Erie Face On Door No Devilish Prank, Says Homeowner

The Erie Demon, or, the Demon of Erie -- either way, it's perfect for the season. Never heard of it? Neither had Mike Noble -- of Erie -- until, according to him, it showed up at his house earlier this week, just in time for Halloween. Mr. Noble says the previously non-existent visage appeared at around 7 p.m. Tuesday on his 10-year-old son Nate's wooden bedroom door. The face -- clearly visible in the grain of the wood on the outside of the door -- appears demonic, with two menacing eyes, pointed eyebrows, flaring nostrils and an elongated smile. As of Friday afternoon, when a photographer with The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus showed up to take a picture, the Demon of Erie still was visable on the door. Mr. Noble knows there will be non-believers. But he says it's no hoax. "It's weird, it's crazy,'' Mr. Noble said Friday. "I know what you might be thinking and I thought about it as well, but it's there. Others have seen it, and there are photos. It's bigger -- and stranger -- than you might think.'' Mr. Noble says he has brought friends, family and co-workers to his home this week to show them the demon on the door."Their response is always, 'It's weird,' Mr. Noble says. "First, they say that it's 'something' for sure, and then they say it's weird. People are shocked when they see it. My kids think it's weird, but aren't scared by it. They bring friends over and they think it's freaky. It gives us something to talk about.'' Mr. Noble says he and his family have lived in their Erie home for 13 months and have not had any other strange occurrences or demonic-looking shadows come calling. That the demon's face has stayed for several days, he says, proves it's not a shadow cast from a tree or from something else the wind has blown past a window. "You would think something would have given us a hint or that we would have seen it before,'' Mr. Noble says. "I know I keep saying, 'It's crazy,' but other than that all I can think of is, 'It's weird.' "That it's happening around Halloween makes it even stranger,'' he says. "Heck of a time for it to show up. The pictures prove it's no hoax. It's really something, like a little demon.''