Hooded figures standing in a circle repeating incantations and making sacrifices to raise the Devil, Satanism utters visions of utter evil, sacrifices, black mass, orgies taking place. Many of those in the paranormal seem to propagate and cling to outdated Hollywood stereotypes that tend to handicap them when it comes to investigations. By holding on to these beliefs, a misdiagnosis can often be made.
Satanism and its role in the paranormal have often been misunderstood due to movies and paranormal television shows playing up the "dastardly" religion to sell its products. Regrettably, ghost hunting shows are often taken as fact, which peg Satanists as running around wild performing rituals, mass, and having orgies that end up leading to open portals.
The Satanic Bible is also played up in attempts to paint this picture as truth. This is an easy target for most people, who take things at face value. Without any concept of what lies within the pages of the Satanic Bible, it can be scary to think about. Satanism has a Bible? Well yes and no, and probably not in the context you are used to thinking about. Although, if time is taken to research this legendary book, it becomes apparent that the portrayal is entirely false.
To add fire to the flame, many symbols that we associate with being satanic are actually either borrowed or older than the mainstream Satanism we know today. Many investigators make the mistake of attributing pagan symbols with a good nature behind them as satanic. Pentagrams seem to be the most commonly misdiagnosed symbol. People seem to think that the minute a pentagram is spotted, there must be some kind of satanic worshipping happening in the area. In real life, the pentagram is used by many religions, mostly used as the symbol of spirit, earth, wind, water, and fire. See my other blog on the misconceptions of symbols.
Contrary to mainstream belief, Satanists don't gather in churches by the droves and are challenging to find. Usually, there may be 1 or 2 that know each other locally, not entire groups of people (the exception being The Satanic Temple), so these television shows promoting the idea of groups of Satanists gathering together to do rituals at all these places is ludicrous.
To add fire to the flame, many symbols that we associate with being satanic are actually either borrowed or older than the mainstream Satanism we know today. Many investigators make the mistake of attributing pagan symbols with a good nature behind them as satanic. Pentagrams seem to be the most commonly misdiagnosed symbol. People seem to think that the minute a pentagram is spotted, there must be some kind of satanic worshipping happening in the area. In real life, the pentagram is used by many religions, mostly used as the symbol of spirit, earth, wind, water, and fire. See my other blog on the misconceptions of symbols.
Contrary to mainstream belief, Satanists don't gather in churches by the droves and are challenging to find. Usually, there may be 1 or 2 that know each other locally, not entire groups of people (the exception being The Satanic Temple), so these television shows promoting the idea of groups of Satanists gathering together to do rituals at all these places is ludicrous.
Contrary to popular belief, most Satanists are good-natured people, many of them just atheists or disenchanted by mainstream religions. If the paranormal as a community is to ever steer towards being accepted by the mainstream scientific masses, we must be able to do our own research. Take the time to understand what is being presented, rather than just regurgitating the garbage that Hollywood spews to everyone.