[Fanzine Focus XLII] Satanic Panic Zine #1

On the tail of the Old School Renaissance has come another movement—the rise of the fanzine. Although the fanzine—a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon, got its start in Science Fiction fandom, in the gaming hobby it first started with Chess and Diplomacy fanzines before finding fertile ground in the roleplaying hobby in the 1970s. Here these amateurish publications allowed the hobby a public space for two things. First, they were somewhere that the hobby could voice opinions and ideas that lay outside those of a game’s publisher. Second, in the Golden Age of roleplaying when the Dungeon Masters were expected to create their own settings and adventures, they also provided a rough and ready source of support for the game of your choice. Many also served as vehicles for the fanzine editor’s house campaign and thus they showed how another Dungeon Master and her group played said game. This would often change over time if a fanzine accepted submissions. Initially, fanzines were primarily dedicated to the big three RPGs of the 1970s—Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest, and Traveller—but fanzines have appeared dedicated to other RPGs since, some of which helped keep a game popular in the face of no official support.

Since 2008 with the publication of Fight On #1, the Old School Renaissance has had its own fanzines. The advantage of the Old School Renaissance is that the various Retroclones draw from the same source and thus one Dungeons & Dragons-style RPG is compatible with another. This means that the contents of one fanzine will compatible with the Retroclone that you already run and play even if not specifically written for it. Labyrinth Lord and Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay have proved to be popular choices to base fanzines around, as has Swords & Wizardry. The Satanic Panic Zine sets out to do something different and that is to chronicle and examine some of more events of the satanic panic of the eighties and nineties and their effect upon roleplaying games and the roleplaying hobby. Alongside that it will provide some gaming content.

Satanic Panic Zine #1, subtitled, “Why parents in the 1980s lost their fuckin’ minds over D&D”, was published in December, 2025, following a successful Kickstarter campaign. Published by Bloat Games, this is a very American fanzine, which makes sense because all of the events it describes and the moral panic itself—for the most part—took place in the USA. It opens with a table of ‘d66 Reasons Your Mom Thinks You Are A Satanist’, with entries such as “Mazes and Monsters was the movie of the week – thanks Tom Hanks!” and “The preacher tells her playing D&D will make you burn in hell.” and “She read a Chick Track.” and “Newspaper article on video games and the occult.” Slightly tongue-in-cheek, it sets the tone for the issue. The historical content begins with the expose by The 700 Club on the Christian Broadcasting Network, titled ‘ “Rock Music, D&D, Cartoons’. ” in which Pat Robertson alleged that youth of America were being corrupted by organized and secrets cults working in league for Satan himself. Bloat provides detailed description of the programme before countering it with his own personal experiences as a youth of the time, persecuted for his way of dressing, reading comics, and of course, playing Dungeons & Dragons.

He then goes on to condemn Robertson as ‘Ratt Pobertson’, “…[A] weak-minded, feeble old fool. His forked tongue only spews lies and hate. While he tries to convince everyone that he is righteous, holy, and good, he is a liar and a con.” providing stats for him as a fiendish, lying goblin, Chaotic Evil with stats for both Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition and ShadowDark. There is even a table of “[T]otally bogus Ratt Pobertson rumors, completely made up for this author’s amusement”. The other gaming content is ‘Garzax (Demon) With Occultists’, this time for Old School Essentials and lastly the Satanic Cult Member and the Satanic Cult Leader Necromancer, both for Bloat games’ own Survive THIS!! line of compatible roleplaying games.

Bloat asks if ‘The Stanic Panic Started in Canada?’ This examines the novel Michelle Remembers which recounts of suppressed memories satanic ritualistic abuse suffered as a child unlocked via therapeutic treatment and whilst subsequently debunked, it was quickly adopted as proof by Christian conservatives. He also looks at ‘The Sad Tale of Dallas Egbert’, which recounts the events of his disappearance from Michigan State University in 1979 and William Dear’s subsequent investigation and self-aggrandisement. He also ties it into Mazes & Monsters, Rona Jaffe’s novel, clearly inspired by the disappearance and its subsequent adaptation as a television film in 1982.

It is all a bit obvious. It also not really balanced by the gaming content or the reflection. Of course, there may be readers who are unaware of either the Satanic panic or its effect upon gaming, but they are going to be few in number. After all, the primary audience for the fanzine is those who lived through this period or have an interest in the history of gaming. Then the gaming content is nothing to write home about. There may be an amusing entry or three on the issue’s various tables, but barely a handful of monsters for multiple systems do not make for useful content and they certainly do not work as a means to explore the Satanic Panic and its effects through gaming. No scenario, no plot hooks, no guide to bringing the Satanic Panic to life in anyone’s game. Plus, the reflection goes no further than it having been bad for the author.

Physically, Satanic Panic Zine #1 is well laid and liberally illustrated.

There is plenty of scope for a gamer and creator to recount the events of the Satanic Panic and examine how they affected both him and the hobby itself and then couple it with some gaming content. That scope remains because Satanic Panic Zine #1 does not really fulfil its remit. Whilst the key events of the Satanic Panic are highlighted, their consequences are not, whether personally by the author or gaming at large—especially the latter. They are, in fact, ignored. Similarly, there is gaming content, but not useful gaming content. It could have been better if there had been multiple voices recounting their experiences of the Satanic Panic, if there had been a scenario or just a plot hook or two or if the author had any interesting to say. Satanic Panic Zine #1 could have been something, but it just manages to be underwhelming and self-indulgent at the same time.