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

Devil A devil is the mythical 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 conce ...

. 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" (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 wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

*''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

'' (1843) by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

*''

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 Trol ...

'' (1857) by

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope ( ; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among the best-known of his 47 novels are two series of six novels each collectively known as the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire ...

*''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbu ...

'' (1876) by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

*''

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. It was then written down and f ...

'' (1900) by

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

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 a fictionalized Daniel Webster, a noted 19th-century A ...

" (1936) by

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

*"Prologue to an Adventure" (1938) by

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...

*"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) a ...

*" The Last Rung on the Ladder" (1978) by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

*'' Miracle Monday'' (1981) by

Elliot S. Maggin Elliot S. Maggin, also spelled Elliot S! Maggin (born 1950), is an American writer of comic books, film, television, and novels. He was a main writer for DC Comics during the Bronze and early Modern ages of comics in the 1970s and 1980s. He is ...

*'' Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell'' (2004) by

Susanna Clarke Susanna Mary Clarke (born 1 November 1959) is an English author best known for her debut novel '' Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell'' (2004), a Hugo Award-winning alternative history. Clarke began ''Jonathan Strange'' in 1993 and worked on it durin ...

*''The Barn at the End of Our Term'' (2007) by Karen Russell *''

Homestuck ''Homestuck'' is an Internet fiction series created by American author and artist Andrew Hussie. The fourth and best-known of Hussie's four ''MS Paint Adventures'', it originally ran from April 13, 2009, to April 13, 2016. Though normally describ ...

'' (2009) by Andrew Hussie *''

I, Ripper ''I, Ripper'' is a 2015 novel by the American author Stephen Hunter. Plot A fictional diary of serial killer Jack the Ripper interleaved with a narrative from a newspaper journalist, Jeb, reporting on the killings. References

2015 Ame ...

'' (2015) by

Stephen Hunter Stephen Hunter (born March 25, 1946, in 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 Hunte ...

*'' Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'' #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'' (2011–2014), ''Big Love'' (2009–2011), '' Riverdale'' (2017– ...

*''Scratchman (2019)'' by

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the Fourth Doctor, fourth and longest-serving incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television ...

*'' Windswept House'' (1996, pg 402) by Fr. Malachi Martin *"Disappearance At Devil's Rock" (2016) by Paul Tremblay

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 ''Crazy as Hell'' is a 2002 psychological film that is based on the 1982 novel '' Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Kassler, J.S.P.S.'' by Jeremy Leven and follows Dr. Ty Adams ( Michael Beach), an aggressive and overconfid ...

(2002) * ''Mud'' (2012) *5ive Girls (2006)

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 g ...

'' *''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker (producer), Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the r ...

'' (Episode: " Permanent Record Wrecker") *''

Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...

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

Quantum Leap Quantum leap or ''variation'', may refer to: In general * Quantum leap (physics), also known as quantum jump, a transition between quantum states ** Atomic electron transition, a key example of the physics phenomenon * Paradigm shift, a sudden ch ...

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

Death Becomes Her ''Death Becomes Her'' is a 1992 American satirical surrealistic black comedy fantasy film directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis and written by David Koepp and Martin Donovan. The film stars Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis, a ...

") *'' Billions'' (Episode: "The Wrong Maria Gonzalez")(2018) *

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' (''AHS'') is an American horror film, horror anthology series, anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy (producer), Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the Cable television, cable network FX (TV channel), FX. Th ...

(Episode: "Sojourn") *

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...

*'' Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'' Netflix TV Series (2018) by

* '' Being Human'' *'' Hap and Leonard (TV series)'' (Season 3, Episode 1) * The Cuphead Show (season 1, episode 1, Carn-Evil) *A Christmas Carol (FX, 2019) *Lawmen: Bass Reeves (Episode 7) *'' Agatha All Along''Disney TV Series (2024)

Music

*"Beelz" song written by Stephen Lynch *"Three Men Hanging" song by Murder by Death *"Tight Like That" by

Clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...

*"Un-Reborn Again" by

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...

*"Bewitched" by

Beat Happening Beat Happening was an American indie pop band formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1982. Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis, and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members. Beat Happening were early leaders in the American indie pop and lo-f ...

*”The Devil Lives in a Mason Jar” by John Driskell Hopkins *"Oldscratch" by

The Distillers The Distillers are an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1998 by Australian vocalist and guitarist Brody Dalle. Dalle co-wrote, played guitar and provided lead vocals for nearly every track on the band's three albums ...

* "Old Scratch Blues" by

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...

Video games

Alan Wake ''Alan Wake'' is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The game was released in May 2010 for the Xbox 360, with a Windows version following in February 2012 and a remastered ve ...

* Alan Wake's American Nightmare * Alan Wake 2 *

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. ''De ...

* Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag * Pirate101 * The Simpsons: Tapped Out

Miscellaneous

* Episode 12 of the podcast ''

Welcome to Night Vale ''Welcome to Night Vale'' is an absurdist supernatural fiction podcast created by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. It is presented as a community radio show in the fictional American desert town of Night Vale, with the eccentric local radio ho ...

'' *A proposed

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

feature film developed by

and

Ian Marter Ian Don Marter (28 October 194428 October 1986) was an English actor and writer known for his role as Harry Sullivan in the BBC science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from December 1974 to September 1975, with a non-regular, one-ser ...

was given the working title ''Doctor Who Meets Scratchman''.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=July 2020 American legendary creatures The Devil in legend Devils