The Fall of Fear

Michael Stackpole authored Star Wars and Battletech novels.

He created numerous Tabletop RPGs; Tunnels & Trolls / City of Terrors, Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes, the Interplay Computer RPG Wasteland and Wasteland 2.

Never mind that he basically altered the perception of our community overnight (that may be oversimplifying it), his contribution helped to restore calm in a nation wracked by moral panic (Satanic Panic).

In response to the moral panic, Michael A. Stackpole presented Pulling Report (read this!) in 1990.

The build-up of the social horrors that began in the 1960s and culminated in the 1980s was nothing less than a modern day witch hunt in its time. Frightened people hate what they cannot define, and do not understand. 

When tragedy after tragedy strikes, there has to be someone or something to blame.

For a decade she <Patricia Pulling> and others like her, held captive beliefs created in a campaign built on the myth of ritual satanic abuse [see RSA here]. RSA or the Satanic Panic began here in the United States and became a global pandemic that lasted into the early 1990s.

In 1987 Pastors Peter Leithart and George Grant authored The Catechism of a New Age: The Christian Response to Dungeons and Dragons. The work by the pastors was criticized by Professor of Religious Studies (Texas State University). According to Professor Laycock, Leithart and Grant’s work condemn role playing as allowing too much freedom, which in turn breeds critical thinking... which in turn could result in heretical thinking.

Pastor Leithart has been criticized for written works that condemn passivity in Christians, arguing that God did not want Christians to be a powerless oppressed minority.

It was support from men like Pastors Grant and Leithart that helped aid Patricia Pulling in misleading the public perception at large. To clarify, I cannot personally be certain whether or not the pastors genuinely believe what they said, or not and it would be irresponsible for me to make any conjecture or make assumptions.

Much like Stackpole, my only goal is to produce for the facts. My work is in no way as complete or comprehensive as Stackpole’s Pulling Report, but my goals in educating newcomers and veterans alike is the same.

In addition to The Pulling Report, Stackpole authored Game Hysteria and the Truth.

Stackpole blew the top off a decade of fear, fear built on misinformation, propaganda, and lies by presenting certifiable facts by governing agencies.

In October of 1987, Armando Simon wrote in an article for Psychology in Schools that there was “no significant correlation between years of playing the game and emotional stability.”.

In December of 1990, Lisa A. DeRenard and Linda Mannik Kline wrote an article Alienation and the Game Dungeons and Dragons. The article notes that mainstream players of Dungeons and Dragons did not feel social alienation, though those who were deeply and financially committed were more likely to feel alienated.

The arguments connecting role playing games with suicide, satan, and ritual were unfounded. In 1991 the American Association of Suicidology the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Health and Welfare Canada unanimously determined that there was no casual link between fantasy gaming and suicide.

February 1, 1998 Robert Carter and David Lester wrote in Psychology Rep #82 and article titled Personalities of Players of Dungeons and Dragons, reflecting on the panic of the 1980s and the ties of Roleplaying Games and suicide.

The controlled study of twenty undergraduate men who played Dungeons and Dragons revealed that they did not differ in mean scores of depressions, suicidal ideation, psychoticism, extraversion, or neuroticism from unselected undergrads.

Further studies have shown that suicidal tendencies and depression as a rule are not generally associated with people who play role playing games. In fact, a July 13, 2018 article from Statesman Journal, Roleplaying is shown to help rather hinder in people. The article is a short read and worth it.

In 1995 Eric Lis, Carl Chiniara, Robert Biskin, and Richard Montoro authored the article Psychiatrists Perceptions of Role Playing Games, and the article underscores that there is no association between role playing games and poor mental health.

Once the truth was revealed, there was no putting it back.

It was a strange point in our history, and a socio-cultural nightmare. It was not the first time moral panic coiled its serpent’s grasp around us as a people, but the era of that decade, the technology of the time and the charismatic voice of those involved were far reaching with far lasting consequences.

To date, there are still people and groups who view role playing games as satanic tools whose design is to lure curious and unsuspecting people into some twisted winding corridor to darkness.

While the moral panic, that Satanic Panic is more or less behind us, the crusade to turn people away from tabletop role playing games is still out there, still at large.

The same assault on RPGs that turned our ragtag groups of hobbyists into a sub-cultural community in the 1980s has continued to produce propaganda that keeps their anti-gaming movements alive, if not thriving.

In my next piece, we’ll discuss responsible gaming, and the methods developed to ensure that the gaming community stays a healthy and happy place where we can continue to create memories, make friends, and have fun.