Another Thursday expedition may have finally proven successful! That's right, we found a possible foundation of the birth house of the Jersey Devil. After gathering all the information we could from our last few trips, we had plotted out a general area that one of the possible house foundations could be located. (Keep in mind, there are several supposed birthplaces of the Jersey Devil.)

We arrived at Leeds Point at around 11am, set up for the trip, and went into the heart of the dark woods. Shawn sat as base communicator while Mike, Jim, and I went into the field. We had been hiking for a short while when we came across a very old fence - probably 50-60 years old. We decided to follow that fence down as far as we could. While following the fence, we were checking to our sides at all times. It was only about a half hour later that Jim spotted a small mound of raised dirt and a clearing behind it. We immediately began clearing brush and headed in that direction. And what an amazing discovery! There, right in front of us, was a giant ditch. The hole was filled with bricks and stone. Some of the bricks we found were buried under the ground. The entire ditch looked as though it had been dug out.

We traveled off to the right and found a road - one that we had been down many times. If you've ever seen the documentary "Mother Leeds' Thirteenth Child", you would remember that they said the house is just a small ways in from the road, and completely invisible to any drivers. Well, there we were, standing at the edge of the road, looking back in, and they were right - there's no way you could see that from the road.

We found many bricks filling this hole, and also found some interesting things such as old dishes and tools made of some form of rusted metal.

Jim is the one who deserves the credit for the discovery, Mike and I identified it, and the entire group is 99% positive that this is indeed where a house once stood. In the surrounding area, there are some very old trees surrounded by some much younger trees, indicating that the area could have been cleared to act as a "backyard" to any residents. There is evidence of old trails which have been covered over throughout time. The entire area has a peaceful yet eerie atmosphere...

Of course, a Jersey Devil expedition wouldn't be complete without its share of mysterious occurances. While we were out there, we heard a variety of strange noises. Sometimes the noises would move as if coming from all around us. We heard a strange hissing noise at one point. After discovering the house, we heard a series of strange growls - almost as though it was a recording of thunder being played in the middle, not with a booming start and fading ending but with the sound remaining strong throughout the entire time we heard it. Occasionally we heard trees snapping and creaking off in the distance...

And of course, who can forget the footprints? We found tracks of some animal, like a hoof with toes, with the heel of the foot deeply imprinted and the toes imprinting on a much lesser depth. These tracks randomly appeared throughout the woods.

Well, that's our story for Hunt #5. Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected]. Want to join us? Click here for the online application!