September 11 Digital Archive / "Satan in the Smoke" Emails

"Satan in the Smoke" Emails

On the morning of September 11, immediately after two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in Manhattan, photojournalist Mark D. Phillips took a picture that would prove to be one of the most evocative and disputed images of that tragic day. Many peple later construed the image of the smoke in his photo of the burning buildings to compose the face of Satan. These e-mails related to this picture provide a revealing portal into Americans' responses to the attacks in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.

This is an incredible photo. Well, I'm quite sure the devil was present in the hearts and minds of those people who committed this atrocious act against the American people. I am just as sure, howev...

To whom it may concern, I just want to give a little hope. I believe that the picture of the face in the World Trade Center is real. We have had a similar experience. My husband got saved and decid...

Hello, I'm from upstate New York. My son, however, lives in Brooklyn and witnessed the second bombing take place at the World Trade Center. I must say, I was quite petrified when I couldn't reach him...

Look closely, just to the left of the distinct face looks like a darker gray face with dark hair or wearing a beanie type hat. I can even see a long chin or beard and it could even be depicted as a h...

Hi: I'm not really sure why I'm writing to you. I was looking at the picture of the face in the smoke but I keep seeing three faces there is a face on each side fo the face you have pointed out. Plea...

Hey, I am 13. But I was just wondering how you felt about this photograph? and how long did the face in the smoke last? I believe that it was the devil who did this working through the terro...

It may interest you to know that I have now found five (5) faces in your photo posted on http://9news.com/newsroom/13294.html Perhaps I'm spending too much time with this and I know all the argument...

I think the picture looks like the man who made this all possible. I have believed for the past 8-1/2 yrs that he is the devil incarnate - bill clinton. \nSat, 22 Sep 2001 08:51:37 -0400\ninfo@stel...