Halloween is a favored holiday for many Satanists. We enjoy it as a time for viewing favorite spooky films—the immortal monsters Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man often as presented by Universal or Hammer, or some of the ghostly classics such as THE HAUNTING, THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, THE INNOCENTS. It may serve as the night one evokes the thrill of “fun fear” by experiencing local “haunted attractions,” be they darkly majestic or simply cobbled together with a sense of spooky fun. It has long been an occasion for wearing masks and costumes that might be sinister, amusing, heroic, or seductive—diabolically revealing personal inclinations hidden from others for the rest of the year.
We Satanists encourage all who enjoy this holiday to explore their “inner darkness”—a form of civilized “lycanthropy” that for us is common practice. It can be a most satisfying means for attaining deeper self-knowledge through exercising, rather than exorcising, the “demons” within. Being oneself can be a challenge for so many of the “normal” folk who daily attempt to live according to the expectations of others. On this night, perchance they will allow their true selves to emerge, celebrating the singular passions that establish one’s uniqueness. Be warned, such exhilaration can be addictive!
We’ve recently seen pop-horror shows depicting devil worship once again as a means to terrify or titillate their audiences. They erroneously call their characters Satanists, when they are just old tropes from horror films being recycled yet again—we’ve always reminded the aware to note when such past orthodoxies recur. A pity that none have been creative enough to show Satanists as the champions of justice, those seeking out facts and bringing miscreants to judgment, or as scientists, explorers or the creative and passionate individuals we know our kind to be. In THE BLACK CAT, Karloff’s Satanic High Priest is a brilliant Art Deco architect, but sadly also a murderous devil worshipper. We’ll just have to content ourselves with some of the more Satanic characters such as Batman until writers do something bold and iconoclastic.
We’ve seen in events around the globe that so many individuals whose nature and activities threaten the practice of our Satanic values of liberty, equity and individualism have faces that are placid, bland or simply dull—not indicative of the monstrousness they wish to impose on others. Their mediocre visages are masks hiding the hideousness of their toxicity and hostile intentions directed towards those who cherish reason and freedom. Look to their inner beings and recognize the fiends hidden by their outer masks for your well-being may depend upon exposing their festering malevolence.
Here in the haunted Hudson Valley, we carry on the tradition of giving out candy to those “Trick or Treaters” who brave the night to approach our dark Victorian manse—and those with costumes of a more monstrous nature naturally tend to receive extra, from we aficionados of the outré. And it seems the color scheme of our Black House has become the archetype for many depictions of haunted homes—black, red and purple are the emblematic hues on cards, banners and other Halloween décor. For those of us in “The Witchcraft District,” Halloween is a state of mind, not limited to but once a year.
My wife Peggy and I were married on Halloween and tonight we celebrate the 37th anniversary of that formal joining of our lives. Back then, a Halloween wedding was most unusual. Now it has become a typical time for couples to be wed. The High Priestess and I salute those who revel on this most evocative of evenings and we offer our blessings to couples who have shared this magical wedding night. May your passions be unparalleled!
—Magus Peter H. Gilmore
