A mystery that got the attention of the mayor of New Orleans at the time: a “Devil Man” causing mischief and mayhem on the West Bank. Your donations allow us to continue preserving and sharing Louisiana history, culture, and folklore. To donate, visit our website LouisianaDread.com

Host: Kyle Crosby
Camera/Editor: Michael Malley

Transcript:
The Devil Man of Algiers is a story about media-generated hysteria that began circulating in the 1930’s. I’ve found several testimonies from people who claim to have been harassed by the mystical being and they all have one thing that stands out: He never killed anyone. Just caused a bit of mischief and fright.

In one particular story, the Devil Man appeared to a couple driving home late at night. When they denied him a lift, he appeared to them again further down the road. The double horned beast appeared a couple more times along their drive home until the fifth time. He rode alongside the couple’s car on a brown horse for a while until the car overtook the horse and he vanished into the darkness.

Another tale was published in the Times Picayune and caused a bit more frenzy. The article says a local woman was dancing with a man at a West Bank dance hall when she suddenly noticed that a horn was protruding from his forehead. She freaks out and calls the police, who then arrests the guy - under what charges are unclear. But, according to the story, when the jailer turned and walked out of the jail, the Devil Man was out of the cell and standing right in front of the officer. The police officer drew his gun and fired from point-blank range, but the bullets apparently bounced off the mysterious horned man, who bent over, picked them up,threw them back at the police officer, and ran off into the night.

After this story was published, a slew of phone calls to police came in all saying the Devil Man was up to no good. He was known to frequent the bars on the West Bank and in many instances, neglect to pay his tab.

Eventually, the NOPD apprehended a man who claimed to be the actual Devil Man. His name was Clark Carleton, and he said that he was originally from Arkansas but followed the voice of King Zulu, advisor of Neptune, to come to New Orleans. Needless to say, the devilish troublemaker would continue… making trouble on the Westbank a few more times while Clarke was locked up.

George Horil, a hotel owner, had a different story on the Devil Man’s origins. Horil says that Clarke walked into his hotel asking for food. Horil provided Clarke with a sandwich and an opportunity to rest. At this point, Clarke stood outside Horil's inn when some school-children appeared and started teasing him for his odd looks. They taunted him to such a degree that he became angry and threatened that if they didn't leave him alone he would set the Devil on them. The children responded to this by starting to chant 'Devil-Man', which drew a crowd to the scene and prompted Carleton to run away in fear.

Almost a month later, New Orleans Mayor Robert Maestri showed up to survey a work site at which the city was helping to elevate the Lakeview Presbyterian Church at Catina and Polk Avenue. The arrangement was the church would handle everything except the labor. That would be provided by the city in the form of prison laborers.

When Maestri got there, he found himself face to face with the Devil Man himself who was in the prison work gang assigned to help raise the church.

He told the mayor that the King of Mars said Carleton Clark should change his name to Carleton Carl and asked that the mayor release him.

The mayor obviously refused. But when it came time for the Devil Man Clark to be released from jail in November, Maestri paid him another visit, but this time with an offer. In an attempt to stop local hysteria surrounding a devil man from getting out of hand, Maestri reached into his pocket and gave him $3 before outfitting him with a new suit and basically telling Clark to get the hell out of town.

Apparently it worked because shortly after this, the Devil Man stories stopped and disappeared from all local headlines. Until now, be sure to follow us at Louisiana Dread for more folklore, history, and culture.