Bigfoot’s in the ‘Burbs

Posted by: Nick Redfern on July 26th, 2012

Bigfoot in the New Jersey Burbs is a new book from William Taylor that has just been published, and for which there’s an extensive blurb that reads as follows:

“Anyway, one of my friends, about two years older than I, absolutely REF– USED to go in the woods there. We’d romp around the pines everywhere and anywhere else, but he just wouldn’t go in that part of the forest. This is even when we were older teens. See, he claimed that years prior he has seen … something in those woods. A big, hairy man, face covered in hair, standing slouched in the woods staring at him.” – Near Lakehurst, New Jersey – 1980s.

Bigfoot shows up in some unexpected places. There are thousands of reports of encounters of Bigfoot type creatures in North America and the state of New Jersey has its share, with over 200 encounters reported in modern times. The Kittatinny Mountains and the Pine Barrens are two of the places in New Jersey where this unknown hominid has revealed itself most frequently, but sightings have also occurred in areas where one would least expect. Marlboro, Middletown, and Mahwah, are just three of the typically suburban New Jersey towns that have had more than one sighting in the relatively recent past.

The Big Red Eye, the Big Hairy Man, the Bag Man and the Jersey Devil are some of the commonly used names of the Bigfoot/Sasquatch type creatures that have been seen or heard in the woods, swamps and occasional backyards of the Garden State. Whatever name it goes by, reports in New Jersey of encounters with wild hairy men date back to the 19th century and have continued into the present. Reports alone do not prove the Big Red Eye is lurking in the swamps of Mahlon Dickerson Reservation in Morris County, or that the hairy, bi-pedal version of the Jersey Devil, is watching you change your tire, on a moonless night, from just inside the tree-line along Route 72. Something strange is creeping through the forests though, so on your next hike through Allaire State Park, when the birds stop chirping, the bugs stop buzzing, the hair on your arms stands-up, and you feel like you are being watched, consider the experiences of others in that area that are described in the book, and head straight back to the car, then bar.

Bigfoot in the New Jersey Burb’s compiles the more modern sightings and encounters with Bigfoot like entities in the state and offers guidance for where these creatures can be found.

We have broken the encounters into four broad sections, and examine historical and modern accounts in (1) North Jersey, (2) South Jersey, (3) Out of the Way Places and (4) a section we call The Turnpike. In each of the four major sections, we narrow down concentrations of sightings and encounters to General Areas of Interest, and then finally “Hot Spots”.

Bigfoot in the New Jersey ‘Burbs provides seasoned Bigfoot researchers, amateur “Squatch” enthusiasts and curious Jersey residents who think nothing fun ever happens in the state, with details of recent sightings and the reasons why these unknown two legged primates tend to be seen in specific areas.

The book contains twenty-two maps, recent rarely seen track photos; real accounts of Bigfoot sightings, advice and techniques that will help the reader maximize their chances of running into a Bigfoot “in our great but not completely paved over yet state.”

Nick Redfern About Nick Redfern
Punk music fan, Tennents Super and Carlsberg Special Brew beer fan, horror film fan, chocolate fan, like to wear black clothes, like to stay up late. Work as a writer.


3 Responses to “Bigfoot’s in the ‘Burbs”

  1. Garrus01 responds:

    Okay, hold a minute here. As a native Jerseyian, I can tell you our devil is NOT Bigfoot. Last time I checked, Bigfoot did not have wings, cloven hoofs, a tail and a horse’s head. Makes me a little leery of the book if they’re grouping Devil sightings as Sasquatch sightings. Having been IN the Pine Barrens though, I can’t deny that there’s ample room for something to hide in there, and that it doesn’t have to be the Jersey Devil-which is incredibly improbable from an anatomic standpoint. Lastly, I have to chuckle at the description of the state as not “Completely paved over yet”. That…is rather true, actually. I’m 23, and when I was ten the area around me was much more rural.

  2. DWA responds:

    I’ve spent more than enough time driving and paddling (and a bit of walking) in the Garden State to tell you that it’s far less paved over than even a lot of residents seem to think.

    Most people zipping along paved roads in the car automatically assume that all the land outside the windows is civilized.

    Spend more time looking out those windows.

  3. WTaylor responds:

    Garrus01-

    The book distinguishes sightings of Jersey Devil type creatures from those that look more like a Bigfoot. While the Pine Barrens is mostly known for the winged devil entity, there are many reports of the Bigfoot type entity. Presumably, people that have witnessed a Bigfoot over the years would naturally assume it was the devil of Pine Barrens lore. Weird screams heard from swamps and forested areas would also be attributed to the devil.

    In more modern times, there are probably more sightings of the Bigfoot type than the winged horse/kangaroo type, which actually makes more sense, since a giant monkey is more believable than a flying kangaroo.

    William Taylor
    Bigfoot in the New Jersey Burbs

Sorry. Comments have been closed.

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