{"id":165,"date":"2023-10-26T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.campdragononline.com\/blog\/?p=165"},"modified":"2023-10-13T19:25:15","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T19:25:15","slug":"satanic-panic-dnd-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.campdragononline.com\/blog\/satanic-panic-dnd-history\/","title":{"rendered":"The Curious Case of the Satanic Panic: When D&amp;D Wasn\u2019t Just a Game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/www.campdragononline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-166\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Ah, Dungeons &amp; Dragons! A beloved game of imagination, strategy, and teamwork. But would you believe that once upon a time, the game was suspected of being a one-way ticket to the dark side? Yes, back in the day, D&amp;D found itself center stage of what&#8217;s now infamously called the \u201cSatanic Panic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I remember those times,&#8221; chuckles DM Gary, &#8220;People would look at my dice collection as if I was summoning a demon.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Origins of the Panic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the late &#8217;70s and throughout the &#8217;80s, America was gripped by a moral panic revolving around fears of satanic ritual abuse. News stories, talk shows, and even sermons painted a vivid picture of an America under threat from occult forces. And you know who got caught in the crosshairs? Our beloved D&amp;D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jane, a player from the era, shares, &#8220;My parents caught me reading a D&amp;D manual once and sent me to the priest for a chat. Little did they know, Father O&#8217;Malley was my party&#8217;s cleric!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">But\u2026 Why D&amp;D?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>D&amp;D, with its fantastical themes, mentions of demons and deities, and arcane symbols, became an easy target. With the media stoking the fire, many people genuinely believed that playing D&amp;D could lead to satanic worship, madness, or even suicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I had to hide my character sheets like they were contraband,&#8221; recalls DM Tara. &#8220;My neighbors believed I was hosting s\u00e9ances, not realizing the most devilish thing we were doing was stealing cookies from the kitchen!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Dispelling the Myths<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Thankfully, as time passed, cooler heads prevailed. Numerous studies and investigations found zero evidence linking D&amp;D to any real-world occult activities. The game slowly started gaining acceptance as a harmless, creative outlet. Many players from the era pushed back against the accusations with humor and camaraderie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dave, a longtime player, reminisces, &#8220;We had a campaign where our main quest was to retrieve the &#8216;Forbidden Cookie Jar&#8217;. It was our little nod to the hysteria surrounding our favorite game.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/www.campdragononline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-167\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lessons Learned<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Satanic Panic serves as a potent reminder of the dangers of misinformation and jumping to conclusions. As silly as it might seem now, it was a very real concern for many people back then. It&#8217;s essential to approach new topics (even board games) with an open mind and a pinch of skepticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jasmine, a 20-year-old newbie to D&amp;D, says, &#8220;It&#8217;s hard to believe D&amp;D was ever seen as dangerous. It&#8217;s been such a positive force in my life. And the most evil thing we&#8217;ve done? Cheat on a dice roll, maybe!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wrapping Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, D&amp;D stands as a testament to the power of imagination, friendship, and shared storytelling. We&#8217;ve come a long way from the dark days of the Satanic Panic. So, next time you sit down for a campaign, take a moment to appreciate the rich, sometimes tumultuous, history of the game we all love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As DM Gary puts it, &#8220;They thought we were summoning demons, but all we were really summoning was fun.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ah, Dungeons &amp; Dragons! A beloved game of imagination, strategy, and teamwork. But would you believe that once upon a time, the game was suspected of being a one-way ticket to the dark side? Yes, back in the day, D&amp;D &hellip; <span class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.campdragononline.com\/blog\/satanic-panic-dnd-history\/\" class=\"readmore\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The Curious Case of the Satanic Panic: When D&amp;D Wasn\u2019t Just a Game<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":166,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[32,63,64],"class_list":["post-165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dd-history","tag-dd-guide","tag-dd-history","tag-satanic-panic"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Curious Case of the Satanic Panic: When D&amp;D Wasn\u2019t Just a Game - Blog | Camp Dragon Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.campdragononline.com\/blog\/satanic-panic-dnd-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Curious Case of the Satanic Panic: When D&amp;D Wasn\u2019t Just a Game - Blog | Camp Dragon Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ah, Dungeons &amp; Dragons! 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