The Clappers

After popular demand, we found more on Marie Clapper.

Marie Clapper is mostly known for being the first victim of the Jersey Devil. The Jersey Devil preyed mostly on those who had certain vulnerabilities. Everyone is born with a little darkness in them.

That being said, Marie Clapper has a sordid history and we are not quite sure if she ever had much good in her to begin with. She was extremely beautiful. Men who encountered her were easily manipulated. Who could say no to such a pretty face?

As we delved into the history of Marie Clapper we went straight for the parents. Yes, it is a rush to condemn, but if your only true responsibility to humanity is a nut-bar, it is worth a thorough examination.

Very Cleaveresque, the Clappers were. Marie’s mother, Margaret Clapper was a fox. Her father, Thomas Clapper had built a fortune in steel. The Clappers moved to the town in southern New Jersey where Marie grew up when she was a young baby. It was a small town.

Apparently before they moved to New Jersey, they lived in Norway. There is no evidence of this. Keep in mind, this was almost 200 years ago. The town was mostly Catholic. The Clappers were apparently Protestant, and commuted to a church in another town.

There are no newspaper articles about the parents except for a civil suit filed by a neighbor claiming Tom was a member of a Satanic cult. He claimed the Clappers were knowingly allowing their daughter to destroy the moral fabric of the town. The suit was dropped a week later.

This neighbor apparently had been seen speaking to Marie Clapper in a way that would appear scandalous to passers-by. Rumor was, there was enough evidence to incriminate both Tom Clapper and the neighbor, so the two men squashed their problem and then avoided each other.

Marie’s parents were at best, apathetic about their daughter’s deviant activities. The Clappers always kept a calm and pleasant tone. This could have been interpreted as cold because of the couple’s seeming lack of emotion. Not too long after Marie’s abduction, the Clappers left town and were not heard from again.