We had been contacted by the local cable access show History Hunters for an upcoming episode on the Jersey Devil. So, we decided to give them the most fitting tour for any Jersey Devil fan - Leeds Point. Bel, Charley, Kevin Brown and I all met up with the crew at our favorite meeting spot, JD's Pub. There we discussed the upcoming events, and of course went over the group's rules. The crew seemed ready and eager to go.

Our first destination was, of course, the house foundation. We took them out through the woods and showed them what remains of the Shourds house. (And yes, I meant Shourds, not Shrouds.) Basically, once again we discovered that the house is falling apart and it's only a matter of time before the whole thing is nothing more than a pile of wood and stone. It's getting more and more depressing every time we see it. We also took them on the trails in the area to show them some of the most fitting Jersey Devil settings in the state. (There is this one area of a trail where it looks like the Jersey Devil could come out of the water at any minute. I love it!)

The action out there was a little dead, but they seemed to appreciate the organization of our hunts. All angles were covered at all times, we were always watching and listening for things. After the tour of the foundation, we took them to some of our other favorite hot spots in the Leeds Point area. We headed over to the docks to show them where we'd found our bird victims on Hunt #14. At this point, the sun had set and they seemed to be taking in the eerieness of the area. We were pretty isolated out there, and there were very few noises coming from the woods around us (which meant every little noise was pretty audible).

We also decided to head out to some of our other possible house foundations (since of course this legend has many possible birthsites) deep into the heart of the Pine Barrens. Now, if you've been reading this website, you know that we're pretty familiar with these locations, but here and there we encounter some trouble finding the exact location. Once again, this happened. We were able to find the spots with ease, however somehow we lost track of our way out and ended up going in the wrong direction for a little while. I think the crew started to get a little worried. In retrospect, it's kind of funny... Meanwhile, I was hoping that they hadn't lost faith in our abilities, but lo and behold, Charley came to the rescue and managed to lead us down a path that he had been familiar with and eventually we found the main road. Crisis averted!

While attempting to make our way through the woods and trails to get to the other house foundation site, we encountered our first visitor - a car that was travelling down the dirt road. Well, being that we are not supposed to be where we were, I told the group to get into the woods and get down as low as possible so that we are out of the driver's visual range. The group is used to this, of course, as it has happened to us many times. The film crew, however, must not have been used to this. They scrambled into the woods and then hit the ground - literally - to get out of sight. I must say, their reaction times were great and their ability to take direction was wonderful! They could have a good career in the Devil Hunters... After the car passed, we could feel their excitement. You've got to admit, it is kind of fun to be hiding in the middle of the woods on a cold December night!

We wrapped up filming at the cemetery and talked for a little while with the crew. We all agree, these were good people. We definitely enjoyed this film shoot, and I'm sure that this crew will not falsely portray us on their show. They were a good bunch, and I think we gave them a bit of a good time as well!

So, although the Jersey Devil activity on this hunt was weak, it was still a good tour of the town and hopefully the public will get to see it soon. For more information about the show, you can visit their website at www.historyhunters.tv.

I would like to thank the History Hunters crew for use of the photographs (to the right).

Well, that's our story for Hunt #26. Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected]. Want to join us? Click here for the online application!