As I was looking over the lectures I noticed that Lecture 2 was about "The Jersey Devil" which is something Ive always been curious about. After going through the slides this lecture specifically reminded me of a show I watched called "Ghost Hunters" as well as the show "Ghost Adventures" which is all about people encountering paranormal activity and a belief that there are ghost haunting certain houses or places. First off, there are many similarities in both these shows and in The Jersey Devil. The Jersey Devil consists of reports from over 300 years ago and was witnessed by many people where odd things would happen in the state of New Jersey and people would automatically assume it had to be the Jersey Devil. this was the same for the show in which there was numerous reports of ghost in buildings from certain noises or acts like a door shut without someone touching it. Both things that are reported in The Jersey Devil are the same things that are reported in these shows. This included some apparent rare sightings, odd noises and more importantly the belief that what caused this paranormal activity was what people wanted it to be. More importantly no real evidence in ether situation whether it be on video or a picture.
While there was no actual proof of sightings of ghost in the shows as well as no proof that the Jersey Devil was actually committing these problems it is said in both that their answer is the only answer for why this could be happening. In both claims from the shows and tale of the Jersey Devil the paranormal activity continues to be reported as well as people keep investigating looking for proof with no real results or actual proof. Its funny how the examples in both show and The Jersey Devil included the same paranormal activity like sensing a presence, hearing unexplained noises or partly seeing something. Although there continues to be a belief and or investigation for these possibilities people always end up unable to provide convincing real evidence and proof for the existence of the Jersey Devil or ghost in the shows. To add, with all this knowledge at hand there is still a poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University which consists of 44% of New Jersey residents consider ghost to be somewhat or very likely to be real. To make things more interesting the same place Fairleigh Dickinson University has a poll that states 16% of New Jersey residents believe that the Jersey Devil is real. As well as 18% believe its not very likely but possible it could be real.
Posts
I think that it's really interesting that 16% of NJ residents truly believe in the Jersey Devil. That's definitely higher than I was expecting. Considering how inconsistent and vague the 'evidence' is, I'm surprised that everyone has a different depiction of what it looks like and how it behaves. While I've never been one to believe in the paranormal, I think the Jersey Devil has kind of worked its way into the 'Jersey Identity'. It's a fun thing for the community to share stories about, sell merchandise for, name a hockey team after, etc. I actually recently learned that my microbiology professor whose lab I work in here at Stockton is a direct descendant of the family from which the Jersey Devil was supposedly born.
ReplyDeleteWhat really stood out to me in your reflection was your point about belief shaping what people think they experience. Whether it’s ghosts in an abandoned house or a strange sound in the Pine Barrens, people often interpret it through the lens of what they already believe or want to believe. That psychological aspect — the power of suggestion, confirmation bias, and pattern recognition — reminds me of the concept of pareidolia, where people perceive patterns such as faces or figures in random things.
ReplyDelete