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The Jersey Devil   Credits   Gallery   Transcript   Background Information    TXF-S1-Logo

"The Jersey Devil" is the fifth episode of the first season of The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on October 8, 1993. It was written by series creator Chris Carter and was directed by Joe Napolitano. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-week" story, independent of the series' mythology arc.

Synopsis[]

The murder of a homeless man which is very similar in detail to a murder committed in 1947 leads Mulder and Scully to the legendary man-beast, the Jersey Devil

Summary[]

The Jersey Devil 1947 Murder

The New Jersey Police Department discover the father, whose leg has been "eaten off."

In New Jersey in 1947, a man, his wife and their children are out for a drive one night when they experience a flat tire. When the man gets out to fix it, he is dragged away by an unseen creature while his family watches and screams in terror. That morning, the local police search for the man who was taken and find his body deep in the woods with his leg "eaten off." One of the officers calls the rest of the team to follow him up a hill and to the entrance of a cave, which the officer supposedly saw the creature run into. As the team waits at the entrance to the cave, one of the officers says the creature is running towards them; the team then open fire on the creature with their firearms.

The Jersey Devil Mulder and Scully Examine Crockett

Mulder and Scully examining the body of Roger Crockett.

In the present day, Scully tells Mulder of a similar case involving a homeless man, Roger Crockett, that occurred in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Mulder believes it to be the work of the infamous Jersey Devil, but Scully dismisses it as a tale. The two travel to the Atlantic City Morgue and examine the body of Roger Crockett. During their examination, Detective Thomas Thompson expresses his dislike of having the FBI involved with this case and asks Mulder and Scully to leave as the local police department has jurisdiction over the situation.

Mulder is undaunted while Scully realizes there is not a very big case here. She tells Mulder she would like to go to her godson's birthday party. Mulder gives her the keys to their car, while Mulder stays to search for the Jersey Devil. While searching in the woods, Mulder speaks with Park Ranger Peter Brullet who tells him stories of why he believes in the Jersey Devil. After the small search in the woods, Mulder travels to a certain part of town that is populated by homeless people, to ask if anyone knew Roger Crockett.

The Jersey Devil Creature on Roof

A female Jersey Devil on a rooftop, escaping from Mulder.

A man who was one of the homeless people living in the area leads Mulder to the place where he sleeps. The homeless man shows Mulder a sketched picture of the creature that was inside Crockett's jacket pocket before his death. To have a better chance of finding the Jersey Devil, Mulder gives the keys of his motel to the homeless man in exchange for his sleeping place. During the night, Mulder witnesses an ape-like creature descend on the dumpsters in the alley he is in. Mulder chases the creature until it gets to high building where Mulder cannot follow. Before he can get a good glimpse at the creature, the police show up and cart Mulder away. In jail, Mulder and Detective Tomson get into an argument on why the detective was keeping the existence of the creature secret, which was because of the fear of losing tourists. Mulder calls Scully from a jail cell, asking her to prove to the authorities that he is, in fact, a federal agent. As the two agents leave the jailhouse, Scully asks Mulder if he managed to "panhandle some change."

The pair consult an anthropologist, Dr. Diamond, to whom Mulder describes what he saw. Dr. Diamond believes it is man's "missing link," a creature that is the go-between of apes and humans. When asked where the creature would be on the food chain, the doctor ominously replies that the being would be near humans.

Later that evening, Mulder gets a call from Park Ranger Peter Brullet saying that he found a male body in the woods that appeared to be there for 6-8 months that may be the Jersey Devil. Scully is on a date with Rob, the father of one of the kids from her godson's party when Mulder calls to update her with a new theory: what if the creature he saw was a beast woman and the body found by the Ranger was her mate? When Scully joins Mulder, Dr. Diamond, and Park Ranger Peter Brullet at the Atlantic City coroner, the body of the man found in the woods is gone with no record of it ever being there.

The Jersey Devil Mulder and Creature

Mulder looking at the female Jersey Devil before she attacks him.

Then, later that week, the agents, Dr. Diamond, and Ranger Brullet search for the creature in an abandoned warehouse near the site of the homeless abductions, when Detective Thompson arrives with a SWAT team. While searching, Mulder and Scully notice an open window and realize the creature was here and is now on the run. Mulder pursues the creature first and chases it to a smaller warehouse, where the creature pounces on Mulder and knocks him to the ground. While Mulder is on the floor, the creature has a chance to kill him, but Mulder notices that the creature is no longer fighting against him and is instead backing away from Mulder. As Mulder stands up to get a better look at the creature, it strikes him on the head before Scully arrives and the creature escapes. The anthropologist and ranger in tow, the FBI agents realize it is a female, possibly looking to feed her offspring. However, the woman flees to the woods, wounded after an encounter with the Atlantic City SWAT team.

The Jersey Devil Mulder with dead Creature

Mulder examining the dead female Jersey Devil.

With the primitive woman now injured and scared, the police, Mulder and Scully track her to her den, where she puts up a last stand before she is killed. After her death, the anthropologist remarks she may have had children. Mulder examines the dead female body and asks Tomson his reason for killing her. Tomson replies by comparing his act to killing a rabid animal.

One week later, Mulder is still disappointed that the woman has died. He realizes she was only trying to protect her offspring and only killed those who were a threat to her and her children. Mulder decides to go to the Smithsonian for free time to relax after the incident with the Jersey Devil and Scully decides to go with him, after denying another date with Rob.

The Jersey Devil Offspring

An offspring of the Jersey Devil secretly watches a boy and his father.

While a boy and his father are hiking in the woods, the boy asks his father about a small object he thought he saw and the father replies that he doesn't know what they saw, but starts telling the son a story about the Jersey Devil as they walk on. As they are walking away, a female child of the Jersey Devil appears, listening to the pair and watches them walk away in the woods.

References[]

Gateway Galaxy Motel

Cast[]

Main Cast

Guest Starring

Co-Starring

Featuring

Uncredited

External Links[]


Episode Navigation[]

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