A Son of Satan marked the second 1924 feature film release by prolific African American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, after Birthright (see entry). The working title was The Ghost of Tolston's Manor. Shooting began on 25 Mar 1923 at a Bronx, NY, studio, and on 30 Mar 1923, cast and crew moved to an outdoor location in Roanoke, VA, according to the 7 Apr 1923 Pittsburgh Courier. The house used in the picture was more than two hundred years old and was located at Clason Point in the Bronx, NY. Approximately twenty thousand feet of film were shot, and editing took place in Charleston, WV.
       An advertisement in the 26 Apr 1924 [Richmond, VA] Richmond Planet announced a 1-3 May 1924 engagement at the Rayo Theatre. Months later, a 25 Oct 1924 [Norfolk, VA] New Journal and Guide article reported that a 20-22 Oct 1924 engagement at the Attucks Theatre had been thwarted by the Virginia State Board of Censors. To ensure that the film was not being shown against their orders, a group of policemen appeared at the Attucks on the night of 20 Oct 1924. Two months later, the 20 Dec 1924 New Journal and Guide noted that A Son of Satan had been banned “for mysterious reasons,” and that, after a costly legal procedure, Attucks had won the right to show the film, beginning 25 Dec 1924. Critic D. Ireland Thomas, writing in the 31 Jan 1925 Chicago Defender, commented concerning this film, "Some may not like the production because it shows up some of our Race in their true colors. They might also protest against the language used.... I must admit that it is true to nature, yes, I guess, too true. We have got to hand it to Oscar Micheaux when it comes to giving us the real stuff." IA Son of Satan was deemed a “timely” release in the 31 Oct 1924 Afro-American, which urged that more quality African American films should be available to moviegoers, in a market rendered unfair by prejudiced white exhibitors. An item in the 24 Oct 1925 issue similarly attested that A Son of Satan “should have a showing in every house in the city,” adding, “We are no advocate of colored pictures for colored houses, this is but another stepping stone to segregation.”
       Theatrical release was still underway as of mid-Oct 1926, according to a 16 Oct 1926 [Baltimore, MD] Afro-American advertisement for upcoming screenings at the New Dunbar Theatre. The previous year, a 31 Oct 1925 Afro-American brief indicated that the film had proven profitable.
       Marie Dove and Walter Robinson were named as cast members in the 20 Dec 1924 New Journal and Guide, which also noted that chorus members of the original Shuffle Along Co. (apparently referring to the 1921 Broadway musical, Shuffle Along,) appeared in ballroom scenes. Larry Richards’s 1998 book, African American Films Through 1959, also listed Dove and Robinson as cast members, and claimed that the chorus seen in the film had been in the 1923 Broadway musical, Runnin’ Wild.
       As of Dec 2016, the Library of Congress designated A Son of Satan a lost film.