The Devil, Lucifer Himself, Is Apparently Entombed In Somerset, New Jersey

This legend is super creepy.

New Jersey loves them some devil-related folklore. From the Jersey Devil to the Devil’s Tree to the Devil’s Altar, anything creepy in the Garden State get a luciferian nickname to go along with its local legend. This is certainly the case for an old stone building in Somerset County, which has been dubbed by locals and thrill-seekers alike as The Devil’s Tomb.

According to gossip, internet speculation, and one decades-old issue of a magazine called Weird NJ, this stone building was the location of a battle between some monks and the Devil himself. The story goes that they tricked the Devil into attending what he thought was a human sacrifice, then chained him to the ground and built the tomb around him to trap him inside. Certain more colorful versions of the legend claim that the nearby road, called “Jacob’s Ladder” or “Seven Bumps Road” is actually the burial places of people the monks killed for trying to free the devil from the tomb. (These monks were pretty hardcore!)

The monks are long gone, but it’s still not safe to visit this building, as it is located on private property and several teens have been arrested over the years trying to check it out.

The authorities claim it’s not a tomb at all, but rather nothing more than an old cistern, whereas at least one paranormal investigator with knowledge of the site says the metal beams on the roof of the structure and evidence that chimneys used to be there indicate that it’s likely the building was once a crematorium. Meanwhile, many argue the bumpy road is not hiding bodies, but rather was built that way as an easement for draught horses, to give them breaks when climbing such a steep road.