The first of a week of hundreds of alleged sightings of the Jersey Devil is reported in local newspapers in New Jersey in 1909. For the next seven days, alleged sightings of the legendary creature take place across the state. What was later considered to be mass hysteria prompted school closings, people staying home from work and the Philadelphia Zoo allegedly offering a $10,000 reward for capture of the creature.
This Day in Halloween: The first in a week of alleged sightings of the Jersey Devil is reported in local newspapers in New Jersey in 1909. / Illustration by Dexter Urias