Clay County Histories

Markus Krueger | Program Director  HCSCC

Outside Hitterdal, 1890s

This is my all-time favorite local newspaper headline. It ran in the Hawley Herald 89 years ago on September 27, 1934, though they took the story from the Ulen Union. 

I certainly don’t want to besmirch my fellow modern-day newspaper column writers, but I must admit that old newspaper articles sure were funnier than today. It probably has something to do with reporters developing a code of journalistic ethics that values unbiased, “just the facts” reporting. I like ethics as much as the next reader, but I do enjoy the tongue-in-cheek playfulness more common in newspapers from a bygone era. Below is the article in full:   

“The Devil has appeared again near Hitterdal, this time rather close to town. Such is the report that reached here Monday. 

“It must be that his satanic majesty has a ‘home’ somewhere near, maybe a family of ‘devils,’ who knows. Anyway, it would seem wise and safe not to be out late anywhere around Hitterdal, for the ‘devil goeth around like a roaring lion seeking whomever he can devour.’ 

“And he appears at night in all his glory in all his trimmings, hoofs, horns and spearlike tail. Eyes like fire, red forked tongue and a long two-edged sword in his right hand. Verily, who dares to meet him? He floats away and disappears and then suddenly appears unexpectedly right behind. It is more than two years since he made his presence known before about two miles north of Hitterdal. What is causing him to reveal himself now is something to guess at. However it is said he does not ‘appear’ to everybody, but of course nobody wants to see him.”

So what was actually happening north of Hitterdal in the 1930s? I have no idea! Judging by the tone of the article, though, the reporter didn’t seem to take it very seriously. If the Prince of Darkness really did appear at least twice in rural Clay County, one would think it would survive in local folklore, perhaps in the form of a roadside plaque. It is, perhaps, one of countless stories that appear throughout American and European folklore of people seeing a figure walking on the side of the road that, upon closer inspection, has furry legs and hooves where his shoes should be. Or perhaps it’s an inside joke that made the paper. Does anyone know more about the Hitterdal devil sightings?   

I found this clipping in Clay County Archivist Mark Peihl’s file on local paranormal stories. I asked Mark if I can call it the Clay County X-File. He said “sure.” It is now spooky season, so if you like this sort of thing, I have two upcoming presentations of stories from Clay County’s X-File. This story will be told along with stories of the devil and his fondness for fiddle music at History on Tap on October 2, 6pm, at Junkyard Brewing Company. And on October 26 at the Moorhead Public Library at 6:30pm, I will compare two local UFO stories: the 1897 Barnesville Airship and the 1947 Fargo Flying Saucer Dogfight.