![]() ![]() Daniel Leeds became one of the first men to begin publishing books and almanacs in the New World colonies. The first generation of the Leeds family settled in the South-Western part of New Jersey in the 1600s. Credit: Wikimedia Commons The Real Leeds Family Were Nothing Like The Legend So, where did this story actually come from? And how much, if any truth, is behind it? Japhet Leeds house, where the New Jersey devil was supposedly born. Even to this day, there are people who believe that the legend is real. But the weirdest part of the story is that there have been actual witnesses who claimed to have seen the Jersey Devil for hundreds of years. Leeds seems to be the victim of a witch hunt from neighbors who were jealous that she never had to experience any of her kids dying. While this clearly sounds like an old folktale, and Mrs. The baby flew into the fireplace and went out the chimney to live in the forest. The devil screeched, attacking the midwife, and killing her. It had the wings of a bat, the face of a horse, hooves, and horns. Right before their eyes, it transformed into a beast. At first, the child seemed as though it was a perfectly healthy normal baby, but that quickly changed. Finally, her bouncing baby boy was delivered, and the family gathered to see the child. It was a dark and stormy night in 1735, and Jane Leeds was screaming out in frustration that this baby may as well be a demon. But all magic comes at a price, because on unlucky number thirteen, there were complications with the pregnancy. ![]() Rumors began to spread that Jane Leeds had sold her soul to Satan in exchange for all of those children. At the time, it was extremely rare for a couple to have so many kids that actually survived. The Leeds family was blessed with twelve children. If it’s scary in modern times, one can only imagine what it was like living there hundreds of years ago. Even though it is close to Philadelphia, the forest may as well be thousands of miles from civilization. Cell phone reception is blocked, and one wrong step could lead to being lost in the woods forever. Even today, being in the Pine Barrens can feel like becoming a character in a horror movie. The price was 5 Euros and you can check the opening hours on the Visit Kaunas website.In the Southern part of New Jersey, there is a huge 1,700-mile forest called The Pine Barrens. I saw a bus stop outside for the hop-on, hop-off tour for those unable to walk for too long. I found the city extremely walkable so did not look into other transport options. The centre of Kaunas is quite small so it’s very easy to walk to the Museum from other sights. Visiting the Devil’s Museum On the wall are paintings of the devil in all four seasons. ![]() There are paintings in the stairwell and also in the galleries, along with things like devil masks. The majority of the collection is comprised of sculptures, but there are also quite a few in other formats. It was particularly interesting to read about some of the legends from around the world. There are English translations of the signs and some come with accompanying stories about the devils. The top floor focused mostly on devils from around the world which I really enjoyed. The devils are spread out over three floors with the first floor showing the original collection. The Devil Collection Some of the sculptures of the Devil It started out quite small, but visitors are welcome to bring donations which has led to the collection growing substantially. The museum, also known as Žmuidzinavičius Museum, after the founder, contains over 3000 devil sculptures. Still, that just gives me an excellent reason to go back! Unfortunately I didn’t have a good camera at the time so the photos aren’t very good! I only have a few so apologies about the poor quality. When I heard about this museum, I was very glad I didn’t miss it! I was originally planning to just head straight to Vilnius but decided to explore a little first. I love visiting museums, especially more unique ones, and so I had to include a visit to the Devil’s Museum in Kaunas. ![]()
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