The Legend of the New Jersey Devil comes to Life

With its share of creepy local legends and scary pirate stories, you’ll find fun, family-friendly haunted attractions in New Jersey. One of the more popular attractions provides the hair-raising opportunity to experience a virtual adventure of the infamous New Jersey Devil story. And you don’t have to wait until Halloween to feel like you are part of the spooky side of Atlantic City.

Open daily during the summer, and weekends from the fall through the winter, Haunted Tales in AC brings the legend of the New Jersey Devil to life, as well as haunting tales of real pirates who lived and died at the Jersey Shore.

The Jersey Devil Story

Once upon a time (in the 1730s), in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey (where Atlantic City is located), lived a wife and mother of 12 children. When pregnant with the 13th do you believe she cursed herself when she said something like, “This child will be the devil” or that the townspeople, who thought she was a witch, cursed her?

After all, it was a dark and stormy night when Mrs. Leeds was in labor, and there are varied reports that she gave birth to a child with birth defects, a hideous monster or a normal baby that changed into a creature with cloven hooves, red eyes, bat wings, a forked tail and a blood curdling scream. According to legend, it moved quickly, killed the midwife and flew out the chimney.

Although the “demon” was supposedly exorcized by clergy, it was “seen” more than a century later. In the 1890s through 1909, hundreds of sightings and encounters claimed that an unknown animal or monster with red eyes – attributed to be the Jersey Devil – trampled crops, killed livestock and attacked a trolley car. Even today, the Jersey Devil Story continues to excite and entertain as part of the pop culture of Atlantic City.

Since 2008, the locally owned and operated Haunted Tales of Atlantic City treats visitors with 4-D tricks: The Haunted Theater comes to life with special effects that increase in intensity as the stories unfold, and if you’re brave enough, the Double Coffin Simulation Ride allows you to experience being buried alive. Treat yourself. This may not the biggest scare of the Halloween season, but it is one of the most thrilling and unforgettable haunted attractions in New Jersey.