Occult and the Family
Occult and the Family - Children: The Willing and Unwilling Participants
Rick Branch
From an innocent act of purchasing a book to the murder of a 12-year of girl, this was the story of Scott Waterhouse. As a junior in high school, he bought a copy of Anton La Vey's Satanic Bible . Then at the age of 18, he was convicted of "luring Gycelle Cote into the woods and strangling her `for the heck of it'" ( San Diego Union , Nov. 22, 1984, p. A-40).
Le Vey, the founder of the Satanic Church in San Francisco, is not the only author of Occult books which can be purchased by children.
In the acknowledgements section of Simon's The Hecronomicon it is stated, "The Editor would like to thank all of the people whose cooperation and dedication to unspeakable horrors has made this book possible." Perhaps it was from one of these books or one of the thousands of others that a Houston, Texas, area group known as the Wolverines gained their hideous ideas.
Four teen-agers in the Fort Bend County community were arrested for allegedly agreeing to simultaneously assault their parents. "One woman was bludgeoned to death by her 15-year-old son, ...three other parents survived shotgun attacks." The Wolverines were "...alleged to have been involved in the occult," ( Dallas Morning News , Jan. 2, 1989, p. A 44).
Children are not only willing participants in the Occult, they are often times the innocent victims. According to Insight magazine, "Police and psychologist are giving greater credence to stories of survivors of rituals that involve human sacrifice, both of adults and children.
"Authorities would not hazard a guess as to the number of `orthodox <a href="../cat95.htm#Satanism">satanists </a>,' long-standing devotees, involved in ritual killings and maimings and the abduction of children. Nor could they offer specific numbers on victims, since many remain unrecognized as such," (Jan. 11, 1988 p. 49).
While authorities may not be able to hazard a guess, Dr. Al Carlisle, psychologist at the Utah State Penitentiary, relates information from inmates. "A Satanic priest told Dr. Carlisle between 50,000 and 60,000 human sacrifices occur annually in the United States.
"`I'd cut that number way down,' Dr. Carlisle said, `But you look at all the missing kids we have. Not all have run away. Some are killed by sex offenders, but that still leaves a sizable number,'" ( Salt Lake Tribune Aug. 3, 1986, p. B-15).
In addition to the outright murder of adults and children, there is the more subtle ritualistic abuse. According to Christianity Today , "Adults who claim to have been ritualistically abused as children have been seeking counseling in offices around the country. Their stories are remarkably similar to the ones told by children today," (Sept. 2, 1988, p. 52).
One such story was that of the case in Roseburg, Oregon where two men were convicted of "...molesting children in the family's three day-care centers. In that case, children have alleged chanting, wearing of black robes, and burning of candles, according to prosecutor Bill Lasswell," ( Ibid ).
For years the Occult was something that was only mentioned in the movies or in an occasional sermon. Now, however, Christians must become aware that the Occult is becoming a growing problem. The Church must begin to warn its people about the very real dangers of this now surfacing underground movement.