The Case | In Brief
Severed researches, discusses, and humorizes some of New Jersey's urban legends in three categories: Dare to Drive, Dine with Death, and Bedeviled.
Dare to Drive explores the infamy surrounding Clinton Road, located in West Milford, NJ. A dark and relatively desolate stretch of two-lane road, intercutting forest, lakes, and reservoirs. Clinton Road has been featured in film and several TV episodes. Shades of Death Road is also discussed, as it is located in Warren County, NJ, and boasts a shady past that includes thieves, wildcats, and proximity to other alleged haunted hotspots in Jenny Jump State Park.
Dine with Death highlights two ghostly inns: The Cranbury Inn located in historic, Cranbury, NJ, and The Old Canal Inn located in Nutley, NJ. Harry Chambers and Drew Hudson lunch at The Old Canal and interview the bartender, Ali, and co-owner, Mark Conca, about recent and longstanding paranormal activity in the kitchen, bar area, basement, and jukebox.
Bedeviled retells the legend of the Jersey Devil preying upon livestock and unlucky inhabitants in and around the Pine Barrens. Harry and Drew share their thoughts and analyses in this fulsome episode.
Digital Resources
Article: “Martian Landing Site Monument” (Roadside America)
Article: “Clinton Road: A Dark Ride” by Mark Scuerman and Mark Moran (WeirdNJ.com)
Article: “Weird NJ: A Dark Ride on N.J.’s Scariest Road” by Weird NJ (AsburyParkPress)
Article: “Shades of Death Road” by Mark Scuerman and Mark Moran (WeirdNJ.com)
Website: TheCranburyInn.com
Website: The Old Canal Inn
Severing The Case | NJ Urban Legends Episode
In this first episode of Severed: Paranormal, Harry Chambers creatively weaves pop culture with popular lore of New Jersey from stranger-than-fiction stories to state-wide sites that are not only strange but uniquely Jersey. Chambers and Hudson reference New Jersey's premier weirdness publication in Weird NJ magazine.
What Inspired Severed to Cover This Case?
Drew: All episodes are thematically linked by location and/or subject matter. It made sense to remain in New Jersey, our beloved state, to conquer an urban legends episode. We pride ourselves on delivering a rotation of content for listeners to comment on, critique, and/or enjoy. We offer true crime to paranormal episodes and had a blast covering urban legends. There will be a follow-up episode in season 2.
Show Notes
Article: “Martian Landing Site Monument” (Roadside America)
Website: West Milford Chamber of Commerce
Article: “Famous North Jersey Road Named the Most Haunted Spot in the State” by Manahil Ahmad (NorthJersey.com)
Article: “Clinton Road: A Dark Ride” by Mark Scuerman and Mark Moran (WeirdNJ.com)
Article: “Weird NJ: A Dark Ride on N.J.’s Scariest Road” by Weird NJ (AsburyParkPress)
YouTube Channel: New York Daily News | A Haunted Ride Along Clinton Road
Legal Document: Tawil v Shivam Travel, et al., Township of West Milford | NJCourts.gov
Article: “Weird NJ: Haunting Tales of Shades of Death Road” published by AsburyParkPress.com
Article: “Shades of Death Road” by Mark Scuerman and Mark Moran (WeirdNJ.com)
Article: “Shades of Death Road: The Ominously Named New Jersey Street Seems to be Attracting Over-theTop Legends of its Own Making” published by AtlasObscura
Website: TheCranburyInn.com
Article: “These Haunted Restaurants in New Jersey Serve Chills with Dinner” by Gabriela L. Laracca and Jenna Intersimone (AsburyParkPress.com)
Article: “This New Jersey Restaurant Is Among The Most Haunted Places In The Nation” by Kristen (OnlyInYourState.com)
Article: “Talking Ghosts at the Cranbury Inn” by Maria Prato-Gaines (republished by CentralJersey.com archive)
Website: New Jersey Ghost Hunters Society
Website: The Old Canal Inn
Article: “This Death-Themed Tavern In New Jersey Is Perfectly Macabre In All The Right Ways” by Raymond Goldfield (OnlyInYourState.com)
YouTube Channel: Two Faces Podcast | Death Seat at Old Canal Inn, Haunted Jersey Bar, Paranormal Investigation
Article: “New Jersey Devil” published on The Official Website of the State of New Jersey
Article: “The Jersey Devil and Folklore” published on Pinelands Preservation Alliance
Article on Exhibit: “Running With the Jersey Devil” published on Rutgers (Camden) Robson Library
Article: “Legend on the New Jersey Devil” published by The New Jersey Historical Society
Article: “The Jersey Devil: A Legend of the Pine Barrens” by Mary Sparago (TheDigestOnline.com)
Article: “More Than Jersey Devil at Leeds Point” published in Asbury Park Press (February 9, 1969)
Article: “Social and Family Life in the Late 17th & Early 18th Centuries” published by U of Delaware
Article (with video): “Man Claims to Have Photographed Mythical ‘New Jersey Devil’ From Legend Dating Back Centuries” by ABC News
Genealogy: “Deborah (Smith) Leeds (1685-1748)” published on WikiTree
Historic Record: “Town of Leeds Point, County Road 618 at County Road 561 Alternate, Leeds Point, Atlantic City, NJ” published by Library of Congress
Digital Archive (Book): The History of Four-Footed Beasts, Serpents, and Insects (Archive.org)
Documentary: The Jersey Devil: Monster in the Pines (Discovery+)
Documentary: Bloodlines: The Jersey Devil Curse (Tubi)
