Old Scratch
Encyclopedia
Old Scratch or Mr. Scratch is a folk name for The Devil in the local legends of New England
and pre-Civil War
America. It is possible that the local legends containing this name were influenced by Faust
ian stories brought to North America
by German
immigrants.
Old Scratch is also referred to in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
, in The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo
by Rudyard Kipling
, in A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
, in The Three Clerks by Anthony Trollope
, and in Miracle Monday
by Elliot S. Maggin.
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and pre-Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
America. It is possible that the local legends containing this name were influenced by Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
ian stories brought to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
by German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
immigrants.
Old Scratch is also referred to in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is an 1876 novel about a young boy growing up along the Mississippi River. The story is set in the Town of "St...
by Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
, in The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo
The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo
The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo is a short story — one of the Just So stories by Rudyard Kipling.The story was first told aloud by the author to his daughter Josephine as part of their oral tradition...
by Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
, in A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
by Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, in The Three Clerks by Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
, and in Miracle Monday
Miracle Monday
Miracle Monday is a novel written by Elliot S! Maggin and based on the DC Comics character Superman. It was published in 1981.Miracle Monday tells the story of Superman trying to stop an entity of pure evil from causing universal chaos. This is Elliot S! Maggin's second Superman novel and is just...
by Elliot S. Maggin.