The 3 Waves of the RPG Moral Panic - RPG History

110K views • 11 months ago • 1:15:28 Between 1979–2000, the moral panic about tabletop roleplaying games came in three distinct waves. From 'gifted-but-fragile' gamers brainwashing themselves, to gateways to satanic worship, to violent super-predator vampires, the panic took several forms. But to understand a moral panic, we must also study the cultural fears at the time that allowed the panic to catch on. A few handy links and sources: Dangerous Games by Joseph P Laycock - a fascinating book on the subject: https://amzn.to/49bKafZ The Pulling Report by Michael Stackpole: https://www.rpgstudies.net/stackpole/pulling_report.html CBC Archives: https://www.cbc.ca/archives Satanic Panic – Timeline – Ranker - https://www.ranker.com/list/timeline-eighties-satanic-panic/sonja-ska Good overview wiki of Satanic Panic: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Satanic_Panic NY Times – Times for us to revisit the Satanic Panic, Alan Yuhas, March 31,2021 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/31/us/satanic-panic.html Joining a "Cult": Religious Choice or Psychological Aberration? - Dena S. Davis 1996 - https://share.google/TQ73q9K0eLGuXN4A3 Jon C Bush – Vampire – From CBN Christian Broadcasting Network saying Vampire more dangerous than Dungeons and Dragons - https://cbn.com/article/not-selected/vampire-not-just-game Jon C Bush – Vampire – From Washington Post May 7, 1996 – accused of sex attacks on 13 girls https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1996/05/08/a-tale-from-the-dark-side/89e1d356-246e-4988-81f8-e37f2792b4fa/ Bellevue Massacre – Vampire LARP – The Spokesman-Review, May 30, 1997 - Going Gothic Spokane Vampire Community Sinks Imaginary Teeth While Searching For An Identity Dungeons and Dragons: Only a Game? pamphlet from Pro Family Forum, 1981 - https://lichvanwinkle.blogspot.com/2020/04/anti-d-propaganda-from-1980-direct-fom.html?m=1 Dr. Joyce Brothers – spokesman for TSR - https://exhibits.library.cornell.edu/dr-joyce-brothers/feature/games Mike Warnke exposé in Cornerstone Magazine 1992 - https://thedevilyouknow.org/cornerstone-magazine-selling-satan-the-tragic-history-of-mike-warnke/ Patricia Pulling Lawsuit against son’s school: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1983/08/13/parents-sue-school-principal/bc9209f6-3070-430d-a38d-c6d4cca8be63/ Super-Predators https://perma.cc/2TWV-RP7X Unsolved Mysteries on Vampire Gamers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enTRCPCZG2o *SUPPORT ME ON PATREON* (Tip Jar): https://www.patreon.com/SSkorkowsky A heartfelt thank you to my 238 Patrons for their continued support in making this channel possible. ______ *CHECK OUT MY NOVELS* If you want to support my channel, or just want to read an action-packed Urban Fantasy about modern-day monster hunters and their sentient weapons, check out my four-novel Valducan series. They feature gun fights, sword fights, car chases, monsters, and a smattering of horror (except Book 2, which is mostly horror). Audio book editions narrated by the badass R.C. Bray: https://amzn.to/3rehNnJ I also write pulpy Sword & Sorcery thief adventures in my Tales of the Black Raven series. It's 21 short stories packed with action, intrigue, and daring heroics. Audio editions read by R.C. Bray. https://amzn.to/3faj4cX And if you want a kickass and dark revenge story about a modern-day sorceress hunting across the multiverse for lost Carcosa, check out my novel Ashes of Onyx: https://amzn.to/3sfh1IA __________ *GOT DICE?* Check out the Q-Workshop Seth Skorkowsky RPG Icons Dice, a 10-die set that I designed with Q-Workshop: https://q-workshop.com/en/rpg-dice-sets/2046/rpg-icons-dice-set-seth-skorkowsky-copy?search_query=skorkowsky&results=10 For individuals of the 12-sided D6: https://q-workshop.com/en/single-dice/1713/twelve-sided-d6-seth-skorkowsky __________ *SHIRTS!* Check out the Channel Store for some shirts: https://spreadshop-admin.spreadshirt.com/sethskorkowsky/ __________ *FOLLOW ME ON BLUESKY* I mostly ramble about movies, tabletop roleplaying games, and random other things as they occur to me: https://bsky.app/profile/sskorkowsky.bsky.social __________ As an Amazon and DriveThru RPG Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from those websites. #ttrpg #dnd #rpg #satanicpanic 00:00 Intro 02:00 What is a Moral Panic? 03:47 Wave 1: Brainwashing 07:05 The 70's Cult Scare 10:03 The Panic Begins 11:29 William Dear 14:50 James Dallas Egbert III 18:10 Mazes & Monsters 22:37 Wave 2: Selling Satan 29:00 Michelle Remembers 30:57 The Satanic Panic 33:37 Rise of B.A.D.D. 40:52 Thomas Radecki 43:01 The D&D Defense 44:31 The Resistance 46:30 Satanic Claims 51:47 Dark Dungeons 53:46 RPG Panic Movies 56:37 Wave 3: Super-Predators 59:23 Goths & Hackers 1:00:39 Modern & Edgier Games 1:02:49 Vampire the Masquerade 1:03:29 The Vampire Panic 1:07:22 The Panic Ends 1:08:55 Effects of the RPG Panic 1:11:39 Final Thoughts