Dungeons and Dragons 1 Demon Pulling
06/08/22 • 27 min
1 Listener
In this episode we will investigate the gateway drug to hell known as Dungeons & Dragons. A table top fantasy role playing game that I’m sure you have at least heard of.
We follow the games invention by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1974 to moving 750 000 copies per annum by 1984.
We look at the official magazines it spawned and the arrival of and attractive new character, Satan, introduced by Alexander von Thorn in 1979.
Former lord of the 9 Hells, this shape shifter whose most potent power is temptation was toppled from his throne by a more powerful demon called Asmodeus, according to D&D lore.
As the Satanic Panic of the 80s got underway and D&D got caught in the crossfire the devil found himself sidelined. The Newsweek article read out by Eddie Munson, played by Joseph Quinn in Stranger Things is real!
From 1986 until 2007 the mere mention of The Wicked One was forbidden in official D&D products.
We trace D&D’s contribution to the Satanic Panic to the 1979 disappearance of 16 year old James Dallas Egbert III and the public allegations made by the private investigator hired by the family to find him, Bill Dear who describes himself as ‘the real James Bond’.
We look at how Dear capitalized on the media frenzy around the case now known as ‘The Steam Tunnel Incident’ and published a memoir entitled, ‘The Dungeon Master: The Disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III’
Through Dear’s love of the spotlight we talk about the exhumation of Lee Harvey Oswald in 1981, his claims O.J. Simpson is innocent and he can prove it and his involvement in the infamous, ‘Alien Autopsy’ video for the Fox special, ‘Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction.’
We also follow D&D’s public scrutiny at the height of the panic through Rona Jaffe’s novel, ‘Mazes and Monsters.’
Which was turned into a made for TV movie starring Tom Hanks just a year later.
Then we turn our attention to the most prolific anti-D&D campaigner Patricia Pulling and lobby group called, B.A.D.D. reminiscent of Tipper Gore’s PMRC campaign.
We investigate claims in Pulling’s 1989 book, ‘The Devil’s Web: Who Is Stalking Your Children for Satan?’
Pulling claimed to have investigated the subject of teenage devil worship for 7 years and created educational material for schools and police departments which she distributed all across the U.S.
In her uniformly uninformed way she claimed the number one pathway to hell, even above Role Playing Games was ‘Black Heavy Metal Music.’
We’ll take a close look at her 38 page pamphlet, ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Witchcraft, Suicide, Violence.’
In which she quotes convicted murderer Mitchell Rupe and Church of Satan founder Anton Levay as if they are comparable.
We’ll pull apart her particular offense to the ‘Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity’. A D&D artefact that can change the gender of any character. She also gets very upset that the Player’s Handbook allows players to choose the gender of their character.
Then we introduce our hero of the piece author Michael Stackpole who in 1990 published ‘The Pulling Report’
Accusing Pulling of inaccuracies in her so called data showing she was not an expert in anything. For example this so-called Satanist investigator does not even know the Necronomicon was a fictional creation of H.P. Lovecraft.
Favourite of the show, Thomas Jefferson gets a mention. Virgil’s epic poem ‘The Aenid comes into it and somehow D&D finds itself wrapped up in the ‘New Age’ movement.
Finally we will see the rise and disgraceful fall of founder of the National Coalition on TV Violence, psychiatrist and lawyer Thomas Radecki.
In this episode we will investigate the gateway drug to hell known as Dungeons & Dragons. A table top fantasy role playing game that I’m sure you have at least heard of.
We follow the games invention by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1974 to moving 750 000 copies per annum by 1984.
We look at the official magazines it spawned and the arrival of and attractive new character, Satan, introduced by Alexander von Thorn in 1979.
Former lord of the 9 Hells, this shape shifter whose most potent power is temptation was toppled from his throne by a more powerful demon called Asmodeus, according to D&D lore.
As the Satanic Panic of the 80s got underway and D&D got caught in the crossfire the devil found himself sidelined. The Newsweek article read out by Eddie Munson, played by Joseph Quinn in Stranger Things is real!
From 1986 until 2007 the mere mention of The Wicked One was forbidden in official D&D products.
We trace D&D’s contribution to the Satanic Panic to the 1979 disappearance of 16 year old James Dallas Egbert III and the public allegations made by the private investigator hired by the family to find him, Bill Dear who describes himself as ‘the real James Bond’.
We look at how Dear capitalized on the media frenzy around the case now known as ‘The Steam Tunnel Incident’ and published a memoir entitled, ‘The Dungeon Master: The Disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III’
Through Dear’s love of the spotlight we talk about the exhumation of Lee Harvey Oswald in 1981, his claims O.J. Simpson is innocent and he can prove it and his involvement in the infamous, ‘Alien Autopsy’ video for the Fox special, ‘Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction.’
We also follow D&D’s public scrutiny at the height of the panic through Rona Jaffe’s novel, ‘Mazes and Monsters.’
Which was turned into a made for TV movie starring Tom Hanks just a year later.
Then we turn our attention to the most prolific anti-D&D campaigner Patricia Pulling and lobby group called, B.A.D.D. reminiscent of Tipper Gore’s PMRC campaign.
We investigate claims in Pulling’s 1989 book, ‘The Devil’s Web: Who Is Stalking Your Children for Satan?’
Pulling claimed to have investigated the subject of teenage devil worship for 7 years and created educational material for schools and police departments which she distributed all across the U.S.
In her uniformly uninformed way she claimed the number one pathway to hell, even above Role Playing Games was ‘Black Heavy Metal Music.’
We’ll take a close look at her 38 page pamphlet, ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Witchcraft, Suicide, Violence.’
In which she quotes convicted murderer Mitchell Rupe and Church of Satan founder Anton Levay as if they are comparable.
We’ll pull apart her particular offense to the ‘Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity’. A D&D artefact that can change the gender of any character. She also gets very upset that the Player’s Handbook allows players to choose the gender of their character.
Then we introduce our hero of the piece author Michael Stackpole who in 1990 published ‘The Pulling Report’
Accusing Pulling of inaccuracies in her so called data showing she was not an expert in anything. For example this so-called Satanist investigator does not even know the Necronomicon was a fictional creation of H.P. Lovecraft.
Favourite of the show, Thomas Jefferson gets a mention. Virgil’s epic poem ‘The Aenid comes into it and somehow D&D finds itself wrapped up in the ‘New Age’ movement.
Finally we will see the rise and disgraceful fall of founder of the National Coalition on TV Violence, psychiatrist and lawyer Thomas Radecki.
Previous Episode
Origin Story Vol 3 Old Scratch in the New Testament
1 RecommendationsIn this episode we will be looking at the shaping of Satan in the 1st century Chri$tian writings.
There is a plethora of early Chri$tian writings on our favourite subject. For now we are sticking to canonical scripture but that is not to say the non-canonical stuff isn’t relevant. It paints a picture of the mindset of the early Chri$tians.
In the King James Version of the New Testament the word Devil or Devils comes up 102 times. Satan gets mentioned 32 times. There are also other synonyms used to describe Lucifer. Despite all the mentions he doesn’t get a lot of screen time and is mostly an off-screen character, spoken of but rarely seen like Voldemort or Sauron. I won’t be covering every mention of Lord of Flies but will look at the ones where I feel who and what he is gets established for later generations to build on and create the Satan we know and love today.
The New Testament is not JUST 4 similar stories about the same events. There are also a bunch of internal church memos and other documents bundled up and paper clipped to the back of the gospels, known as the epistles.
We look at the earliest mention of Old Scratch in the New Testament in the Epistle of James all the way to the Gospel of John.
We watch the Satan character develop from a metaphorical representation of human desire to a little gremlin coercing events to megalomaniacal entity of enormous power.
We will follow Saul of Tarsus from 1st century tentmaker who got his kicks beating up early Chri$tians on the weekends to self-proclaimed apostle Paul megalomaniacal entity of enormous power.
We review the attitude of the juvenile apocalyptic cult to the antichrist and the impending end of the world with the return of their Chri$t.
There’s fornication with step mums, a ravenous reptilian hell beast, murder, Romans, Ancient Greeks, Hentai, Pagans, Zeus, Odin, Ahura Mazda, an attack force of shock preachers, an army of serpents and scorpions, gardening tips from Jesus, the rapture, a proxy war between YHWH and the Devil, Astro Boy even gets a mention!
Next Episode
Dungeons and Dragons 2 Imagination Damnation
1 RecommendationsIn this episode we dip back into our Dungeons and Dragons discussion and bring it to a conclusion but not before doubling down on the delusional deluge of disinformation.
If you think the dishonest disreputable deriders of Dungeons and Dragons disgraced themselves in the last episode then dig in for a downpour of disturbed deceptive ding bats.
We’ll delve into the deranged world of Fundamentalist Christian comic book creator Jack Chick. The most published comic book author in the world, whom you’ve never heard of. A man into all kinds of conspiracy theories. He is most obsessed with the Catholic Church claiming they keep the name of every Protestant in the world on file with the intention of carrying out another inquisition one day. He also attacks the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Muslims and of course it goes without saying, Freemasons.
We’ll return to Virginia, the spiritual home of Dungeons & Dragons hysteria and hear from Winston Mathews who sought the Republican nomination for attorney general in the state of Virginia. He proudly announced he was campaigning on just on 2 issues, maintaining the death penalty and abolishing Dungeons & Dragons, claiming it contained, ‘devil worship, Satanism and pornography.’
We’ll investigate the links between Capital Punishment and DnD you weren’t even aware of.
Like Oklahoma teenager Sean Sellers who shot a convenience store clerk, Robert Paul Bower then 6 months later shot dead his mother and stepfather, Vonda and Lee Bellofatto while they slept in their bed. Throughout the lengthy trial and appeals process Sellers had claimed to have been a practising Satanist and possessed by a demon. He claimed DnD manuals helped him convert others to Satanism.
What Moral Panic would be complete without Geraldo Rivera and we’ll look at his 2 part series for Entertainment Tonight in 1987.
Pastor George Grant makes a return with co-author Peter Leithart expressing their deepest fears about imagination and their claims Jesus is a character in the game.
Homophobic radio host and author Texe Marrs who believes the world is flat, Judaism and Catholicism are Satanism, the Clintons and Newt Gingrich are Marxists and Barbie Doll is Goddess of the Sun among many other things makes an appearance.
Pastor Win Worley who claims the Star of David, Karate, tattoos and piercings are all occult spirits, paraphrases Exodus in his attack on the game.
But it is alleged former Satanist Bill Schnoebelen who steals the show with his claims of being a vampire. And when I say vampire I mean an actual vampire. Fangs, unable to walk around in the daytime and drinking blood. He really claims this. He also claims he has had sex with a fallen angel!
We discover the people most afraid of a Table Top Fantasy Role Play Game are the very people whose grip on reality is the weakest.
DnD gets wrapped up in the Satanic Panic along with other pure fantasy like Michelle Remembers and The Satan Seller by an overly superstitious market, ready and waiting to be thrilled and terrified by tales of Demons and evil cabals.
And this fear didn’t all end in the 80s. In the 21st century the game has been targeted by a Spiritual Warfare Network Regional Coordinator, Diane Buker, televangelist Pat Robertson and author Gary North who predicted Y2K was going to destroy western civilization would like to see the U.S. become a Handmaid’s Tale styled theocracy. And also wants offenses like blasphemy and homosexuality to be punishable by death. And when I say death, Gary advocates the method of execution be a good old public stoning.
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