CHANNILLO
Series Description:
On the eve of the Revolutionary War, demonic forces are at work in the forested heart of the New Jersey Colony...
Deborah Leeds is a dutiful wife and a mayor's daughter-in-law, dwelling between the deep, dark woods and the merciless expanse of the Atlantic ocean. Her skills as a healer, and her ambition, lead some to call her a witch...
But the young woman has more to fear than superstition. Deborah becomes the unwitting center of a diabolic plot born of revenge and fueled by Satanic power...
Deborah's struggle to protect herself, her family, and the land she loves will give birth to the colony's most enduring and infamous legend...The Leeds Devil.
Warning: this series contains adult content.
Category/Genre(s): Horror, Historical FictionUpdated: Monthly
Status: Inactive
Author Bio For Anthony Simeone:
Anthony Simeone lives and writes in the shadow of the great city of Philadelphia. In addition to crafting fiction, he also speaks and blogs about the fields of positive psychology and heroism science. When he's not putting fingers to keyboard, Anthony spends his time with family and friends, or in the nearest forested area, or with his nose in a book. Sometimes all at once.
Acknowledgements:
This series is dedicated to my sister Angie, who passed her love of Jersey Devil lore to me. Angie conducted a lot of research into New Jersey's infamous native cryptid over the years, with the intention of someday writing a novel about the legendary creature. I was honored when she declared I should be her collaborator in the telling of the tale.
Yet we all know how life can interfere with the most beloved plans. Angie and I went about our lives, and the novel lingered on the proverbial backburner. But I couldn't let the ideas, creativity, and excitement instilled in me by my sister languish forever. Like all nascent stories, this one clawed at the back of my mind for years, demanding to be told.
As they say, better late then never. I've dug out the many dusty pages of notes and photocopies of books Angie painstakingly created. I continue to check in with her for advice and input. It's time to exorcise the Jersey Devil from our minds, and unleash it upon an unsuspecting world once more!
Notes:
The Leeds Devil is a version of the Jersey Devil's origin story. As a lifelong resident of southern New Jersey, I grew up steeped in the lore of the creature that haunts the fabled Pine Barrens, a unique ecosystem that covers 1.1 million acres. To those who live outside the state, such a massive area of forest may seem anomalous.
Despite its designation as "The Garden State," non-residents tend to consider New Jersey to be a land dominated by urban and suburban sprawl. In some ways, they are right; much of the state is covered by human development. But the Pine Barrens remain, a mysterious green heart alive with strange, stunted pines and a wealth of other plant and animal biodiversity.
The Pinelands contain not only natural wonders; they have also inspired generations of folk tales that have coalesced into a rich local mythology. In addition to the Jersey Devil, the Barrens are the home of ghostly beings like the Black Dog, the White Stag, and the Golden-Haired Girl. Captain Kidd is said to have buried treasure there.
As I said, this series is just one version of a tale that has many variations. The most prevalent version is that of Mother Leeds being the eternally exhausted mother of 12 children. When she finds that she is pregnant for a 13th time, she cries out "let this one be a devil!" Now, some say her declaration was due to the fact she was a witch. But most consider her words born of the soul-numbing predicament that was her prodigious Colonial-era family!
What follows is well-known to all New Jersey dwellers: Mother Leeds gives birth to what, at first, seems to be a normal baby boy. But then - before the eyes of Mrs. Leeds, her horrified husband and children, and usually an unfortunate midwife - the newborn metamorphosed into a beast with a horse's face, the horns and legs and hooves of a goat, the wings of a bat, and the barbed tail of the Devil himself! In some tellings, the creature consumes the onlookers before flying up the chimney (that version is usually more popular around campfires, of course).
Readers of The Leeds Devil will see many deviations from the most popular version. The date has been moved from 1735 to the eve of the Revolutionary War. Mother Leeds is a young woman rather than middle aged, and she has far less children. Also, the cast of characters has grown, to include many more players and their machinations.
Ultimately, my goal is not to replace the folklore. Actually, I have no illusions of such grandeur. There is no way my story could ever supplant centuries of tradition. Nor would I want that to happen. Rather, I hope The Leeds Devil will add yet another facet to the legend. It is my humble addition to the rich tapestry of existing lore.
This telling is my contribution to the continuing renewal and renown of a legend I love immensely. I hope it will inspire similar adoration for the Jersey Devil in those that read it.
References:
For anyone interested in learning more about Jersey Devil lore, here are some good resources:
https://weirdnj.com/stories/jersey-devil/
https://www.amazon.com/Jersey-Devil-James-F-McCloy/dp/0912608056
https://www.amazon.com/Phantom-Pines-Tales-Jersey-Devil/dp/0912608951
https://www.amazon.com/Secret-History-Jersey-Devil-Hucksters/dp/1421424894
Series Description:
On the eve of the Revolutionary War, demonic forces are at work in the forested heart of the New Jersey Colony...
Deborah Leeds is a dutiful wife and a mayor's daughter-in-law, dwelling between the deep, dark woods and the merciless expanse of the Atlantic ocean. Her skills as a healer, and her ambition, lead some to call her a witch...
But the young woman has more to fear than superstition. Deborah becomes the unwitting center of a diabolic plot born of revenge and fueled by Satanic power...
Deborah's struggle to protect herself, her family, and the land she loves will give birth to the colony's most enduring and infamous legend...The Leeds Devil.
Warning: this series contains adult content.
Category/Genre(s): Horror, Historical FictionUpdated: Monthly
Status: Inactive
Author Bio For Anthony Simeone:
Anthony Simeone lives and writes in the shadow of the great city of Philadelphia. In addition to crafting fiction, he also speaks and blogs about the fields of positive psychology and heroism science. When he's not putting fingers to keyboard, Anthony spends his time with family and friends, or in the nearest forested area, or with his nose in a book. Sometimes all at once.
Acknowledgements:
This series is dedicated to my sister Angie, who passed her love of Jersey Devil lore to me. Angie conducted a lot of research into New Jersey's infamous native cryptid over the years, with the intention of someday writing a novel about the legendary creature. I was honored when she declared I should be her collaborator in the telling of the tale.
Yet we all know how life can interfere with the most beloved plans. Angie and I went about our lives, and the novel lingered on the proverbial backburner. But I couldn't let the ideas, creativity, and excitement instilled in me by my sister languish forever. Like all nascent stories, this one clawed at the back of my mind for years, demanding to be told.
As they say, better late then never. I've dug out the many dusty pages of notes and photocopies of books Angie painstakingly created. I continue to check in with her for advice and input. It's time to exorcise the Jersey Devil from our minds, and unleash it upon an unsuspecting world once more!
Notes:
The Leeds Devil is a version of the Jersey Devil's origin story. As a lifelong resident of southern New Jersey, I grew up steeped in the lore of the creature that haunts the fabled Pine Barrens, a unique ecosystem that covers 1.1 million acres. To those who live outside the state, such a massive area of forest may seem anomalous.
Despite its designation as "The Garden State," non-residents tend to consider New Jersey to be a land dominated by urban and suburban sprawl. In some ways, they are right; much of the state is covered by human development. But the Pine Barrens remain, a mysterious green heart alive with strange, stunted pines and a wealth of other plant and animal biodiversity.
The Pinelands contain not only natural wonders; they have also inspired generations of folk tales that have coalesced into a rich local mythology. In addition to the Jersey Devil, the Barrens are the home of ghostly beings like the Black Dog, the White Stag, and the Golden-Haired Girl. Captain Kidd is said to have buried treasure there.
As I said, this series is just one version of a tale that has many variations. The most prevalent version is that of Mother Leeds being the eternally exhausted mother of 12 children. When she finds that she is pregnant for a 13th time, she cries out "let this one be a devil!" Now, some say her declaration was due to the fact she was a witch. But most consider her words born of the soul-numbing predicament that was her prodigious Colonial-era family!
What follows is well-known to all New Jersey dwellers: Mother Leeds gives birth to what, at first, seems to be a normal baby boy. But then - before the eyes of Mrs. Leeds, her horrified husband and children, and usually an unfortunate midwife - the newborn metamorphosed into a beast with a horse's face, the horns and legs and hooves of a goat, the wings of a bat, and the barbed tail of the Devil himself! In some tellings, the creature consumes the onlookers before flying up the chimney (that version is usually more popular around campfires, of course).
Readers of The Leeds Devil will see many deviations from the most popular version. The date has been moved from 1735 to the eve of the Revolutionary War. Mother Leeds is a young woman rather than middle aged, and she has far less children. Also, the cast of characters has grown, to include many more players and their machinations.
Ultimately, my goal is not to replace the folklore. Actually, I have no illusions of such grandeur. There is no way my story could ever supplant centuries of tradition. Nor would I want that to happen. Rather, I hope The Leeds Devil will add yet another facet to the legend. It is my humble addition to the rich tapestry of existing lore.
This telling is my contribution to the continuing renewal and renown of a legend I love immensely. I hope it will inspire similar adoration for the Jersey Devil in those that read it.
References:
For anyone interested in learning more about Jersey Devil lore, here are some good resources:
https://weirdnj.com/stories/jersey-devil/
https://www.amazon.com/Jersey-Devil-James-F-McCloy/dp/0912608056
https://www.amazon.com/Phantom-Pines-Tales-Jersey-Devil/dp/0912608951
https://www.amazon.com/Secret-History-Jersey-Devil-Hucksters/dp/1421424894