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| TRUE STORY OF THE GREENMAN |
| Raymond Robinson |
The historic states along America’s Atlantic Seaboard have given birth to hundreds of ghostly tales and unusual
stories over the years. One of the strangest is undoubtedly that of the Jersey Devil, a creature that is believed by
some to be a mythical creature and by others, a real-life monster of flesh and blood. Its origins date back to when
New Jersey was still a British colony.
According to the legend, Mrs. Jane Leeds came from a poor family who eked out an existence in the Pine Barrens of
Jersey, a rugged place with vast forests, sandy soil and patches of swamp. In 1735, Mrs. Leeds discovered that she
was pregnant with her 13th child. She complained to her friends and relatives that the “Devil can take the next one”,
and he did. When the baby was born, he was monster! He immediately took on a grotesque appearance and grew to
more than 20 feet long, with a reptilian body, a horse’s head, bat wings and a long, forked tail. He thrashed about
the Leeds home for a bit and then vanished up the chimney. The creature, or the “Jersey Devil” as he was dubbed,
began haunting the Pine Barrens.
The historic states along America’s Atlantic Seaboard have given birth to hundreds of ghostly tales and unusual
stories over the years. One of the strangest is undoubtedly that of the Jersey Devil, a creature that is believed by
some to be a mythical creature and by others, a real-life monster of flesh and blood. Its origins date back to when
New Jersey was still a British colony.
According to the legend, Mrs. Jane Leeds came from a poor family who eked out an existence in the Pine Barrens of
Jersey, a rugged place with vast forests, sandy soil and patches of swamp. In 1735, Mrs. Leeds discovered that she
was pregnant with her 13th child. She complained to her friends and relatives that the “Devil can take the next one”,
and he did. When the baby was born, he was monster! He immediately took on a grotesque appearance and grew to
more than 20 feet long, with a reptilian body, a horse’s head, bat wings and a long, forked tail. He thrashed about
the Leeds home for a bit and then vanished up the chimney. The creature, or the “Jersey Devil” as he was dubbed,
began haunting the Pine Barrens.
stories over the years. One of the strangest is undoubtedly that of the Jersey Devil, a creature that is believed by
some to be a mythical creature and by others, a real-life monster of flesh and blood. Its origins date back to when
New Jersey was still a British colony.
According to the legend, Mrs. Jane Leeds came from a poor family who eked out an existence in the Pine Barrens of
Jersey, a rugged place with vast forests, sandy soil and patches of swamp. In 1735, Mrs. Leeds discovered that she
was pregnant with her 13th child. She complained to her friends and relatives that the “Devil can take the next one”,
and he did. When the baby was born, he was monster! He immediately took on a grotesque appearance and grew to
more than 20 feet long, with a reptilian body, a horse’s head, bat wings and a long, forked tail. He thrashed about
the Leeds home for a bit and then vanished up the chimney. The creature, or the “Jersey Devil” as he was dubbed,
began haunting the Pine Barrens.
The historic states along America’s Atlantic Seaboard have given birth to hundreds of ghostly tales and unusual
stories over the years. One of the strangest is undoubtedly that of the Jersey Devil, a creature that is believed by
some to be a mythical creature and by others, a real-life monster of flesh and blood. Its origins date back to when
New Jersey was still a British colony.
According to the legend, Mrs. Jane Leeds came from a poor family who eked out an existence in the Pine Barrens of
Jersey, a rugged place with vast forests, sandy soil and patches of swamp. In 1735, Mrs. Leeds discovered that she
was pregnant with her 13th child. She complained to her friends and relatives that the “Devil can take the next one”,
and he did. When the baby was born, he was monster! He immediately took on a grotesque appearance and grew to
more than 20 feet long, with a reptilian body, a horse’s head, bat wings and a long, forked tail. He thrashed about
the Leeds home for a bit and then vanished up the chimney. The creature, or the “Jersey Devil” as he was dubbed,
began haunting the Pine Barrens.
Raymond Robinson, also known as the “Green Man” or “Charlie No Face” is a man who
will go down in history as a local legend. Born on October 29th, 1910 in Big Beaver of Beaver
County, Pennsylvania, he lived a normal life up until the age of eight. In the spring of 1919,
Raymond ventured down to the tracks of the Harmony Trolley Line between Ellwood City and
Beaver Falls, where he had spotted a large bird’s nest high in one of the trees over the
tracks. Curiosity got the best of Raymond, and while climbing the tree to peer into the nest,
he was electrocuted by the electrical wires that were connected to the trolleys.
The doctors gave Raymond a minimal chance of survival. The newspapers at the time
stated that Raymond “will die” from his severe burns and disfigurement. Fortunately,
Raymond started to make a swift recovery, and the doctors claimed it was a miracle. But
Raymond would never be the same.
He was not only blinded, but he lost both of his eyes completely from the accident. His
nose was burned off of his face, and he could barely breathe through his mouth due to all
the scar tissue around his lips. He had a prosthetic nose made to fit onto a pair of dark
glasses in hopes of covering up a small amount of the damage that had been caused. Even
though Raymond had suffered tremendously from his loss, he thrived. He began to take up
hobbies such as leatherworking and weaving. He also learned to read Braille, and fancied
reading book after book from the local libraries. Raymond quickly became a hero and a role
model for many.
Although Raymond was not ashamed of his new looks, he was afraid that he would startle
those around him if he ventured out during the day. Having liked going on long walks, he
started to stroll at night as a young adult, and continued through much of his adult life. This
attracted all kinds of attention from the younger crowd, who would drive across the Koppel
Bridge at night, where Raymond frequented. If they were lucky enough to spot him, they
would make sure to buy him beer and cigarettes, and that would pay for them to have a
picture taken with the legendary “Green Man”.
At the age of 68, Raymond was no longer able to properly care for himself, and was then
escorted by friends to a local geriatric care facility called the Beaver County Geriatric Center
(now known as the Friendship Ridge Nursing Home in Brighton Township). He resided there
until his death on June 11th, 1985 at the age of 74. It was only six days shy of the 66th
anniversary of his accident. He was buried in Grandview Cemetery of Beaver Falls,
Pennsylvania.
