Halloween time is always a good occasion to look at the legend of the Jersey Devil, the mythical creature that has been a part of New Jersey folklore for more than 250 years.

This enduring story has its origins in the early 1700s in the Pine Barrens of South Jersey which are a huge, forested area of the state that still exist). There are many stories of the Jersey Devil and at least a couple of hundred sightings of the creature over the decades, and there's quite a bit of variety in its physical appearance. It usually is shown as having a long neck and bat-like wings, looking somewhat like a pterodactyl, the prehistoric flying dinosaur, though with longer legs.

I've always like the description (and the creepy-looking illustrations) offered by Weird NJ, a publication (and now a Web site) that has for years explored the odd and bizarre in the state of NJ.

According to the Weird NJ version, the legend began with a pregnant woman who, "on learning of her thirteenth child’s forthcoming, she raised her hands to the heavens and proclaimed “Let this one be a devil!”"

Although I've lived in New Jersey for many years, I've never seen the Jersey Devil. In fact, I've never really been close to the Pine Barrens. I'm not sure if the Devil has a habit of haunting the urban and suburban areas of North Jersey.

And in case you're wondering... yes, the New Jersey Devils hockey team adopted its name in honor of the state's most famous non-human resident.