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The Jersey Devil[1] once terrorized small towns in the New Jersey and New York area.

History[]

In 1735, the Jersey Devil erupted from a forge.[2] The smelting process of the forge gave it access to the physical plane. Since then it terrorized a fixed area, Pine Barrens in general.[3] In 1778, Commodore Stephen Decatur defeated the Jersey Devil by firing a cannonball straight into its stomach. It was left with a gaping hole at the left side of its grotesque body. The forge was shut down soon after but Decatur found a fragment of the Jersey Devil and had it forged into a sword.[4][5] Since then it was seen from time and time and became something of an urban legend to the public.

During the bicentennial celebration in Hanover, a town in southern New Jersey, the Extreme Ghostbusters were attacked 10 miles away by the Jersey Devil. It was attracted to Decatur's sword, which Roland Jackson was taking along to be authenticated for one of his professors.[6] The Hanover townspeople blamed the Ghostbusters for angering the entity and with Egon Spengler, Janine Melnitz, and Slimer stuck in traffic, the team was forced to fight the Jersey Devil by unconventional means. Old Ben, the curator of the Museum of Ironworks, aided them and revealed Hanover iron was made from the same forge as the devil.[7] Thus, the iron were their only weapon against it. Roland recovered a fragment of the Jersey Devil after their second encounter.

When the town demanded the Ghostbusters leave town, Kylie Griffin tried to lead the devil away with the sword. However, it outmaneuvered her and stole the artifact. It ate it, restored its missing body part, and became stronger than ever. The devil intensified its attacks and rusted entire buildings in one breath. Sheriff White believed the only thing left was follow the stories and appease it with the agitators, the Ghostbusters. Luckily, they broke free and returned to the Museum where Ben had three cannonballs ready. Roland came up with a plan to lure it back into the forge and melt it back to its original form. The townspeople had a change of heart and tried to fight back against the devil. Roland used the fragment from earlier to bait it into landing right in front of the forge. Eduardo Rivera then fired a cannonball into it. The momentum took it straight into the forge. It was smelted and dissipated. All objects rusted by the Jersey Devil were restored to normal.

Description[]

The Jersey Devil's general appearance is a large winged creature with two legs armed with prehensile toes to carry its prey. Its facial appearance is similar that of a bat, only more gruesome with tusks going inward like an insect's mandibles, and has iron hard rust-colored skin with a spiked hide on its back.

Personality[]

The Jersey Devil's personality is quite aggressive and hostile to those who gets near its territory. However, it's not sentient. It acts more like a predatory animal.

Classification[]

Based on Kylie's description, Egon concludes the Jersey Devil is a Class 3 Bio-Spheric Specter. It is a demonic lifeforce, inhabiting iron ores and other minerals.[8] The smelting process also produced residual ecto-matter in the other iron, and serves as its only physical weakness.[9]

Powers and Abilities[]

The creature has the capability to fly great distances for long periods of time despite its large semi-reptilian body frame. It also has the ability to reduce anything made of metal to rust just by breathing on it like a dragon. Additionally it is also shown to have the ability to reabsorb body parts just by eating a metal object that was made from its flesh. It ate the sword that repaired the hole on its side which made it even stronger. Its hide is so thick, bullets bounce off of it.

Trivia[]

  • In the first draft of "The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It", Old Ben mentioned the Jersey Devil appeared in the 1960s after explorers went looking for him in the mine. They were said to be killed.[10]
  • In the first draft of "The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It", the Jersey Devil's classification was a Class Three Petrological Specter.[11]
  • In the first draft of "The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It", the Jersey Devil's demise was more open-ended. Kylie speculated he might have been shoved back into his own dimension or had his energy dissipated.[12]
  • The online Spengler's Spirit Guide journal for the Jersey Devil lists the entity as a Class 5 Phantasm.[13][14]
  • The Jersey Devil makes a non-canon cameo on Ghostbusters Issue #9 Cover RI-B, Funny Books, Comics & Stuff
  • The Jersey Devil is asked about by Ray Stantz on page nine of Mars Attacks The Real Ghostbusters.
  • The Jersey Devil appears on the IDW Convention Variant Cover of Ghostbusters 35th Anniversary: Extreme Ghostbusters.

Appearances[]

Extreme Ghostbusters

References[]

  1. Sheriff White (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It (1997) (DVD ts. 03:31-03:35). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Sheriff White says: "After all these years... the Jersey Devil."
  2. Old Ben (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It (1997) (DVD ts. 06:30-06:45). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Ben says: "Old J.D. erupted out of this very forge over 200 years ago. Commodore Decatur stopped him from destroying the town with a cannonball in the gut. They shut down the forge not long after."
  3. Sheriff White (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It (1997) (DVD ts. 03:38-03:43). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Sheriff White says: "The demon. It's haunted the Pine Barrens for over 200 years. I gotta warn the town!"
  4. Old Ben (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It (1997) (DVD ts. 06:56-07:04). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Ben says: "Wow! This is the real one. Forged from the heart of the beast according to legends."
  5. Old Ben (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It (1997) (DVD ts. 10:03-10:10). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Ben says: "Decatur's cannonball actually ripped a chunk out of J.D.. He forged the demon fragment into this sword."
  6. Roland Jackson (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It (1997) (DVD ts. 00:26-00:34). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Roland says: "I'm getting it authenticated for my History professor. This sword may have belonged to Commodore Stephen Decatur, the American naval hero."
  7. Old Ben (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It (1997) (DVD ts. 08:46-08:53). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Ben says: "Hanover iron. This stuff came out of the forge around the same time as ol' J.D.. It's the only thing that can hurt him."
  8. Egon Spengler (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It (1997) (DVD ts. 10:33-10:39). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Egon says: "It sounds like you're dealing with a Class 3 Bio-Spheric Specter, a demonic life force inhabiting iron ore and other minerals."
  9. Egon Spengler (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It (1997) (DVD ts. 10:45-10:52). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Egon says: "I suspect the smelting process, which allowed the creature access to our world, may have also produced residual matter in the iron."
  10. Altbacker, Ernie and Krieg, James (1997). Extreme Ghostbusters "The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It" (First Draft April 14, 1997) (Script p. 14). Old Ben says: "Last time J.D. was this mad was when those explorers went looking for him in the mine in the 60's. Never came back."
  11. Altbacker, Ernie and Krieg, James (1997). Extreme Ghostbusters "The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It" (First Draft April 14, 1997) (Script p. 20). Egon says: "Well, it sounds to me like what you're most likely dealing with is a Class Three Petrological Specter."
  12. Altbacker, Ernie and Krieg, James (1997). Extreme Ghostbusters "The Jersey Devil Made Me Do It" (First Draft April 14, 1997) (Script p. 39). Kylie says: "But it's ecto-energy is dissipated, or it was shoved back into its own dimension."
  13. Spengler's Spirit Guide "The Jersey Devil" Page One
  14. Archived Version of Spengler's Spirit Guide "The Jersey Devil" Page One

Gallery[]

Primary Canon[]

Secondary Canon[]

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