Eighteen witnesses confirm the sighting. Thirteen did not slow down. The Department of Cryptid Affairs has issued a statement that does not address the sighting.

PLEASANTVILLE, NJ — A large winged entity consistent with the documented profile of the Jersey Devil was observed perched on the Route 322 overpass above the Atlantic City Expressway on Wednesday at approximately 5:47 p.m., during the height of the evening commute. The entity remained stationary for an estimated eleven minutes before departing in a direction witnesses described as ‘up and then sort of left.’ Traffic delays were described by the New Jersey Department of Transportation as minor and unrelated to the entity. The Department of Transportation did not elaborate on what they were related to.

Eighteen motorists filed formal observation reports with WTC. Of those, fourteen described the encounter as unremarkable in the context of the Atlantic City Expressway specifically. Three described it as ‘mid.’ One witness, a retired contractor from Egg Harbor Township who asked to be identified only as Dennis, called it ‘honestly kind of impressive’ and said he had pulled over briefly to take a photograph. The photograph shows the overpass. Dennis says the entity is in it. WTC’s imaging team is reviewing the photograph. The review is ongoing.

Community Notice

I’ve seen a man eating a full rotisserie chicken with his bare hands at sixty-five miles per hour on this road. The Devil at least had the decency to stop moving.

— Maureen Sz., witness, Absecon NJ

The Pleasantville overpass, Wednesday, 5:47 p.m. The entity is described as having been ‘very still about the whole thing.’ Image: Dennis, Egg Harbor Township.

Physical Description: Consistent With Prior Documentation

Witnesses consistently described the entity as approximately seven feet tall when crouching, with a wingspan estimated between twelve and fifteen feet in the folded position, a horse skull in place of a conventional head, and two red eyes described variously as glowing, ‘backlit,’ and ‘very focused.’ Network cryptid biologist Dr. Amelia Cross confirmed that the physical profile is consistent with a mature Jersey Devil specimen in what she characterised as a resting-observation posture. ‘The positioning on the overpass rail is actually quite efficient from a thermoregulation standpoint,’ Dr. Cross noted in a statement provided to WTC. ‘The concrete retains heat from the day. It was probably comfortable up there.’ Dr. Cross said the glowing red eyes are a documented feature and are not, in her professional assessment, a cause for alarm. She did not specify what they are a cause for.

The Department of Cryptid Affairs issued a statement at 7:14 p.m. Wednesday, approximately eighty-seven minutes after the entity had left the area. The statement confirmed that the DCA was ‘aware of reports of an elevated winged presence in the greater Atlantic County corridor’ and advised residents to ‘exercise standard encounter protocols as outlined in Publication DCA-44B, Revised.’ When reached for clarification, DCA spokesperson Arthur Pritchard confirmed that Publication DCA-44B, Revised, is currently in the process of being updated and that the previous version ‘should be used with discretion.’ He described the current situation as ‘well within manageable parameters,’ which WTC notes he said from an office in Trenton.

The entity did not interact with traffic. It observed traffic. There is a distinction, and we would encourage the public to remain aware of it.

— Arthur Pritchard, DCA Spokesperson

Historical Context: The Devil Has Done This Before

Paranormal historian Professor Leonard Finch noted in a brief telephone interview that overpass-based observation behaviour is not without precedent. ‘There are records from 1909 — the year of the great modern sighting wave — of the Jersey Devil perching on elevated structures and watching road traffic, which at the time meant horse carts,’ Professor Finch said. ‘The behaviour has simply scaled with infrastructure.’ He added that a remarkably similar event was documented in 1437 involving a stone bridge outside Gloucester, England, which he acknowledged was ‘almost certainly a different entity but methodologically consistent.’ Professor Finch said he found the Wednesday sighting ‘very tidy, as these things go.’ He has submitted a preliminary paper. The journal has not yet confirmed receipt.

The Atlantic City Expressway has been the subject of eleven separate WTC field reports since 2017, covering incidents including but not limited to: an unexplained rest stop that does not appear on state highway maps, a mile-marker that moves, and a toll booth operator who has not blinked on camera in three separate broadcast interactions. The DCA classifies the Expressway as a Category Two Ambient Anomaly Zone, which WTC is told means that unusual activity is noted but does not require individual incident response. Wednesday’s sighting has been logged. The log will be reviewed. A timeline for that review has not been provided. The entity, for its part, has not been seen since departing the overpass. It is considered to still be in New Jersey. This is, authorities note, consistent with its historical pattern. Authorities continue to urge caution.