Urban Legends You Heard Growing Up in South Jersey

Let's just start bringing out the big guns. The Jersey Devil is the king of urban legends in New Jersey. There is none greater. Growing up every kid was told of the Jersey Devil. Some terrified, some like me were fascinated. I still wish he was real. The origins of New Jersey's favorite monster varies, but the most popular says he was the 13th child of the Leeds family. His mother cursed him before he was born. He was a face of a horse, bat wings, hooves, a tail, and horns.

Who doesn't like a a good mob story? Flashes of scenes from The Godfather come to mind. Which is funny because I've never actually seen any of those movies, only little parts here and there when it's on TV. The Spanish Mansion, now in ruin, makes its home in Pinewald. Rumors of Al Capone running illegal liquor sales out of the home makes this house infamous. However, the truth is much less glamorous and not exactly a for sure story. The house was once occupied by B.W. Sangor a friend of Harry Donenfeld, who had ties to the mob in NYC and did run liquor during Prohibition. Could this house have been used by the two friends to run an illegal liquor business? Possibly.

Gotta love a good ghost story. This one dons from the Flanders Hotel in Ocean City. Emily, the ghost's name, seems to be quite like Casper. She is a pleasant and friendly ghost, dressed in a white dress, long brown hair, and barefoot. She wanders the halls singing, laughing, and disappearing into walls. There is a portrait of Emily in the hotel by Tony Troy. Along side the painting is Emily's story. The hotel named a restaurant after her called Emily's Restaurant. Needless to say she is more than welcome there.

Egg Harbor Township Police Station is home to a mystery that doesn't look like it will ever be solved. A headstone made its home at the station, with origins unknown. The tombstone was most likely found at an old farm, but the grave it belong to was never found. The tombstone has the name Mattie Brown engraved upon it with a birth and death date from the 1800's. No family has been found and no record of a Mattie Brown living in EHT exists.

This story came from Heather over the phone. There is a single grave near the Egg Harbor City Lake of Sibbel Shaler. According to Heather, if you take the road around the lake you'll find the grave. She also said that Sibbel haunts the lake.

I hear mystery spot and I think of the show Supernatural's episode called Mystery Spot. Anyway... This spot at Double Trouble State Park has had its fair share of stories surrounding it. Reports of trees bent down in a circle, with none of the trees breaking have been made. Of course this stirring up rumors of a UFO crash. People have also said phone batteries drain, camera don't work, and compasses go out of wack when you're in the area. According to one site, if you want to find the mystery spot go to 39°52'57.1"N 74°11'56.0"W.