Religious fervor makes the devil a very real personage, and anything awe-inspiring or not easily understood is usually connected with him. Perhaps this explains why, not only in the Ozarks but all over the State, his name crops up so frequently.
ATTRIBUTION:
Administration in the State of Miss, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943). Missouri: A Guide to the “Show Me” State (The WPA Guide to Missouri), p. 136, in “Folklore and Folkways,” Duell, Sloan and Pearce (1941).
