The modern-day Laksegade (Salmon Street) doesn’t look like anything special—it doesn’t even look like the fish it’s named for. However, thanks to an old saying, the street is known by many Danes.

The street is mentioned in the phrase “Fanden er løs i Laksegade” (“The devil is loose on Salmon Street”). The story behind this curious sentence dates back to an unusual event that occurred in the house at Laksegade 15 in 1826.

On that bizarre day, people noticed that all sorts of debris were being chucked out of the house’s windows. Potatoes, peat, and other objects littered the street as a crowd began to gather. The onlookers could hear screams, laughs, curses, and swearing coming from inside the house as stuff continued to be hurled onto the street.

Some people tried to peek inside the house to snag a glimpse of the source of the commotion. Some said they heard a deep, non-human growling, others said they saw a pair of glowing red eyes, and still more claimed to see no one at all.

The police were called to investigate, but when they entered the house, everything stopped. It was completely empty, and there were no signs of any humans or animals. There weren’t even any clues that could lead them to any potential culprits. Because of this, people began speculating that the ruckus must have been the devil’s work.