The Helenwood Devil
The Helenwood Devil is a celebrated hoax and piece of regional folklore from Scott County, Tennessee, centered on a large clay figure fabricated by a local man in the early 1920s and briefly exhibited as a genuine petrified supernatural being. The episode became one of the most enduring legends in the history of the Cumberland Plateau and is closely associated with the origin story of the town of Helenwood itself.
Background
Helenwood is said to have received its name from a blazing explosion in which dynamite stored in the area was ignited by a house fire on April 16, 1935. This is untrue; Helenwood’s name dates back at least 50 years prior to the dynamite blast. Nevertheless, some believe that the name was a play on the phrase “hell in the woods.” Helenwood developed a reputation as a rough-and-rowdy saloon town after the building of the Cincinnati & Southern Railroad in 1880. Many people were killed in saloon fights, duels, and other violence, which led residents to believe that this was why, when the “Devil” appeared, it had come to Scott County.
The community sits in a rugged, coal-rich stretch of the Cumberland Plateau in northeastern Tennessee, and by the early 20th century it had developed a reputation for rough living, mining culture, and isolation — conditions that would prove fertile ground for the Devil’s remarkable reputation.
Origins
The Helenwood Devil was an alleged petrified being with four-inch horns protruding from its skull and wings stretching out of is shoulders, claimed to have been excavated at a former Keene-Strunk Coal Company mine in Helenwood on July 20, 1921.
In truth, the figure was no ancient relic. The monster was brought to public attention by a man named Reuben Caruso “Crusie” Sexton, who had been soldiering in China before his return to Scott County. While away, he viewed many large statues that were monstrous in size. When he returned home, he decided he would build one of his own.
Sexton was the son of William Charley “Bill” Sexton (1869-1912) and Eldora Jeffers (1876-1965). He was captured by German soldiers during World War I and held prisoner. He was a third-great-grandson of Revolutionary War veteran Timothy Sexton, one of the earliest settlers of Scott County, and a nephew of Scott County Sheriff Gilbert Sexton.
Back in the coal mines around the Paint Rock community, Sexton began his work. He built the “Devil” out of bed clay, which was found near seams of coal. The mine he chose to work in was an abandoned and dark place, and there he spent days trying to get each detail perfect. He finally finished the statue, which was larger than the average-sized man and weighed over a ton.
Description
Contemporary newspaper accounts and eyewitness descriptions painted a vivid and unsettling picture of the object. The figure was reported to have a head of abnormal size adorned by horns resembling those of a ruminant, a mouth of unusual size with 24 prominent front teeth, and arms of unusual length with enormous hands. A chain resembling an ordinary trace chain encircled the neck, and long wings of brownish color reached from the shoulders almost to the ankles. The imprint of the left hand was plainly visible on the chest.
The “Devil’s” features were so life-like that it is believed Sexton may have scared himself while building his work of art. The horns that came from the forehead were very distinctive. There was also great detail in the chest area, the muscles of the arms were outlined, and the genitals were vaguely present. It is even told that one of the arms was chained to a leg, also done in great detail.
Public Exhibition
The figure’s “discovery” was carefully staged. It is told that Sexton’s mother followed him into the mines one day to see exactly what her son was up to, fearing that he had been moonshining. When she saw the “Devil,” she was nearly scared to death. After this, word began to spread.
Sexton then transferred the “Devil” to the home of his relative Jerry Smith, who lived close to the railroad in Helenwood. Soon the word began to spread that there was a gigantic “Devil” in the man’s backyard. People began to talk about how it had come to town and why it was there, as no one really understood that it was just a statue made from bed clay.
As the trains began to come in more frequently, word spread like wildfire about the “Devil of Scott County.” The tale traveled through railroad communities stretching from Cincinnati to Florida. As it traveled, the story became bigger and bigger. Soon people were wanting to see the “Devil” for themselves. Sexton and his friends decided to set up the “Devil” at the railroad station in Helenwood. People from all around the country would stop to see the gigantic statue, paying 25 cents for a 20-minute view of the creature, which was now laid inside a massive coffin. Some were reported to have fainted from the sight of the demon.
By August of 1921, there was so much notoriety that the New York Times wrote two articles. People nationwide were traveling the rails to see Sexton’s creation.
The Somerset Fair
In September of 1921, J.C. Pemberton of nearby Oneida paid $2,000 for the monster and immediately showed it at the Somerset Fair in Somerset, Ky. The demon was the top draw at the fair.
The form was kept reposing in a box with iron bands around it, four padlocks on the box, nails driven in the lid, and a guard standing watch. To lend the exhibit an air of academic legitimacy, a professor from an “Eastern School” espoused that the statue was an idol from an early race, and Crusie signed an affidavit stating that the statue was authentic while the guard watched over the casket. Despite cries of fraud from some observers, the exhibit drew enormous crowds and considerable revenue.
Sale and Disappearance
Despite cries of fraud, Pemberton was able to bargain for a reported $25,000 sale to parties who showed it at the Chicago’s World Fair of 1923. After the fair, the Devil did not return to Scott County.
The subsequent fate of the figure is unknown. Some speculate that the “Devil” may be found in a museum in the northern part of the United States. Others believe that its body disintegrated into nothingness. No confirmed record of the object has surfaced in any museum collection, and it has never been definitively located.
Legacy and Interpretation
The Helenwood Devil belongs to a well-established American tradition of “petrified giant” hoaxes, the most famous of which is the Cardiff Giant of 1869. Like that earlier episode, it exploited popular anxieties, biblical literalism, and the public’s appetite for sensation. What sets the Helenwood case apart is the degree to which it became woven into local identity.
The idol was ultimately revealed to have been fabricated by Sexton, in secret, from simple clay over a period of some years before being presented to the public as a found object. Yet even after the truth emerged, the “Devil” still left its mark upon the people of Scott County, becoming one of the most famous tales from Helenwood, passed down to children in many different variations.
In recent years the story has attracted renewed interest online, including from communities that promote theories about ancient giants — the “Helenwood Devil” being touted as genuine by people who believe in giants, despite its known origins as a deliberate fabrication.
The National Park Service, which operates the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, has documented the legend as a notable piece of regional cultural history.
Crusie Sexton died of undetermined causes on June 16, 1936, at age 41. He was buried at Sexton Memorial Cemetery in the Paint Rock community. He married Sibyl Robinson on Dec. 30, 1921. They were divorced on June 10, 1927, in Michigan. He later married Stella Craig (1913-1999), from Anderson County, Tenn., on Dec. 15, 1934. She later remarried to Thurman Murray.
Remembering
Following is a story written by Leshia Byrge of the Scott High School Appalachian Studies class for the FNB Chronicle in Spring 2004.