The Devil in the Belfry

"The Devil in the Belfry" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in 1839. It is a satirical short story, making fun of the United States President Martin Van Buren and his election methods, by ridiculing the inhabitants of Vondervotteimittis, with their strong Dutch features. This methodical, boring and quiet little borough is devastated by the arrival of a devilish figure playing a big fiddle who comes straight down from a hill, goes into the belltower and eventually kills the belfry-man. It can be looked upon as a satire of New York City (originally settled by the Dutch) which has now been "invaded" by the "Devil" (i.e., the Irish): the "Devil" plays on his fiddle an out-of-tune song called "Judy O'Flannagan and Paddy O'Rafferty" - stock character names for Irish Immigrants. Critics often compare the tale to another New York satire, "A History of New-York" written by Washington Irving under the pseudonym "Diedrich Knickerbocker." There are many famous...