The Axeman of New Orleans gripped his namesake city with icy terror from May 1918 to October 1919 before vanishing into the shadows as suddenly as he had appeared. 

In a chilling letter, seemingly penned by his murderous hand, he boasted of being a demon—incorporeal, unstoppable, and confident that he would never be caught. And he never was. Yet, it seemed Louisiana had not seen the last of its hellish visitors. Twenty years later, a new demonic figure emerged across the Mississippi River in Algiers. 

Unlike the murderous Axeman, this entity was more of a trickster, a menace to the city’s peace but not its people. Still, the chaos he wrought left residents panicked, bewildered, and wondering if they’d ever escape his torment.

So, dim the lights and prepare for the strange tale of the Algiers Devil-Man…

Devil-Man’s first appearance

This bizarre specter first made his presence known in September 1938.

Witnesses described him as an outrageous figure with long, black horns, eyes like a chicken’s, and ears as bright and wide as sunflower petals. He was said to vanish into thin air at will or transform into a baboon. 

As he flew across the city like a foul wind, he tormented unsuspecting women, destroyed homes and taverns, and introduced himself as the “Devil Man.”

The first recorded encounter with this devilish figure occurred on a seemingly ordinary night. A couple, enjoying the tail end of a lively evening, were driving home when a stranger flagged them down. 

He asked for a lift, but something about him unsettled the wife. They refused his request and drove on, only to encounter the same man ten miles down the road. 

Tensions rose as they sped away, throwing their liquor out of the car in a futile attempt to ward off his presence. Yet, ten miles further on, there he was again. 

The mysterious figure revealed his true nature this time, morphing into a horned demon before their terrified eyes. The wife fainted, and her husband, desperate to escape, sped off into the night. 

But the Devil-Man was not finished with them. His final appearance came as he galloped alongside their car, now mounted on a brown horse. By some miracle, they managed to outrun him, leaving the sinister specter behind in the shadows of Louisiana.

Naturally, the terrified couple relayed their story to their neighbors, and soon the police were involved. Despite the outlandishness of the tale, the authorities took it seriously. 

A cosmic figure

Multiple sightings of the Devil-Man followed, each one stranger than the last. The police fired at him, only to have their bullets returned by his hairy, spectral hands. 

As chaos spread across Algiers, with the Devil-Man reportedly harassing Black women and causing general mayhem, Sergeant Holm of the Algiers police took drastic action, declaring that anyone who claimed to have seen the Devil-Man would be arrested.

Racial tensions in the Deep South were all too common, and as fate would have it, the police arrested a “wild-eyed” Black man named Clark Carleton.

Horil recalled how Carleton had entered his inn, speaking cryptically about his Arkansas origins, ears “waiting for spirits” and eyes “looking for the moon.” 

Despite their likely racial bias, it seemed they might have found the right man—at least according to Carleton himself. Claiming he had come from Arkansas, Carleton spun a bizarre tale of being sent by a great spiritual monarch he called King Zulu. 

This Zulu was no Mardi Gras king but a cosmic figure, a “benefactor to Neptune.” Far from denying the Devil-Man rumors, Carleton insisted he was greater than the Devil himself.

Who was the Devil Man?

Enter George Horil, the white owner of Paradise Inn, who vouched for Carleton. Horil recalled how Carleton had entered his inn, speaking cryptically about his Arkansas origins, ears “waiting for spirits” and eyes “looking for the moon.” 

Though odd, Horil said the man was harmless enough and even fed him pie and milk. Yet, children teased Carleton mercilessly outside the inn, taunting him with chants of “Devil-Man” until he threatened to unleash the Devil on them. That threat sealed his fate, sparking rumors that Carleton was the Devil Man himself.

These rumors swelled into an urban legend. Locals claimed to have seen the Devil Man haunting bars, where he’d demand whiskey before vanishing into the night. As more bars capitalized on the hysteria, declaring the Devil-Man a regular, eager crowds of monster hunters flocked to catch a glimpse—while, naturally, ordering plenty of drinks. 

“If the Devil-Man’s taking me to Hell, I want to be good and drunk,” one local quipped, capturing the gallows humor of the time.

The legend grew

Though Clark Carleton was behind bars, the Devil-Man’s antics continued. Over 200 people reported sightings on the night of September 13th, 1938, claiming the creature terrorized bartenders, showing off his horns and demanding free drinks. 

The legend only grew. It was said he danced the “Big Apple” at a popular nightclub and that perhaps multiple Devil Men roamed the streets of Algiers.

Oddly enough, Carleton himself seemed to embrace the role, delivering a grandiose, rambling speech while in custody:

“I came from the hills of Arkansas under the stars, led by Neptune’s hand. Yes, they have me locked up, but my spirit haunts this city. It flies like a bird because I have been mistreated. If I wanted, I could disappear right now.”

He even claimed to have escaped police once, briefly vanishing before being recaptured. His strange tale became a bizarre blend of religion, folklore, and the supernatural.

The final twist in this strange saga came with the birth of what locals dubbed a “Devil Baby,” supposedly born with horns in one of the city’s segregated African American neighborhoods. 

“I got my powers from Neptune himself,” he declared. “He came to me as a fishhook while I read the Bible. I’m a Baptist, but I believe in the Divine too. Neptune guided me to a two-headed man, and from then on, I knew I had the power.”

Carleton’s tale was as wild as it was unbelievable, yet the panic in Algiers continued. A school riot broke out when a child screamed “Devil-Man!” in a crowded basement. 

Students fled in terror, teachers barricaded doors, and frantic parents rushed to the scene. The fear of the Devil Man gripped the community, with religious leaders divided—some preaching caution, others compassion.

Full-blown hysteria

The final twist in this strange saga came with the birth of what locals dubbed a “Devil Baby,” supposedly born with horns in one of the city’s segregated African American neighborhoods. 

The whispers were enough to push the city into full-blown hysteria. But just as quickly as it had begun, the Devil-Man’s reign of terror ended. The strange sightings ceased, and the legend faded, leaving only echoes of fear, confusion, and the mystery of what the Devil-Man indeed was.