A Short Story for Halloween

I like to find cool, spooky things to read at Halloween -- stories more in the vein of folklore than horror. Last year, I checked out Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, which I had mixed opinions on. (Read that post here.) This year, I think I've found something much better.
I got to thinking about the role of the Devil in literature: Old Scratch, Beelzebub, the Dark Man, the Stranger. Probably the Devil's first appearance in literature is Biblical: The temptation in the garden in the book of Genesis, but even more prominently in the Book of Job -- the devil is the instigator for the troubles that beset kindly Job. Then there's the devil as anti-hero in John Milton's Paradise Lost. More recently, there Stephen King's The Stand -- the devil comes to earth after a killer flu wipes out most of the world's population. Even the country music song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" has its lyrical moments:

The devil went down to Georgia
He was looking for a soul to steal
He was in a bind 'cause he was way behind
And he was willing to make a deal

But I digress! (Read all the lyrics here.)
This year, spoonreader presents, for your Halloween reading pleasure, the short story "The Devil and Daniel Webster," by Stephen Vincent Benet. Webster was an actual historical figure, a noted lawyer and orator, and a proud unionist (though he died before the Civil War started). In this story, the farmer Jabez Stone makes a deal with the devil in exchange for bountiful crops and worldly gain. When it's time to pay up, Stone loses his nerve, and turns to his friend Webster to save him from the bad deal he's made. In this scene, the Devil has returned and informed Webster that he intends to collect on the soul of Mr. Stone. Webster responds to the contrary:

Dan'l Webster's brow looked dark as a thundercloud. "Pressed or not, you shall not have this man!" he thundered. "Mr. Stone is an American citizen, and no American citizen may be forced into the service of a foreign prince. We fought England for that in '12 and we'll fight all hell for it again!"
"Foreign?" said the stranger. "And who calls me a foreigner?"
"Well, I never yet heard of the dev -- of your claiming American citizenship," said Dan'l Webster with surprise.
"And who with better right?" said the stranger, with one of his terrible smiles. "When the first wrong was done to the first Indian, I was there. When the first slaver put out for the Congo, I stood on her deck. Am I not in your books and stories and beliefs, from the first settlements on? Am I not spoken of, still, in every church in New England? 'Tis true the North claims me for a Southerner, and the South for a Northerner, but I am neither. I am merely an honest American like yourself - and of the best descent - for, to tell the truth, Mr. Webster,though I don't like to boast of it, my name is older in this country than yours."
"Aha!" said Dan'l Webster, with the veins standing out in his forehead. "Then I stand on the Constitution! I demand a trial for my client!"

And thus Daniel Webster goes to court against the Devil. Read the whole of "The Devil and Daniel Webster" here -- The University of Texas Tarlton Law Library has posted a fine copy with illustrations at their web site.