For other spooky fun, see this week’s cover story with Eric Tschachler and his paranormal research organization, Collectus Obscurium, at left.
Old City Hall in Bordentown presents a Friday the 13th “Jersey Devil Homecoming,” at 7 p.m., 13 Crosswicks Street, Bordentown.
The Halloween season program features a night with William Sprouse, a journalist, historian, and a descendent of the family that birthed New Jersey’s most famous monster.
The Jersey Devil legend starts in 1735 when state colonist Jane Leeds gave birth to a “cursed” 13th child that turned into a winged creature that continues to haunt the state.
Sprouse is a direct descendent of the Leeds family.
A trained historian, he began his research on his family and the devil for his thesis at Yale University. He then used the material to create the book “The Domestic History of the Jersey Devil.”
The wit-spiced account weaves together the facts and fiction that shaped the myth, family lore, interviews with “Jersey Devil experts,” and on the scene reporting from the wilds of New Jersey — including a southern New Jersey WaWa parking lot.
Sprouse’s program will include digital images, a book presentation and signing, and questions from the audience.
The program moderator is Dan Aubrey, a Bordentown-based reporter and a U.S. 1 Newspaper editor who has written on the Jersey Devil.
Adding to the significance of an event about the 13th devil child held on Friday the 13 is the program’s “homecoming” location.
Bordentown has several links to the Jersey Devil. Prominent city resident and former king Joseph Bonaparte reported encountering it in the woods, the devil visited the city during its infamous 1907 weeklong reign of terror, and one account argues the devil was born in the historic city.
The event is a project of the Old City Hall Restoration Cultural Vision Sub-Committee, a volunteer group that offers an assortment of free and ticketed community events to strengthen the visibility of the late 19th century building that served as the city’s police department, courthouse, and municipal offices from 1888 to 1960.
The “Jersey Devil Homecoming” is set for Friday, October 13, 7 p.m., Old City Hall, 13 Crosswicks Street, Bordentown. Donation request admission. www.facebook.com/OldCityHallRestoration.
