: I teach at Riverside School in Princeton. This is an elementary school with students from Mongolia, Samoa, China. All told, these students represent twenty-two different language groups.
Most exotic language: One of my students came straight from the Andes and spoke Quechua, an Inca-Indian dialect.
My tongues: I speak Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and a little Chinese.
My ethnic background: My father’s mother was African-American and his father was German, French, and Jewish. My mother’s mother was Sioux Indian and her father was African—from the Ivory Coast.
Favorite thing to do: I like to tell stories to children. Especially I like to share Sioux stories that I learned from my grandmother. Each of these stories has a lesson to it.
My faith: I am a practicing Jew. Since my Jewish blood is on my father’s side, I needed to convert to be recognized in the faith.
Current project: A poetry anthology for kids.
Favorite book: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

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