Today we share the final piece of public writing selected for publication from an assignment in ENGL 801 “Graduate Studies in English” — and the third selection from Section A of ENGL 801, taught last fall by Cameron Leader-Picone: a piece of public scholarship (700-1,000 words) which tailors an academic paper and its scholarly intervention of 10-12 pages for a general-interest audience.
Read more about the assignment and the first publication, “Men, Monsters, and Maidens: Gender in Dracula” by Amber McAfee (MA ’26), in the post from December 5, and enjoy the subsequent posts: “Journaling on Mars: The Pen is Mightier Than the Planet” by Jeffery Jones (MA ’26), “It’s Alive” by Juan Maldonado (MA ’26), “Sarcasm at the End of the World” by Eve Wilson (MA ’25), and “Location: Temporary” by Cariana Kut (MA ’26). Now, on to “Dungeons & Dragons: From Satanism to Stranger Things” by Maranda Haile (MA ’26) —
— Karin Westman, Professor and Department Head / Instructor for ENGL 801 B/ZA (Fall 2024)
You find yourself in a forest. You’re surrounded by large, towering trees that are almost completely covering your view of the sky. Little slivers of light shine through as you walk on a clearing of dirt and rotting leaves, looking for the cave said to house a secret prison in which an ally is being held. You walk for what feels like an hour, direction unknown, until you come to a clearing. Give me a d20 perception roll.
It’s a 14.
With a 14, you see a fire pit, smoking as if it was recently snuffed out. There are some empty cans scattered around from the dinner of whoever was camping here previously. You hear a bush to your right rustling quietly. What do you do?
Well… I think I want to go up to the bush.
Do you want to sneak up to the bush and attack it? Do you just want to go peek around it?
I want to walk up to the bush and just shout “Who’s there?”
Okay, an interesting tactic. You walk timidly up close to the bush and shout “WHO’S THERE?” Out jumps a woman, and she yells back at you:
“I’m Patricia Pulling, and I’m Bothered Against Dungeons and Dragons! BADD for short! I’m sure you’ve heard about me…”
I actually have no idea who you are…I’m just trying to play D&D here.
She’s taken aback by this statement, her ego is bruised, and she takes 3 points of psychic damage. She says:
“Oh no — not a D&D player! My biggest enemy! You’ll know who I am by the time I’m done with you!”
Patricia Pulling, born in 1948 from Richmond Virginia, was the founder of Bothered Against Dungeons and Dragons after her son’s death, which she blamed on the influence of playing Dungeons and Dragons. BADD was a public advocacy group that published information with her beliefs on D&D. She believed that D&D encouraged witchcraft, voodoo, blasphemy, and satanism to list just a couple of dangers. Patricia helped contribute to the fears around Dungeons & Dragons in the 80’s during the Satanic Panic.
Wait wait hold up. Satanic Panic? What are you talking about?
You’ve never heard about the Satanic Panic? The Satanic Panic started in the 1970s but really caught fire in the 1980s. While the Satanic Panic ultimately started with people accusing day care centers of being run by pedophiles, it grew into accusations of devil worshiping and ideas that some things that were perceived as “different,” “new,” or even “nerdy” were dangerous. The most obvious cases of this danger being horror movies, heavy metal music, and Dungeons & Dragons. The influence of the New Right, a coalition of conservatives in America, further pushed these harsh and damaging cultural perceptions. Unfortunately for D&D, its fantasy-based story lines did not align with the Bible’s interpretations of good and evil and was therefore chastised and accused of being Satanic.
That’s so interesting considering Dungeons & Dragons is so popular nowadays. Like, literally everyone I know loves D&D. I can’t believe people were so afraid of something so fun and imaginative. It seems like the perception around the game has changed so much since then.
It has! The negative feelings towards the game seemed to really start changing between the late 90’s and early 00’s. In 1999, Wizards of the Coast, the publisher of Dungeons & Dragons, was bought by Hasboro, a major game and toy company. This purchase helped launch D&D into being a more mainstream game and name. If a major toy seller sells it, how evil could it really be? Also, in 2001, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was released in theaters. Its success was huge for D&D because Lord of the Rings was one of Gary Gygax’s (one of the creators of D&D) greatest influences for the game!
All of this is giving me an idea… I got it! I know just how to defeat Patricia!
That’s the spirit! Roll for initiative.
I got an 8!
And Patricia got a 4, so you’re first!
I cast Vicious Mockery!
Great choice! What do you say with your Vicious Mockery?
I say: Hey Patricia, guess what? Dungeons & Dragons is so popular, we have a whole television show based around it called Stranger Things! It’s one of the most popular shows ever created on the streaming platform, Netflix. We also have whole movies, video games, and podcasts based around it. Dungeons & Dragons is so widely popular that 50 million people have played it since its creation! No longer are the days of fearing D&D — we love fantasy!
Ouch, Patricia loses her wisdom-saving roll and takes 6 points of psychic damage. You defeated the notorious Patricia Pulling with the power of facts. She didn’t stand a chance against the world’s powerful love of fantasy!
Works Cited
Engrav, Charlotte. “Dungeons & Dragons turns 50 this year. Here’s what the game has meant to you.”npr, https://www.npr.org/2024/09/20/g-s1-23824/as-dungeons-dragons-turns-50-this-year-we-asked-listeners-for-their-stories-about-the-game-here-are-5#:~:text=Since%20then%2C%20the%20game%27s%20publisher,game%20teen%20killings%20and%20witchcraft. Accessed 20 November 2024.
Hughes, Sarah. “American Monsters: Tabloid Media and the Satanic Panic, 1970-2000.” Journal of American Studies, vol. 51, no. 3, 2017, pp. 691-719. ProQuest, https://er.lib.k-state.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/american-monsters-tabloid-media-satanic-panic/docview/1917985346/se-2, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021875816001298. Accessed 20 November 2024.
Holloway, Daniel. “‘Stranger Things‘ Ratings: Where Series Ranks Among Netflix’s Most Watched.” Variety. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160826062844/http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/stranger-things-tv-ratings-netflix-most-watched-1201844081/https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-duffer-brothers-geek-out-on- dungeons-and-dragons#:~:text=%E2%80%9CEverything%20about%20their%20D%26D%20game,personality%2C%E2%80%9D%20Ross%20chimes%20in. Accessed 20 November 2024.
Waldron, David. “Role-Playing Games and the Christian Right: Community Formation in Response to a Moral Panic.” Journal of Religion and Popular Culture. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130104131941/https://www.usask.ca/relst/jrpc/art9-roleplaying-print.html. Accessed 20 November 2024.
— Maranda Haile (MA ’26)
K-State English 
One thought on “Dungeons & Dragons: From Satanism to Stranger Things”