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Eluder of Death–

The Jersey Devil was thought to have been shot on four occasions, burned to death, drenched with a fire hose, flashed by military charge, hit by rocks, electrified by rail lines, exorcised, and struck by numerous cars. Each time it is thought to be dead, it returns. We wouldn’t expect something to die from each of these things, but certainly some of them would force the creature onto the other side.

The first report of the creature being shot was by Stephen Decatur while testing cannon balls at the iron works in Hanover. The iron ball supposedly passed through its wing but it kept flying. In West Collingswood it was once sighted on a roof. Two men proceeded to contact the fire department and the creature was sprayed and knocked onto the ground where tormenters threw rocks. On another occasion, it chased a man up a pegged telephone pole where his friend fired a shot at the creature, breaking a wing and it fell to the ground then uttered “hideous screams”. An unproven tale from Greenwich Township says a farmer shot and killed it after it had slaughtered his chickens. In Clayton, it walked across a rail-line and there was a large explosion which melted a portion of the tracks; it was thought to have been electrocuted to death. It’s been hit by car in Staten Island, Ramsey, and other locations. In 1957 outside of Chatsworth, a charred carcass of an unidentifiable animal was found by a forest service crew. Just as the times before, the Jersey Devil was thought to have been killed but it soon returned. I may have more information on the Chatsworth incident soon.

There is something very interesting about these incidents that the casual enthusiast may overlook, and here you will find some examples. When it was hit with the fire hose, it was pushed back. When it was shot by revolver, its wing showed injury and it fell to the ground. With the railway incident, it was able to close the electrical circuit when its tail fell across the tracks. When it was hit by car, it collapsed. The fact that the creature is able to be subjected to physical injury almost completely allows us to discredit the Shapeshifter and Supernatural theory.