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The Jersey Devil in the Pine Barrens New Jersey

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Enter into centuries-old folklore of the legendary Jersey Devil from the Pine Barrens in New Jersey. Uncover its sinister past, how it has been remembered, and why so many theories persist today.

The New Jersey Pine Barrens, also known as the Pinelands or simply the Pines, is a place in New Jersey in the USA. The place is shrouded in mystery and steeped in more than one legend, the most famous one being that of the Jersey Devil who has been a source of fascination for centuries. 

Dating back to the 18th century New Jersey folktale, the Jersey Devil has inspired a multitude of theories — some plausible, and some outlandish. Learn more about this legendary creature and its continued cultural significance today.

The Origins of the Jersey Devil

According to local legend, the Jersey Devil, sometimes known as the Leeds Devil, often described as a flying biped with hooves. The Jersey Devil was born in 1735 in Estellville, New Jersey. The story goes that a woman named Deborah Leeds, known as Mother Leeds gave birth to a child cursed with the form of a dragon or other fantastical beast. 

She already had twelve children, and when she found out she was pregnant with the 13th one, she cursed the child in her womb, calling the child the devil himself. Mother Leeds gave birth on a stormy night, and the child was born as a monster. 

In some variations of the legend, Mother Leeds was a witch herself and the father of the Jersey Devil was the Devil himself. 

The Jersey Devil: Here are several depictions of the creature known as the Jersey Devil or the Devil of Leeds throughout the years.

The creature soon escaped and began terrorizing the locals, swooping down from the sky and stealing farm animals, destroying crops, and even reportedly attacking some people. To this day, it remains an enduring element of local folklore — as well as a source of mystery and enchantment for many.

Sightings and Reports Throughout History

Since its first sighting in 1735, the Jersey Devil has been reported to have been seen in various forms and places in and around New Jersey. Before the 1900s, it was mostly referred to as the Leeds Devil or the Devil of Leeds, either because of the family name of Leeds or because of the New Jersey town called Leeds Point. 

Sightings of the legendary creature have been reported throughout the centuries, most often as a winged demonic creature that walks on two legs and is able to fly. According to these sightings, it was blamed for killing many livestocks, and even Napoleon Bonaparte was said to have seen the Jersey Devil when he was out hunting in 1820.  

Reports of its presence grew after a wave of sightings occurred near Camden between 1909 and 1910, leading to widespread newspaper coverage when the Jersey Devil allegedly attacked a trolley cart as well as livestock and the police themselves supposedly opened fire at the creature. 

People reported footprints in the snow looking like the Jersey Devil as far as Delaware and Maryland. According to the writer Gordon Stein in his book Encyclopedia of Hoaxes, a man came forward as the culprit behind the mysterious footprints. 

Nevertheless, there were organized manhunts and in the woods and people were advised to stay in their homes. Although these reports tapered off over time, tales of its exploits continue to be told among local residents today.

The Blue Hole

But where does the Jersey Devil really live? The Pine Barrens is a large area, but there is one particular place that is talked about more than others. In the middle of a dense forest there is a lake with a very unusual color that is often connected to the Jersey Devil called the Blue Hole.

As well as being a popular party spot, it also contains countless legends. For instance it is supposedly bottomless with powerful currents. In real life the Blue Hole really has some cold spots, but the legend tells that the water is freezing cold all year-round. It is around these parts that the Jersey Devil is most active.  

Modern Theories and Beliefs About the Jersey Devil.

There are various theories and beliefs about the Jersey Devil that have been held throughout history. These range from mythological explanations such as the creature being the Thirteenth Child of Mother Leeds to more scientific concepts like a rare species of mammal surviving in an area where it is not known to exist. 

More down to earth explanations have also been put forward saying the Jersey Devil is nothing more than the figment of imagination that came from the fear of the isolated place the Pine Barrens was at the time. It was considered dangerous and inhospitable with highwayman, fugitives, and outcasts like poor farmers, Native Americans and runaway slaves. 

Some people believe that the Jersey Devil is actually an alien or interdimensional being, while others speculate that it may be a form of cryptid capable of shape-shifting. Regardless, speculation and legends surrounding the Jersey Devil continue to this day.

Captain Kidd

One of the other legends from the Pine Barrens is that of Captain Kidd. His real name was William Kidd and was a Scottish sea captain who turned into a pirate. He was executed in London in 1701 for both murder as well as piracy. 

According to legend he buried a treasure that has yet to be found. It is not only in the Pine Barrens, but also in Nova Scotia, Connecticut and Long Island that have legends and myths about there being buried treasure around those parts. 

According to legend from Pine Barrens though it is around Barnegat Bay that CAptain Kidd is haunting as a ghost, often reported about being a headless ghost. 

Captain Kidd is often seen in company with the Jersey Devil himself, walking along the beach. 

The Black Doctor of the Pines

The ghost of the Black Doctor is said to be the spirit of a man known as James Still. Still was said to be forbidden from practicing medicine due to his race, and he went to the Pine Barrens to practice medicine in the isolated communities of the Barrens. 

There he studied medicine from textbooks and according to some legends, learned herbal medicine from the Native Amercans as well. 

How he died is still debated. Some say the locals in the Pine Barrens tells the story of how he was lynched when they found out he practised medicine. 

Others tell the story about how he was a hero in the isolated community and died of a heart attack, which is the true story of how James Still died. 

He is said to be a helping ghost and is said to still come to the aid of lost or injured travelers in the Pine Barrens woods. 

The Girl With the Golden Hair

Another ghost that haunts these parts is said to be a woman dressed in white found by the seaside, staring out into the sea as she is still mourning her lover she lost out there. 

Her ghost stories are often mixed with the Jersey Devil as well, as he is said to sit next to her. 

The White Stag

Something less menacing than the Jersey Devil is the spirit of a white deer that is said to show up when lost travelers need aid in the Pine Barrens. It is also said that the spirit is a warning of danger ahead. 

This comes after a story where a stagecoach nearly fell into the Batsto River. The coaches reached Quaker Bridge and the horses refused to move and go over it. When the driver investigated further, he saw the white stag on the road before it disappeared before his eyes. 

A closer inspection showed that the bridge was destroyed and since then it is said to mean good luck if you ever spot it. 

The Black Dog

Another animal spirit around these parts is that of the Black Dog. Most often, seeing a Black Dog is a bad omen in European mythology, but in this instance, it is a good luck charm. It roams on the beaches and forests from Absecon Island to Barnegat Bay and is considered a harmless spirit. 

It is said to be the ghost of a dog that was on board a ship that was attacked by pirates on Absecon Island. They killed the crew on the ship and among the killed were the cabin boy as well as hin trusted black dog. 

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The Story that Inspired The Hound of the Baskervilles

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Did you know that the famous Arthur Conan Doyle book about Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles was based on a true legend? The legend about the evil Squire Richard Cabell and his hounds are still haunting the moors in Devon.

When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stayed at the Duchy Hotel he heard the story of the evil Squire Richard Cabell that lived in the 1600s around those parts in Devon. This led him to write his famous story: The Hound of the Baskervilles which is the third of the four crime novels written by him about detective Sherlock Holmes. This installment of the detective turned out to be one of the most liked and popular book of Sherlock Holmes.

  • The Hound of the Baskervilles is not the only book that based itself on a true legend. Read here about how a shipwreck in Whitby inspired parts of Dracula in the MoonMausoleum.

The Legend of Richard Cabell

The legend tells of the local Squire that lived in the village of Buckfastleigh in Devon, England with a lot of rumors surrounding him. Richard Cabell lived for the hunt and was notorious for his pack of black hounds that were said to be extremely vicious, as the owner himself. 

Sherlock Holmes: Illustration to The Hound of the Baskervilles.

He is though to be the inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyle to the character of Hugo Baskerville in The Hound of the Baskervilles and is remembered by Devon as: “the first of his family to be hounded to death when he hunted an innocent maiden over the moor by night”.

There are many rumours about him as a person and perhaps not all true. Not only did Richard Cabell have a legend about him having sold his soul to the Devil for immortality, but there was also rumours that he murdered his wife, Elizabeth Fowell as the locals wouldn’t put it past him knowing he was an extremely vicious man. 

It is said he accused her of adultery and she tried to flee from him by running away. She was recaptured though and brought back were he murdered her with his hunting knife. This rumoured is to be believed if we ignore the fact that his wife outlived him by 14 years.

In any case if he did or didn’t kill his wife or it was mostly rumours that came from his unpopular political believes, he was described as a monstrous man and he only cared about hunting with his hounds and the other locals shied away from him and his hounds. After he died he was remembered as: Dirty Dick, feared as well as hated by the locals. 

Haunting Hell Hounds

Hell Hounds: Illustration of the black hound in The Hound of the Baskervilles.

On the 5th of July in 1677, Richard Cabell died, but it was not the last the people of Dartmoor saw of him according to the legend. The night of his burial a pack of black hounds like he used to own and hunt with was seen on the moor, howling at his tomb. 

From that night, they were often seen together, the phantom hounds and his ghost, mostly on the anniversary of his death. He would be seen leading the hounds back across the moor. 

“It came with the wind through the silence of the night, a long, deep mutter, then a rising howl, and then the sad moan in which it died away. Again and again it sounded, the whole air throbbing with it, strident, wild and menacing.”
― Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Devon Yeth Hound

In Devon folklore, it is often included a fearsome dog known as the Yeth hound and black hounds or Hell Hounds are often found in European Doom Mythology and used as the base of the mystery in The Hound of the Baskervilles.

The Malcanis Guarding the Fortress

In Akershus Fortress in Oslo, Norway, there are rumours about something strange haunting the former castle. There is a legend of a ghost of a dog haunting the place, called the Malcanis, or Evil Dog as it means.

This is one of the reasons why seeing someone with big black dogs could look so scary for people from Devon. The legend of the Yeth Hound is said to be a headless dog, often thought to be the spirit of an unbaptised child. The black hound that roams through the woods and over the moors at night making wailing noises much like the hounds of Richard Cabell or the mysterious hound we meet in The Hound of the Baskervilles.

To get peace from his ghost, the villagers built a large building on top of Richard Cabell’s tomb to stop him from getting out. It looks almost like a small prison with iron bars. This seems like a dramatic thing to do just because of some rumours.

Even with these measures, people have reported of strange stuff happening around the building as well from the inside. 

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The viking ghosts which still haunt this bloody corner of Devon and 11 other spooky legends you have never heard of

Richard Cabell – Wikipedia

https://web.archive.org/web/20150923184203/http://www.bfronline.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=103&Itemid=9

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Loftus Hall – Ireland’s most haunted

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Loftus Hall is said to be one of Ireland’s most haunted mansions. It is thought that the place is haunted by one of the daughters that had an encounter with the devil himself in disguise and never recovered from the shock after she found out the truth.

A magnificent and stately manor to look at is Loftus Hall, one of Ireland’s finer ones of the Hook peninsula of County Wexford. This area is a famous site in Irish history, known as the place “where Ireland was lost and won”. The coastline offers a beach a day for a fortnight and is one of the special attractions of this area. Pretty fishing villages and bird watching on the mudflats of Bannow Estuary.

Read More: Have a look at all of our ghost stories from Ireland.

A little aside from the shore, from the village and from people, a Hall stands. Weathered, sure, but still in all its glory a moldy, ancient place inhabits. It stands alone in the austere and rather bleak landscape. But a dark legends hangs over the old house, and it has done so, for quite some time. Rumors about the devil that roams the ground as well as the ghost of a woman haunting the place.

A Windy Place: The Loftus Hall has been withstanding the test of times, even in a weathered place like it was built on the coast of Ireland.

The Loftus Hall was built in the 1350’s, also known for being the time of the Black Death Plague, taking the lives of so many in Ireland. It was built by the Redmond family to replace their castle. Back then it was known as Redmond Hall.

The Loftus Hall has always attracted the eyes of the darker and more sinister stories, especially since the legends started to cross the sea that lies so dark and rough just ahead. It even featured as the plays were they shot the horror movie, The Lodgers.

Read the movie review:

The Lodgers

The Lodgers from 2017 is an Irish Gothic horror film by David Turpin and Brian O’Malley. It stars Charlotte Vega, Bill Milner and Eugene Simon. If you like eerily dark and hauntingly beautiful movies like The Others or newer one like Crimson Peak, The Lodgers will be an obvious next escape to a haunted house…

The Legend Behind Loftus Hall

In the mid 1700s, Charles Tottenham became Lord of the manor by marrying Anne Loftus. They had six children, one of their daughters, was also called Anne and this is her story. About her and the devil himself that knocked on her door and entered her heart.

Inside Loftus Hall: The movie, The Lodgers is worth watching just to catch glimpse of the interior of the Loftus Hall inside the three-storey, 22-bedroom Palladian mansion.

According to the legend, on a dark and stormy night, a mysterious stranger came to the house on horseback. He went straight to the hall, asking for shelter, claiming that his ship ran ashore in the rough sea. The Tottenham family, who lived there at the time, invited the strange in.

The young daughter, Lady Anne Tottenham met this stranger, and instantly took a liking to him. And he to her. And soon they became very close. In some accounts, they even became lovers.

Whatever they were he stayed for a while and no one really noticed anything strange about the stranger before one fateful evening.

On one particular evening, she played cards with the mysterious visitor in one of the rooms of Loftus Hall. In the game, each player received 3 cards apart from Anne who was only dealt 2 by the mystery man. A butler serving the Tottenham family at the table was just about to question the man when Anne bent down to pick another card from the floor which she must have been dropped.

She bent over to pick them up and that is when she saw it under the table. The man had no feet of that of a man. They were cloven hooves, like a beast and she understood he had to be Beelzebub, the devil himself.

Read more: Check out more ghost stories were the devil himself made an appearance like The Jersey Devil in the Pine Barrens New Jersey or Baron Falkenberg that were Cursed to Sail the Sea for 600 Years.

Anne screamed at the sight of the man she thought she knew. As soon as the man noticed Anne’s look on her face, he knew that he’s been found out and disappeared from the mansion in most extra way possible by shooting himself through the roof of the halls, in a ball of flames.

The Ghost Haunting Loftus Hall

Anne herself never recovered after this traumatic incident and went into some sort of shock people say that she never got out of.

Haunting the Manor: It is said that Anne is still haunting the place.//Source: Loftus Hall Facebook

Some say her family was so ashamed of her and her unladylike behaviour that they locked her away in her favorite room, called the tapestry room. She didn’t want anything to eat or drink after the shock, only staring out her window, across the sea to where Dunmore east is today.

What she was thinking about differs from who you ask. Some say that she was waiting for her mysterious stranger to return, even though she knew who he was. Others say she locked herself in the room, wanting to feel safe from the devil who had invaded her safe space, her home and her heart unknowingly.

Read More: Check out more mansions and castles believed to be haunted from all over the world.

No matter what the reason was and what happened that night at Loftus Hall we will probably never know for sure. What we do know is that Anne died in the very room in 1775. She died sitting and when she died, they could not straighten her body out, and she had to be buried in the same sitting position she died in.

After her death many talked about the place becoming haunted. Some claims she stills walks the corridors in her ghostly form, still in shock after her encounter with the devil, unable to move on, or perhaps even scared for where she would end up.

The Paranormal Reports

Now, that is one hell of a story. And a pretty crazy one at that. But the reports of strange encounters and supposed evidence of the paranormal still keeps coming, even after all this time.

Loftus Hall was after the devil incident the owners of the manor had an exorcism by Father Thomas Broaders whose powers is said to have worked and the evil that lingered went away. Father Broarders went on to become Parish Priest of the parishes of the Hook and Ramsgrange for almost 50 years.

Even the original building was almost leveled to the ground, and the manor we see today is the one they rebuilt in 1865 to 1875 were it went through extensive renovations.

But even though it is said that the exorcism worked, reports about strange paranormal activity has been reported a lot. And a lot more since it was opened to the public in 2012. And this is why some say that Loftus Hall is Ireland’s most haunted place in Ireland.

There are stuff though, that are without a question just very creepy. Like when during a renovation of the house years later in recent times, the skeleton of an infant was discovered in the walls. What the story behind this could be, only the dead knows.

One of the supposed evidence of paranormal happenings in the manor comes from a nice summer of 2014, when Thomas Beavis made a trip to the scenic place to do some sightseeing. When he looked through his pictures from his holiday after he came home he was shocked.

Picture of a ghost: This is the viral photo of the alleged ghost a visitor took when visiting Loftus Hall in 2014. What do we think? Could it be the ghost of Anne who has been rumoured to haunt the place ever since her death?

In the background there is a ghostly outline, most likely of a young girl or woman, looking out the windows of the hall. Could it just be a reflection of the tourist walking outside? Or could it be something more eerie. Could it be Anne who is said to haunt Loftus Hall?

Throughout the years, the hall has been a lot. A castle, a convent, a school and under attack from foreign invaders. Today it remains as a tourist attraction. A dark one at that, embracing its history and people travelling from all over the world to take part in paranormal investigations following Ghost Adventures with Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin and Nick Groff. But know, in the summer of 2020, the Hall will once again close its doors for visitors. And the answers we seek will maybe never be answered.

As of 2023, Loftus Hall is still closed down and not open to the public as it is renovated.

The Haunted House filmed: A Youtube snippet about the house and the hauntings that is rumored to be going on inside of the Loftus Hall.

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Sources:

  1. https://www.irishpost.com/news/netflix-horror-film-the-lodgers-159185
  2. https://www.loftushall.ie/about/
  3. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/haunted-loftus-hall-to-be-laid-to-rest-gdtkv05mh
  4. https://allthatsinteresting.com/loftus-hall
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5 Songs About the Devil

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Some of them uses him more of a muse of exploring the dark sides of humanity. Some use him just for financially gain, like Jack Black himself said when saying: “Satan sells tickets.” Some have gone even further, dabbling in the occult or being straight believing in Satan and worshiping. This is mostly harmless, but then again, churches have definitely burnt down in the name of Satan.

Satan was something of a multi-instrumentalist himself, because as well as playing the fiddle, Ezekiel 28:13 states that he had his own instruments built into his very being. So perhaps not that strange that many musicians find him alluring as a character.

The Deamon Lover

This is a famous Scottish ballad about a man (usually the Devil) returns to his former lover after a very long absence, and finds her with a husband and a baby. He entices her to leave both behind and come with him, luring her with many ships laden with treasure. It can be traced back to the 1700.

Lyrics

Well met, well met, my own true love
Well met, well met, cried he
I’ve just returned from the salt, salt sea
And it’s all for the sake of thee

I’ve come for the vows that you promised me
To be my partner in life
She said my vows you must forgive
For now I’m a wedded wife

Yes I have married a house carpenter
To him I’ve born two fine sons
For it’s seven long years since you sailed to the west
And I took you for dead and gone

If I was to leave my husband dear
And my two babies also
Just what have you to take me to
If with you I should now go

I have seven ships out upon the sea
And the eighth one that brought me to land
With four and twenty bold mariners
And music on every hand

It was then she went to her two little babes
She kissed them on cheek and on chin
Saying fare thee well my sweet little ones
I’ll never see you again

They had not sailed much more than a week
I know that it was not three
When altered grew his countinence
And a raging came over the sea

When they reached the shore again
On the far side of the sea
It was there she spied his cloven hoof
And wept most bitterly

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Me and the Devil Blues

One of the most famous Made-A-Pact-With-The-Devil stories must be Robert Johnson, that made a deal for some crazy guitar skills. In the crossroad of highway 61 and 49 intersect a legend was born. In 1930 it is alleged he went out to make a Faustian pact with the devil to be the greatest guitar player. In any case, talent he got. When he died he was only 27 and it is said he was poisoned by the devil. The legend goes he heard the howling of the hell hounds, coming for him when the devil claimed him as his own.

Lyrics

Early this mornin’
When you knocked upon my door
Early this mornin’, ooh
When you knocked upon my door
And I said, “Hello, Satan,”
I believe it’s time to go.”

Me and the Devil
Was walkin’ side by side
Me and the Devil, ooh
Was walkin’ side by side
And I’m goin’ to beat my woman
Until I get satisfied

She say you don’t see why
That you will dog me ’round

Now, babe, you know you ain’t doin’ me right, don’cha

She say you don’t see why, ooh
That you will dog me ’round
It must-a be that old evil spirit
So deep down in the ground

You may bury my body
Down by the highway side

Baby, I don’t care where you bury my body when I’m dead and gone

You may bury my body, ooh
Down by the highway side
So my old evil spirit
Can catch a Greyhound bus and ride

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Sympathy For The Devil

The Rolling’s stones is perhaps not remembered as a satanic rock band, but once upon the time, they kind of were. Mostly Mick Jagger was the one interested in occult books like Taoist Secret Of The Golden Flower. And in 1969 sympathy for the devil came out. There were also claims that the Church Of Satan used the song as an anthem. Hey, it was the late 60s!

Lyrics

Lyrics:
Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
I’ve been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man’s soul and faith

I was ’round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my game

I stuck around St. Petersberg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the Czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank
Held a general’s rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
What’s puzzling you is the nature of my game, oh yeah

I watched with glee as your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the Gods they made
I shouted out
“Who killed the Kennedys?”
When after all
It was you and me

Let me please introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
And I lay traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reach Bombay

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what’s puzzling you is the nature of my game, oh yeah
Well, get down, hit it

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
But what’s confusin’ you is just the nature of my game

Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails just call me Lucifer
‘Cause I’m in need of some restraint

So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I’ll lay your soul to waste, mmm yeah
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, mmm yeah
But what’s puzzling you is the nature of my game

The Devil Went Down to Georgia

Released in 1979, the song was the most successful one for the band Charlie Daniels Band. It is a pretty upbeat song, but with a more sinister lyric. Inspired by a poem the song deals with the deal with the devil motif. The song begins as a disappointed Devil arrives in Georgia, apparently “way behind” on stealing souls, when he comes upon a fiddle-playing young man named Johnny.

Lyrics

The devil went down to Georgia
He was lookin’ for a soul to steal
He was in a bind
‘Cause he was way behind
And he was willin’ to make a deal
When he came across this young man
Sawin’ on a fiddle and playin’ it hot
And the devil jumped up on a hickory stump
And said, “boy, let me tell you what”
“I guess you didn’t know it
But I’m a fiddle player too
And if you’d care to take a dare, I’ll make a bet with you
Now you play a pretty good fiddle, boy
But give the devil his due
I’ll bet a fiddle of gold
Against your soul
‘Cause I think I’m better than you.”
The boy said, “my name’s Johnny
And it

The devil went down to Georgia
He was lookin’ for a soul to steal
He was in a bind
‘Cause he was way behind
And he was willin’ to make a dealWhen he came across this young man
Sawin’ on a fiddle and playin’ it hot
And the devil jumped up on a hickory stump
And said, “boy, let me tell you what””I guess you didn’t know it
But I’m a fiddle player too
And if you’d care to take a dare, I’ll make a bet with youNow you play a pretty good fiddle, boy
But give the devil his due
I’ll bet a fiddle of gold
Against your soul
‘Cause I think I’m better than you.”The boy said, “my name’s Johnny
And it might be a sin
But I’ll take your bet, you’re gonna regret
‘Cause I’m the best there’s ever been.”Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard
‘Cause Hell’s broke loose in Georgia, and the devil deals the cards
And if you win, you get this shiny fiddle made of gold
But if you lose, the devil gets your soulThe devil opened up his case
And he said, “I’ll start this show.”
And fire flew from his fingertips
As he rosined up his bowAnd he pulled the bow across the strings
And it made an evil hiss
Then a band of demons joined in
And it sounded something like thisWhen the devil finished
Johnny said, “well, you’re pretty good, ol’ son
But sit down in that chair right there
And let me show you how it’s done.””Fire on the Mountain” run boys, run
The devil’s in the House of the Rising Sun
Chicken in a bread pan pickin’ out dough
Granny, does your dog bite? No, child, noThe devil bowed his head
Because he knew that he’d been beat
And he laid that golden fiddle
On the ground at Johnny’s feetJohnny said, “Devil, just come on back
If you ever wanna try again
I done told you once you son of a bitch
I’m the best that’s ever been.”He played “Fire on the Mountain” run boys, run
The devil’s in the House of the Rising Sun
The chicken in a bread pan pickin’ out dough
Granny, will your dog bite? No child, no

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Houses Of The Holy

Songs like this made people talk aboud Led Zeppelin being a Satanic Band. Jimmy Page himself was extremly occupied of exploring the occult, attending séances, collected occult artefacts. He also bought a house in Loch Ness. Page once said that mixing in Satanic influences was like an “alchemical process”.

Lyrics

Let me take you to the movies
Can I take you to the show
Let me be yours ever truly
Can I make your garden grow

From the houses of the holy, we can watch the white doves go
From the door comes satan’s daughter, and it only goes to show, you know

There’s an angel on my shoulder, in my hand a sword of gold
Let me wander in your garden and the seeds of love I’ll sow you know

So the world is spinning faster are you dizzy when you’re stoned
Let the music be your master will you heed the master’s call
Oh Satan and man

Said there ain’t no use in crying ’cause it will only, only drive you mad
Does it hurt to hear them lying?
Was this the only world you had? oh oh

So let me take you, take you to the movie
Can I take you, baby, to the show
Why don’t you let me be yours ever truly
Can I make your garden grow, you know

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How the TV-series Penny Dreadful is Influenced by Old Literature

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In honor of the new spin-off series, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (2020), we took a nostalgic look back to the awesome Showtime series that started it all. RIP Original series, you were cancelled all too soon.


Penny Dreadful is a British-American horror drama television series created for Showtime and Sky by John Logan. It ran for three seasons from 2014-2016.

Iconic Vanessa Ives (Eva Green).
An original character and
also some of the most well crafted ones.

Penny Dreadful is an old term used during the nineteenth century to refer to cheap popular serial literature. Sort of like pulp fiction. It was also called penny blood, penny awful, or penny horrible. It means a story published in weekly parts, with the cost of one (old) penny. The main plot of these stories were typically sensational, focusing on the adventures of detectives, criminals, or supernatural entities.

This is exactly what Penny Dreadful was, and what it payed homage to. So we found some old stuff the series borrowed or was inspired by. And there is A LOT. So get your cigarette on a stick and let’s go on some vampiric monster hunt with out pals.

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Frankenstein

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel written by English author Mary Shelley (1797–1851) that tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a hideous sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. 

Harry Treadaway played Victor Frankenstein, an arrogant, reclusive young doctor whose ambition and research involve transcending the barrier between life and death. In this show, Dr. Victor Frankenstein likes to quote the romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley’s second wife was Mary Shelley.

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Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a Gothic and philosophical novel by Oscar Wilde, first published complete in the July 1890 issue of Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. Fearing the story was indecent, the magazine’s editor deleted roughly five hundred words before publication without Wilde’s knowledge. It is Wilde’s only novel.

In the series he was played by Reeve Carney. A charismatic man who is ageless and immortal. And this Dorian Gray had a great, but utterly confusing story line. Where his purpose in the show was to throw great balls and parties and have sex with absolutely every character.

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Frankenstein’s bride

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, Victor Frankenstein is tempted by his monster’s proposal to create a female creature so that the monster can have a wife: “Shall each man,” cried he, “find a wife for his bosom, and each beast have his mate, and I be alone?”

In Penny Dreadful, the bride of Frankenstein is Brona Croft (portrayed by Billie Piper), an Irish immigrant with a dark past who dies of tuberculosis at the end of Season 1. In season 2, she is brought back to life with no memory after Frankenstein’s monster demands a bride and given the new name “Lily Frankenstein” by Victor. That last scene of her speech will haunt television forever.

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The creature

Often called John Clare. He was a labour poet in the mid 1800’s England. But if it is a reference to the creature is unclear. What is clear though is that the creature often is called Caliban as well, a character from Shakespear’s The tempes. Half human, half monster. In some traditions he is depicted as a wild man, or a deformed man, or a beast man, or sometimes a mix of fish and man, a dwarf or even a tortoise. Another connection from the creature to penny dreadful is Dorian Gray. In the preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde muses: “The nineteenth century dislike of Realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass. The nineteenth century dislike of Romanticism is the rage of Caliban not seeing his own face in a glass.”

In the series he was played with Rory Kinnear, and had long storylines without many of the characters, alone.

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Dracula

Dracula is an 1897 Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. Dracula was a big influence from the start. From Mina being taken by him, the chase after Dracula and several character that appears in the series. Van Helsing included. But the series managed to make a twist of it all, and the influence of Dracula is almost as if just a eerily familiar setting and feeling of the series. He did however show up in series three in the flesh. Christian Camargo as Dracula, the brother of Lucifer who fell to Earth to feed on the blood of the living as the first vampire. In London, he takes the guise of kindly zoologist Alexander Sweet to captivate Vanessa.

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John Seward

In season 3 of TV series Penny Dreadful, Patti LuPone portrays Dr. Florence Seward, a female version of the character. It is originally a character from Dracula, a doctor in the insane asylum, He calls in his mentor, Abraham Van Helsing, to help him with her illness, and he helps Seward to realize that Lucy has been bitten by a vampire and is doomed to become one herself. He was in love with her and proposed to her, but was rejected. After she is officially destroyed and her soul can go to heaven, Seward is determined to destroy Dracula.

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886. It is about a London legal practitioner named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde.

Dr. Jekyll (Shazad Latif) as a former classmate of Dr. Frankenstein’s.

Varney the vampire

Abraham Van Helsing gives a copy of Varney the Vampire to Victor Frankenstein, explaining that the story is more truth than fiction and that the mysterious creature the series’ characters are pursuing is a vampire.

Justine

Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue is a 1791 novel by Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, better known as the Marquis de Sade. Justine is set just before the French Revolution in France and tells the story of a young girl who goes under the name of Thérèse. Her story is recounted to Madame de Lorsagne while defending herself for her crimes, en route to punishment and death.

In Penny Dreadful she is the a homeless, brutalized young prostitute who becomes an acolyte to Lily played by Jessica Barden. In an interview with John Logan from the show, he also said the relationship between Justine and Lily was inspired by th Novella Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu

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Wolfman

Larry Talbot was the main character in the movie series the Wolfman from 1941 and onward. There are sequels, reboots and several other medias tied into this franchise. He has his own interaction with all the Penny Dreadful characters from Dracula, Frankenstein and so on in his own franchise as well.

In the TV series Penny Dreadful, Ethan Chandler’s real name is revealed to be Ethan Lawrence Talbot, and he suffers from the curse of lycanthropy. This version of the character is played by Josh Hartnett.

Hecate

Hecate Poole is the witch played by Sarah Greene and is Evelyn Pool’s eldest daughter. She is the witch who pursues Ethan Chandler in seasons two and three. She shares her name with the ancient Greek goddess of witchcraft and the moon. Like Ethan’s relationship with the moon and her witchcraft ability as a Nightcomer witch.

The unquiet grave

“The Unquiet Grave” is an English folk song in which a young man mourns his dead love too hard and prevents her from obtaining peace. It is thought to date from 1400. It is heard in the mansion of the Nightcomer witches.

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