Old Scratch or Mr. Scratch is a nickname or pseudonym for the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

. The name likely comes from Middle English ''scrat'', the name of a demon or goblin, derived from Old Norse ''skratte''.

Mentions

Examples of usage of the name "Old Scratch" are found in:

Literature

The Devil and Tom Walker "The Devil and Tom Walker" is a short story by Washington Irving that first appeared in his 1824 collection '' Tales of a Traveller'', in "The Money-Diggers" part of volume II. The story is very similar to the German legend of Faust. Stephen Vi ...

" (1824) by

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...

*'' A Christmas Carol'' (1843) by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

*''

The Three Clerks ''The Three Clerks'' (1857) is a novel by Anthony Trollope, set in the lower reaches of the Civil Service. It draws on Trollope's own experiences as a junior clerk in the General Post Office, and has been called the most autobiographical of Tr ...

'' (1857) by Anthony Trollope *''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' is an 1876 novel by Mark Twain about a boy growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1840s in the town of St. Petersburg, which is based on Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived as a boy. In the no ...

'' (1876) by Mark Twain *''

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 Oral tradition, or oral lo ...

'' (1900) by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

The Devil and Daniel Webster "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1936) is a short story by American writer Stephen Vincent Benét. He tells of a New Hampshire farmer who sells his soul to the devil and is later defended by Daniel Webster, a fictional version of the noted 19th-c ...

" (1936) by

Stephen Vincent Benét Stephen Vincent Benét (; July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is best known for his book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, '' John Brown's Body'' (1928), for which he receiv ...

*" Prologue to an Adventure" (1938) by Dylan Thomas *" The Fair to Middling (1959) by

Arthur Calder-Marshall Arthur Calder-Marshall (19 August 1908 – 17 April 1992) was an English novelist, essayist, critic, memoirist, and biographer. Life and career Calder-Marshall was born in El Misti, Woodcote Road, Wallington, Surrey, the son of Alice (Poole) ...

*" The Last Rung on the Ladder" (1978) by Stephen King *'' Miracle Monday'' (1981) by Elliot S. Maggin *''

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell ''Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell'' is the debut novel by British writer Susanna Clarke. Published in 2004, it is an alternative history set in 19th-century England around the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Its premise is that magic once existed i ...

'' (2004) by Susanna Clarke *'' The Barn at the End of Our Term'' (2007) by

Karen Russell Karen Russell (born July 10, 1981) is an American novelist and short story writer. Her debut novel, ''Swamplandia!'', was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In 2009 the National Book Foundation named Russell a 5 under 35 honore ...

*''

Homestuck ''Homestuck'' is an Internet fiction series created by American author and artist Andrew Hussie in the first half of the 2010s. The fourth and best-known of Hussie's four ''MS Paint Adventures'', it originally ran from April 13, 2009 to April ...

'' (2009) by

Andrew Hussie Andrew Hussie (born August 25, 1979) is an American author and artist. He is best known as the creator of ''Homestuck'', a multimedia webcomic presented in the style of a text-based graphical adventure game, as well as other works in a similar ...

*'' I, Ripper'' (2015) by

Stephen Hunter Stephen Hunter (born March 25, 1946, Kansas City, Missouri) is an American novelist, essayist, and film critic. Life and career Hunter was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His father was Charles Francis Hunter, ...

*''

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina ''Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'' is an American comic book series published by Archie Horror, an imprint of Archie Comics, beginning in 2014. The series is a darker take on the characters and setting of ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch''. It is writ ...

'' #6 (2016) by

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (born 1973) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the television series '' Glee'', '' Big Love'', '' Riverdale'', '' Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' ...

* Scratchman (2019) by ''

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1974 to 1981.Scott, Danny. (1 ...

Film

* ''The Devil and Daniel Webster'' (1941) * ''The Story of Mankind'' (1957) * ''Crossroads'' (1986) * ''Prince of Darkness'' (1987) * ''The Witches of Eastwick'' (1987) * Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare (1987) * Crazy as Hell (2002) * ''Mud'' (2012)

Television

*''

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

'' *'' American Dad!'' (Episode: " Permanent Record Wrecker") *''

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...

'' (Episode: " Lucifer, Stay. Good Devil.") *''

Quantum Leap ''Quantum Leap'' is an American science fiction television series, created by Donald P. Bellisario, that premiered on NBC and aired for five seasons, from March 26, 1989, to May 5, 1993. The series stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a phys ...

'' (Episode: " The Boogieman") *'' The Messengers'' (Episode: "

Death Becomes Her ''Death Becomes Her'' is a 1992 American satirical black comedy fantasy film directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis. Written by David Koepp and Martin Donovan, it stars Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn as rivals who fight for the affections of ...

") *'' Billions'' (Episode: "The Wrong Maria Gonzalez") *

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' is an American anthology horror television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the cable network FX. The first installment in the '' American Story'' media franchise, each season is conceived as a ...

(Episode: "Sojourn") *

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...

'' *''

'' Netflix TV Series (2018) by

* '' Being Human'' *''

Hap and Leonard (TV series) ''Hap and Leonard'' is an American drama television series based on the characters '' Hap and Leonard'', created by novelist Joe R. Lansdale and adapted from his series of novels of the same name. The series was written and developed by Nick Dam ...

'' (Season 3, Episode 1) *

The Cuphead Show ''The Cuphead Show!'' is an animated slapstick comedy streaming television series developed by Dave Wasson for Netflix, loosely based on the 2017 Canadian video game '' Cuphead'' by Studio MDHR. Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, the creators of '' ...

(season 1, episode 1, Carn-Evil) A Christmas Carol (FX, 2019)

Music

*"Beelz" song written by Stephen Lynch *"Three Men Hanging" song by

Murder by Death ''Murder by Death'' is a 1976 American comedy mystery film directed by Robert Moore and written by Neil Simon. The film stars Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Peter Sellers, M ...

*"Tight Like That" by Clutch *"Un-Reborn Again" by

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout mul ...

*"Bewitched" by Beat Happening *”The Devil Lives in a Mason Jar” by

John Driskell Hopkins John Driskell Hopkins (born May 3, 1971) is best known for his role as a founding member, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter for the Grammy Award winning group Zac Brown Band. Hopkins co-wrote, with Zac Brown, Wyatt Durette, and Shawn ...

Video games

Alan Wake ''Alan Wake'' is an action-adventure game developed by Remedy Entertainment. The story follows best-selling thriller novelist Alan Wake as he tries to uncover the mystery behind his wife's disappearance during a vacation in the small fictional ...

Alan Wake's American Nightmare ''Alan Wake's American Nightmare'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Studios. The game is a downloadable follow-up and spin-off to its predecessor, ''Alan Wake''. The game is an Xbox ...

Descent 3 ''Descent 3'' (stylized as ''Descent³'') is a first-person shooter video game developed by Outrage Entertainment and published by Interplay Entertainment. It was originally released for Microsoft Windows in North America on June 17, 1999. ''D ...

* Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag *

Pirate101 ''Pirate101'' is a 2012 massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by KingsIsle Entertainment. It is a sister game to ''Wizard101,'' set in the same fictional universe of the “Spiral”. The player assumes ...

* The Simpsons: Tapped Out

Miscellaneous

Episode 12 An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning t ...

of the podcast ''

Welcome to Night Vale ''Welcome to Night Vale'' is a podcast presented as a radio show for the fictional town of Night Vale, reporting on the strange events that occur within it. The series was created in 2012 by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. Published by Night Val ...

References

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