NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Dulac native Ryan Adams explores a somewhat little-known piece of Louisiana history in his new book, “Wake the Devil.”
The book historical novel, set in 1918, and revolves around the real-life Axeman of New Orleans, a serial killer who murdered six people and injured six more during a mysterious rampage that lasted from May 1918 to October 1919.
The killer was never found, and the crimes remain unsolved.
The book is Adam’s second. His debut, “New Orleans Mother Goose,” is a children’s picture book published in 2014. Adam calls it “a collection of Cajun-ized nursery rhymes with a lot of the local iconology mixed in with the old familiar poems you grew up with.”
Adam said that his career choice was heavily influenced by his early life down the bayou.
“I always had older cousins who babysat me and my brother, and they would read to us and put on plays,” Adam said. “My parents always bought me books. My relatives were chatty and loved to tell stories. I was able to read by kindergarten, so being a writer was destined to happen, I guess.”
Adam moved with his family to New Orleans, where he has spent his adult life, but he said he values his time in this area.
“It’s an interesting cultural mix for me since they’re so vastly different,” Adam said. “However, both regions are colorful in that they spawn their own folklores, tales and eccentric characters willing to share tales over a few beers. I love that about south Lousiana. It’s an interesting education either place you live.”
“Wake the Devil” starts in 2004 as a wraparound story with a man named Truman Newirth who has inherited a French Quarter building left by his late father. He discovers decades-old manuscript pages, photos and newspaper clippings concerning the Axeman murders.
Flash back to 1918, following Carlito “Carli” Mastriani, the son of an ex-mafioso who is inadvertently thrown into the hysteria surrounding the Axeman. With the help of reporter Johnathan Newirth, Carli tries to unravel the killer’s identity.
Adam said the legend of the Axeman was such that some doubted he was even human. The killer wrote a taunting letter to the police claiming, “I am not a human being, but a spirit and a demon from the hottest hell.”
“Personally, as a horror writer, I’m open to the possibility that he wasn’t a man,” Adam said. “New Orleans is a strange place. Anything can happen. They could never identify the guy nor catch him, and the few people that managed to get close enough described him as having no face and the ability to dodge bullets and jump walls. That’s creepy, man.”
“Wake the Devil” is available online at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and lulu.com, as well as Adam’s website, wickedprince.com.
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