When the Devil Went Down to Trenton
Written By Robert Schenker
Local History Librarian
In January of 1909, Trenton was alive with shouts and screams as residents came face to face with something neither superstition nor rational thought could explain: a winged creature out of myth, which seemed to appear out of nowhere. It carved a frightful path across the city before disappearing forever, leaving behind only the stories of those who claimed to witness it—and survived to tell the tale. Here are their accounts. As to the truth of them? I leave that for you to decide.
William Cromley was driving his buggy home through the crisp morning air after a long night as the doorkeeper for the Trent Theatre. Suddenly, his horse shrieked, panicked, and began to kick and rear. Cromley leapt down from his seat to see what had driven the poor creature mad—when his eyes met “a sight that froze the blood in his veins and caused his hair to stand up.” Its face was like that of a German Shepherd, and its size not far off—but the thing was a mass of fur and feathers. Its eyes glowed like two sparkling embers, glowering at him. It hissed and spread its wings before vanishing into the sky, gone as quickly as it had arrived.
While Cromley was still shaking his head, Trenton City Councilman E.P. Weeden was suddenly jolted awake in bed by the sound of something trying to force its way through his front door. In a panic, he flung open his bedroom window. Hearing the loud flapping of wings, he could only make out the impression of cloven hoofprints left on his snow-covered roof—matching those later found at the site of the Trenton Arsenal.
Mrs. William Batten of Center Street fared no better with the mysterious creature. After discovering similar hoofprints on her windowsills and near her front door, she barricaded herself inside and swore to neighbors that she would not leave her home until the devil was gone for good. As the panic grew, trolleys operating in Trenton were said to have armed their drivers—though whether for actual protection or merely to ease the fears of the public, we may never know.
Later that month, Mrs. Batten must have felt some relief upon hearing news out of Clayton, New Jersey, where it was reported that William Wasso, a track-walker for the electric railway, had personally witnessed the demise of the now-infamous Jersey Devil. One day, while walking alongside the tracks as usual, he came across the creature nearly 300 feet ahead, standing on the rails and sniffing at them. He watched as its slimy tail made contact with the third rail, instantly triggering a violent explosion that “melted the track for twenty feet in all directions.” When the dust settled, there was no trace of the creature remaining. Confidently, Wasso concluded that the Jersey Devil was no more.
Oh, how wrong he was—but that is a tale for another day.
Source:
McCloy, J. F., & Miller, R. (2016). The Jersey Devil. Blue River Press.
If you’re interested in learning more about our state’s most famous cryptid, stop by the Trentoniana Local History Department and check out The Jersey Devil by James F. McCloy and Ray Miller Jr.—the source for this little retelling and one of the best resources on the time the Devil came down to Trenton.
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