FOR generations, cryptid hunters have searched New Jersey for a local legend that inspired the state’s hockey team mascot.

The discovery and capture of the mythic Jersey Devil could make someone rich, but author and Pine Barrens native Paul Evans Pedersen is begging curious captors to let it be.

The legend of the Jersey Devil originates from a haunting tale told to children living in 18th-century colonial America.

It’s foretold that in 1735, Deborah Leeds, known as Mother Leeds, fell pregnant with her 13th child.

A poor resident in what would be modern-day South New Jersey, Leeds cursed her unborn baby and mourned her impoverished life.

Her pregnancy continued, until a dark stormy night when she started laboring.

What happens next is debated, with some saying a monster tore out of her body and shimmied up the chimney, into the wild.

Others believe Mother Leeds gave birth to a human baby that twisted and transformed into a sick creature thanks to its unloving mother’s curse.

Either way, the description of the monster is eerily consistent.

According to local legend, the Jersey Devil is a goat-like creature with the leathery wings of a wyvern and the haunches of a horse.

It has a bone-chilling shriek and can defy its massive size by hopping from tree to tree in the Pine Barrens.

While stories and sightings of the creature have peppered the last few centuries, capturing physical proof of its existence has been a challenge.

Read Related Also: New: Biden WH Digs Even Deeper Hole With Latest Excuse for Unacceptable Non-Answer on Antisemitism

Pedersen, a singer and author of The Legendary Pine Barrens, said the mystery has inspired jaw-dropped rewards with one town offering up to $250,000 at one point.

In an exclusive conversation with The U.S. Sun, he said that the Philadelphia Zoo has a documented reward of $10,000.

Though the money sounds tempting, Pedersen urged people to consider what might happen after the Jersey Devil’s capture.

“I don’t know that that’s why people are looking for it,” he said.

“From what I understand, it’s never killed anybody. So, I think people would be disappointed if somebody finally catches it.

“That’s what I hope doesn’t happen, that somebody catches it, if it exists, and tries to put it in a zoo or a cage.”

WILD THEORIES

There are several explanations for why the story of the Jersey Devil spread like wildfire throughout the region.

Some believe that during the prohibition era, moonshiners would tell of the devil to scare people into staying away from their stills.

Known in the 1700s as the Pineys, moonshiners were among a crew of outcasts who sparked many legends back in the day as citizens were scared of stumbling upon a criminal living in the woods.

Some believe people in the town would create rumors about the poachers, fugitives, and runaway slaves to keep women and children from straying too far away.

Today, the fear still lives in some people like Pedersen who lives dangerously close to the mythic beast’s homeland.

“People are genuinely scared of the Jersey Devil,” he said.

“They don’t want to take the chance of even getting to where it’s supposed to live, let alone see it.

“It’ll scare you. You are afraid for your life.”