Goth shop attacked for "Satanism" in Ireland

Raining hellfire on the scary doll store
Irish Times (Dublin); Jan 24, 2009; p. 4

Ballymena councillors are incensed by a shop selling 'Living Dead Dolls', but its owner says it's just a fun place for teenagers to meet, writes FIONOLA MEREDITH .

TROUBLE IS brewing in Ballymena, the bustling market town at the very heart of North Antrim. A recently opened shop - Tracy's Livin' Dead, which stocks the dark, morbid and often eroticised "goth gear" beloved of gloomy teenagers everywhere - has incurred the wrath of some local councillors.

One representative has raised concerns with the police that the store is "purely satanic and witchcraft-related", and is a bad influence on the town's children. DUP councillor John Carson told a meeting of the Ballymena District Policing Partnership that he was concerned about the location's "close proximity to a bus stop used by young people".

When contacted by The Irish Times, Carson refused to comment further on the matter, adding that to do so would be to draw more publicity to the shop.

It's clear that shop owner Tracy Wilson is unfazed by all the fuss. "Welcome to the root of all evil," she sings out as I walk into her premises. It's an unexpectedly bright and breezy place: "We cleaned all the blood off the walls before you got here," quips Tracy's assistant behind the till.

With its rather comical skull transfers on the windows, a shop like this wouldn't stand out at all if it was situated in Dublin or even Belfast, but in Ballymena - which, despite the town's notorious drug problems, retains a facade of 1950s-style genteel propriety - it seems exotic.

As does Tracy herself: the 43-year-old grandmother of two is resplendent in a pentagram necklace and a "Protected by Satan" hoodie. Her other favourite hoodie, perhaps guaranteed to rile the councillors even more, is emblazoned with the slogan "God is busy . . . can I help you?"

As far as Wilson is concerned, the satanic schtick is all a bit of a laugh, and she's frustrated, if not entirely surprised, at the councillors' hostile stance.

"It's not meant to be offensive, it really isn't," she insists, "and I'm going to keep on stocking it as long as the kids want the stuff." Far from deterring youngsters from entering the shop, Wilson says that part of her motivation for opening Tracy's Livin' Dead was to give young people a place to hang out in a town that's sorely lacking in opportunities for them.

She evidently has a great affection for the crowd of black-clad teenagers sipping mugs of coffee and chatting away together on sofas at the back of the shop. "You'd never find a nicer bunch of kids than the ones that come in that door," she says proudly, in a tone far more mother hen than anarchic punk queen. "When I was growing up in Ballymena, it was the kind of place where the swings were locked up on Sundays - it's always been very old-fashioned - but with this shop the kids have somewhere where they can dress the way they want and just be themselves."

ALL THE SAME, it's easy to see why some parents wouldn't be delighted with the kind of gear Tracy sells. Most of it is fairly innocuous, the usual goth fare - red and black stripy legwarmers, "weeping rose" scented black candles, tightly corseted velvet dresses and the odd pair of absurdly campy silver spider-web stiletto boots - but Wilson's selection of "Livin' Dead Dolls", after which the shop is named, are distinctly gruesome. The very antithesis of Tiny Tears, these ghoulish little mannequins have black-rimmed eyes, bloody scars and sinister smiles, and each comes with its own "death certificate" and the warning "only for spooky kids over 15".

They may well be collectors' items, as Tracy tells me, but isn't stocking such controversial dolls a step too far? "I have the highest morals where children are concerned, and I'm responsible about what I do," says Wilson. "I make sure that the dolls are on a high shelf so that younger kids can't see them. I bring my own little grandson in here, and I wouldn't do anything to worry him. And I won't sell the dolls to anyone under 15. Sometimes I do get 12-year-olds coming in, wanting to buy a hoodie or something, but I tell them to bring their mum in so I know they have permission. When the kids don't have much money, I set aside stuff for them and let them pay it off bit by bit."

It's not the first time that the spectre of witchcraft has been invoked in the traditionally God-fearing town. When JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was published in 2005, Ballymena DUP councillor Roy Gillespie urged parents to boycott a local launch, claiming that the series of best-selling books amounted to a "cult", and contained "material totally unsuitable for young minds".

Strangely enough, the wider North Antrim area is historically notorious as a home of witchcraft: in the early 18th century, a series of strange events in nearby Islandmagee led to Ireland's last witchcraft trial in 1711.

Yet, while Tracy's Livin' Dead may not be to everyone's taste, it seems that the shop functions more as a friendly teenage drop-in centre rather than a satanic den of iniquity.

And so far, Wilson has yet to receive a visit from the police. Besides, she says, "I'm sure they have better things to do than bother about me selling PVC dresses and tartan trousers."

Emo Satanic Panic in South Africa

Another moral panic this time in South Africa. For some reason the article seems to combine emo, satanism and metal together in a nonsensical combination.


Sword killing sparks fears of satanic ritual deaths
Weekend Post - Aug 23, 2008

Psychologists warn that the inability of parents and schools to recognise when teenagers are troubled or involved in potentially lethal activities could result in scenarios where they play out their fantasies among their peers – as happened at the Nic Diederichs Technical High School in Krugersdorp on Monday with tragic consequences.

Teenagers in the Eastern and Southern Cape – like their peers in other parts of the world – are also falling prey to a dark new sub-culture known as “Emo”, according to counsellors.

Emo, short for emotional, stems from the alternative US music scene and refers to teens who dress in black, wear dark make-up, show no emotion and listen to bands with lyrics about death and depression. It has already claimed at least one life – that of British 13-year-old Hannah Bond – late last year, after she hanged herself from her bunk bed.

Daily Mail - Legacy of Distortion Part II - Luke Mitchell and the Murder of Jodi Jones

The sensationalised reporting surrounding the case of Luke Mitchell and he murder of Jodi Jones is also interesting. This was a terrible case but the focus on goth found generally in the media was simply media sensationalism full of distortion interconnecting the murder with goth, Heavy metal, occult and Satanism. The Police in the case did not help with their focus. Luke Mitchell was a sick killer but the reporting linked innocent fans of bands and certain music to murder in an unjustified way. As always Columbine goth myth is mentioned in fact neither of the murders there really liked Marilyn Manson or goth and nor did they wear trenchcoats generally (see Columbine - The Legacy of Hatred).


Read some of the earliest reports:

Was 'Goth' Jodi the victim of a ritual black magic murder?

BYLINE: TAMZIN LEWIS

Mail on Sunday July 6, 2003

SECTION: STH1; Pg. 13

THE brutal murder of schoolgirl Jodi Jones may be linked to satanism and black magic, detectives revealed last night.

Senior officers confirmed that the 14-year-old girl's association with Goth culture is a major part of their investigation into her killing.

Jodi and her boyfriend Luke Mitchell, also 14, were followers of the morbid subculture which celebrates death, depression, anger and hatred. Extreme elements of the Goth world have been known to dabble in satanism and black magic.

Jodi's mutilated body was found dumped by a country path near her home in Dalkeith, Midlothian, on Monday.

The officer leading the hunt for the killer, Detective Superintendent Craig Dobbie, described the attack as 'the most violent death I've experienced in 28 years in the police'.

Jodi's throat had been slashed and she had multiple stab wounds including a large injury to her stomach. The Mail on Sunday has knowledge of other aspects of the way her body was mutilated but cannot reveal them for police operational reasons.

However, the 'sinister' nature of her injuries has led detectives to investigate her association with the movement.

Last night a senior police source revealed: 'We will be looking at what Jodi and her social circle were interested in and an obvious area will be their ties to the Goth movement.

'We will be examining if the manner in which she was killed has any links to the violent world that many Goths find fascinating and will be speaking to all her friends who had similar interests.' Jodi was killed after failing to keep an appointment to meet Luke. The alarm was raised after her mother Judith sent a text message to Luke's mobile phone saying her daughter was late returning home.

As Jodi's grandmother and sister began searching a wooded area used by locals as a shortcut, Luke stumbled upon her body lying behind a wall.

On Friday police questioned the boy for several hours and a team of forensic officers removed more than 20 large brown paper bags and yellow sacks from his family's home in Dalkeith as they combed the detached house, garage, garden and cars for items.

The couple were part of a small band of friends who enjoyed grunge and Goth music, dressed in dark clothing and dyed their hair. Jodi was a fan of bands such as Nirvana, Korn and Queens Of The Stone Age and loved dressing in Goth-style clothing.

Teenagers Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, who killed 12 fellow students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Colorado and then committed suicide, were labelled Goths because they wore black trench coats and listened to Marilyn Manson.

After the 1999 shootings, critics of Marilyn Manson claimed that the singer's dark lyrics may have inspired the killers.

Three days after Jodi's death, Luke placed a floral tribute near to where she died with a card which quoted Nirvana star Kurt Cobain who committed suicide nine years ago.

The card said: 'The finest day I ever had, was when tomorrow never came.'

And again in this article:

'Satanism' link to the brutal murder of schoolgirl Jodi
DAILY MAIL July 7, 2003 BYLINE: GAVIN MADELEY

SECTION: ED_SC1; Pg. 6

THE maniac who murdered schoolgirl Jodi Jones may have been obsessed with Satanism and the occult, detectives said yesterday.

The nature of 14-year-old Jodi's injuries - precise details of which are being kept secret by police - hint at a 'ritualistic' aspect to her death.

Murder squad officers are looking closely at the teenager's Goth lifestyle and musical tastes for clues. As prayers were said for Jodi and her family in local churches yesterday, officers were focusing a 'major' part of their inquiry on the macabre song lyrics of many of her favourite bands and on the morbid literature she read.


Both she and her boyfriend, 14- year- old Luke Mitchell, were followers of the Goth movement. Fans favour dark clothing, heavy make- up, tattoos and body piercings.
Some, at the extremes of the Goth scene, profess to 'dabble' in witchcraft. Occult imagery is a major part of the look and lyrics of Goth bands.

The possible link to Satanism comes as detectives await the outcome this week of crucial DNA tests on Jodi's body and clothing.

Detectives hope scientists will find a clue to the killer's identity from the body - one of his hairs; a flake of skin; saliva. Even fibres from his clothing could help track him down.

Jodi's body was found by her boyfriend near a secluded path close to her home in Dalkeith, Midlothian, a week ago.

Her throat had been slashed and she had suffered multiple stab wounds, including a large gash injury to her stomach...

A senior police source said last night: 'We will be looking carefully at what Jodi and her social circle were interested in. An obvious area will be their ties to the Goth movement.

'We will examine if the manner in which she was killed has any links to the violent world many Goths find fascinating.' Jodi, a fourth-year pupil at St David's RC High School, and her small circle of friends listened to bands such as Korn and Nirvana, dyed their hair and dressed in dark clothing.

Her favourite film was Queen of the Damned. It became a cult classic, in part because its star - pop singer Aaliyah - died in a plane crash before filming was complete.
Jodi also read the works of poet Sylvia Plath, who wrote about death before she committed suicide in 1963.

Jodi was killed on her way to meet Luke, using the popular Roman Dyke shortcut. She left her home at around 5pm last Monday after the pair had exchanged text messages. Within an hour, she had been brutally murdered

When the trial ended the connections continued:

Obsessed with drugs and death, a descent into evil BYLINE: GRACE MCLEAN

DAILY MAIL January 22, 2005

His parents Philip and Corinne split up in 1999, and by the time he was 14, Mitchell was claiming to smoke hundreds of cannabis joints a week, was obsessed with knives, and immersed himself in a Goth subculture which celebrated Satanism.

A fan of Marilyn Manson whose songs are said to have inspired murders all over the U.S. and Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain who committed suicide in 1994 Mitchell's burgeoning sexuality drove him to pursue schoolgirls with a predatory appetite.

"MARILYN Manson is perhaps the most notorious figure in the Goth rock music scene.

A media manipulator and self-styled 'Antichrist superstar' he has taken the first name of Marilyn Monroe, and the surname of a serial killer, Charles Manson, to create a disturbing public persona.

His Satanic lyrics and grotesque videos were blamed for the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado when two neo-Nazi teenagers killed 25 of their classmates.

Goths have a huge following among British teenagers who dress in black and revel in looking pale and gaunt."

But this long article furthers the accusation between Manson and murder. As discussed earlier the columbine murderers were neither goths nor were they Manson fans really.

SHOCK ROCK

BYLINE: GRACE MCLEAN; JONATHAN BROCKLEBANK

DAILY MAIL January 22, 2005 SECTION: ED_SC1; Pg. 15

ROCK star Marilyn Manson's influence on teenagers has already been blamed for several murders across the world. Now Jodi Jones's name may be added to that list.

While the question of any link between Jodi's death and Manson's fascination with the notorious Black Dahlia Murder remained the subject of intense debate in court, it is clear the two crimes bore chilling similarities.

As they came to interview Luke Mitchell, detectives made the connection almost at once. They believe he became fascinated with the 1947 Los Angeles murder after Manson painted a series of gruesome watercolour paintings of actress Elizabeth Short's dismembered body.


Jodi's face was slit from just below her mouth, across the cheek almost to her ear. Similar injuries were found on both sides of Miss Short's face.

Jodi also suffered a terrible knife injury to one breast. In Miss Short's case, part of her breast was removed and, police believe, kept as a souvenir by her killer.

Miss Short's killer cut her in two across the middle. Jodi also suffered terrible wounds to her abdomen probably inflicted after death although there was no apparent attempt to dismember her.

Post-mortem pictures of Miss Short were depicted in a catalogue of paintmannequinings by Marilyn Manson. The possible link with Jodi's death was established when detectives raided Mitchell's home and found that he was a fan of the star.

Manson's name was scrawled across Mitchell's school jotters, and two days after Jodi's death he bought a DVD and CD package containing a short film made by Manson called Doppelherz. It featured images of a young girl lying naked on open ground and of two girls in corsets bound together in the woods with bags over their heads.

A police source said: 'We very quickly made the connection between Mitchell's obsession with Manson and the murder of Elizabeth Short. Jodi's injuries were so similar it was frightening.

' Mitchell was absolutely obsessed by Manson and the violence surrounding his work.' Born in Massachusetts, Elizabeth Short had came to Hollywood in August 1946 to try her luck in the film business.

It was two months earlier, while living in Southern California, that the nickname the Black Dahlia was born at a corner drugstore she used to frequent. It was a play on the recently released film noir The Blue Dahlia, starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake.

ON January 15, 1947, Betty Bersinger caught a glimpse of something in a vacant lot which looked like a broken mannequin. As she grew closer, she realised the body was human and called police.

It was the most sickening thing the officers had ever seen. The dead woman seemed posed, lying on her back with her arms raised over her shoulders. She had been cut in half at the waist.

Her face and body had been slashed viciously, with cuts running from both edges of her mouth to the ears. Rope marks were also found on her neck.

The 22-year-old was identified from her fingerprints as details of the case spread across America, gripping much of the country with morbid fascination.

At least three men made false confessions.

In a book written by a childhood friend of the victim, filmmaker Orson Welles was even suggested as a suspect because an unused set from his 1948 movie The Lady from Shanghai was decorated with female body parts, including a face mutilated like Miss Short's and a body cut in half.

Meanwhile, police believed the real killer was taunting them. They received items belonging to the victim in the post and, later, notes which said: 'Catch me if you can.' Some detectives came to believe it was the perfect murder because of the lack of hard evidence.

Police officers in the Jodi Jones case think Mitchell, too, believed he had committed the perfect murder. One detective said: 'He thought he had got clean away with it that the case was too circumstantial for him to go down.' Today interest in the Black Dahlia murder is as keen as ever and it is in no small measure due to death metal stars such as Marilyn Manson peddling the horrors of the case almost as if they were something to be celebrated.

Commenting on the infamous murder, Manson once said: 'The crime was never solved and I've been obsessed with it since I was very young. The first picture, A Smile I, is how she came to Hollywood with hopes of becoming famous.

'The second, A Smile II, is how she was left, in a sad way, very famous. I think this is one of my best pieces. So I hope no one buys it, cos I really don't want to lose it.' Filming of a new movie about the Black Dahlia murder, starring Josh Hartnett, Mark Wahlberg and Scarlett Johansson, is due to start in March and there is even a U.S heavy metal band which calls itself The Black Dahlia Murder.

In 2002 they devoted a whole album to Miss Short's murder. It contains lyrics which would appal most yet their audiences are largely impressionable, often confused teenagers.

One song has the lines: 'And in my dreams I cut your mouth from ear to ear/Dissecting your angelic body in the quiet of your room/ 'How splendidly I carve into your tender heart/I'm shuddering between the sheets.' The same song has the lyrics: 'As I caress your perfection/My angel, I'll tear your insides out.' AS for Manson whose name is a combination of Marilyn Monroe and killer Charles Manson his Satanic lyrics and disturbing videos were once blamed for the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado, when two teenagers went on the rampage, killing 25 classmates.

Manson argues his name was wrongly linked with the crime on the basis of erroneous early news reports on the massacre which said the killers were wearing Marilyn Manson T-shirts.

Five years ago, his lyrics are also said to have inspired three teenage girls identified only as 16-year-old Milena, Ambra, 17, and Veronica, 17, to stab the 61- year- old Mother Superior who had taught them at their school in Italy.

Police found the girls were obsessive fans of the singer, their school diaries were scrawled with Manson's lyrics and they had made a pact to worship the Devil.

Responding to criticism over the murder, Manson said: 'You can find inspiration for man's behaviour wherever you look. I think people have to take responsibility for their own actions. I don't think I have ever tried to create things to encourage people to hurt others, or themselves.' He claimed his stage show helps teenagers release their pent-up aggression, rather than encouraging violence in their everyday lives.

' These kids are getting out everything that they can't get out the rest of the week the rest of the year. That's a catharsis for them, that's what rock'n'roll's supposed to be.' With his name now inextricably linked with the Jodi Jones murder trial, parents may well wonder i f Manson's peddling of the grotesque to teenagers really is a welcome catharsis or a potential trigger for slaughter

This article by MELANIE PHILLIPS is shockingly blatant in its attempt to link drug use to goth culture. Drug use is rife right across British youth of all types not just goths, plu I seriously doubt that there statistically any more goths from broken homes than any other group:

Cannabis caused a 14-year-old to kill. Yet still they say it's harmless

BYLINE: MELANIE PHILLIPS

DAILY MAIL February 14, 2005

With websites now dedicated to Mitchell, too, there are fears that a disturbed young person might try yet another copycat murder. Such fears are hardly groundless.

In 1999, the killings in America at Columbine High School in Denver were committed by two young Manson fans.

What we are facing now among a section of our young people is a terrifying breakdown of the bonds not just of socialisation but of civilisation itself.

This is the result of a number of ruinous changes in our society - in which the growing acceptability of drugs is a significant part.

For these young people, the moral obligation to accept the difference between right and wrong has disintegrated. From all sides, they are bombarded by the message that the only thing that matters is their own pleasure and gratification.

Duty, responsibility, shame and stigma have all but evaporated. Difficulty, pain or failure are viewed as assaults on their right to be happy. What trumps everything else is the need to protect their feelings. Instead of providing boundaries to give young people the security that is vital for emotional health, the adult world has simply abandoned them.

Family disintegration shatters their sense of themselves, schools leave them floundering in their own ignorance and immaturity, and the commercial world exploits and encourages their premature sexualisation.

It is among these rising numbers of confused, unhappy or disturbed children that the 'Goth rock' cult of satanism, self-harm and nihilism principally has its lethal appeal.

Search for motives for Colorado killer

A killer who attacked two churches on the weekend killing 4 has caused a flurry of media attention. Matthew Murray had evangelical home school upbringing but turned violently against the church after his plans to become a missionary failed. It appears that his killing spree began through an argument with staff at a Christian shelter

Murray had turned from the church to another interest heavy metal - Marilyn Manson and Cradle of Filth being an especial favourites. He also dabbled in the occult.

Murray attended events held by the Denver-based occult group Ad Astra Oasis during the last two years, but was turned down when he sought to become a member of the group. His involvement with them apparently ended in October.

Bizarrely the media missed a trick here as this connection means they could (with appropiate manipulation and spin) blame it on Aliester Crowley. I guess that will be the next step.

ABC News: Colo. Church Gunman Left Twisted Trail

He posted an online rant that ended:

"I'm going out to make a stand for the weak and the defenseless this is for all those young people still caught in the Nightmare of Christianity for all those people who've been abused and mistreated and taken advantage of by this evil sick religion Christian America this is YOUR Columbine."

Murray simply cut and pasted the words of the Columbine killers with some alterations.
Web posting replicates Columbine shooter's manifesto
Denver Post, CO - 11 Dec 2007
Debate renewed on Columbine writings
Denver Post, CO - 12 Dec 2007

He assembled a massive arsenal so he may have been planning or thinking about this for some time
Gunman legally amassed weaponry in year's time
Denver Post, CO - 6 hours ago

Inevitably metal music is being blamed as one thing behind the attacks.

Christian Leaders Say Popular Culture Behind Teen Violence

Colorado gunman Murray had shown possible signs of media influence years before the shootings. He posted lyrics by industrial rock band KMFDM on a website designed for people who left evangelical religious groups. At a YWAM Christmas festival in 2002, he played what his former roommate, Richard Werner, described as “bizarre” music. The two songs he played were Marilyn Manson's "Sweet Dreams (are Made of This)" and Linkin Park's "One Step Closer" which included the lyrics "Cause I'm one step closer to the edge and I'm about to break." Meanwhile, songs played during the festival had been about Christmas, God and friendship, reported CNN.

Don't blame the music, metal frontman implores

The Denver Post

Article Last Updated: 12/13/2007

Heavy-metal musicians are accustomed to being scapegoats after tragedies like the shootings in Arvada and Colorado Springs.

But while musicians may be used to the blame, they don't own it.

"Don't blame metal," said Devil Driver frontman Dez Fafara, standing in his tour bus in the back parking lot of the Fillmore Auditorium on Wednesday night. "We're all out here trying to give the kids some hope."

Talking before his death-metal band's show, opening for like-minded rock outfits Lamb of God and Killswitch Engage, Fafara — a father of three boys back home in Santa Barbara, Calif. — was clearly concerned about the shootings that left five people, including gunman Matthew Murray, dead. He sent his condolences to all ofthe families involved, including Murray's.

"But before laying the blame anywhere outside the home, you have to look inside the home," Fafara said. "Something touched that kid that was not right. And it had to come from the household."

Fafara said he monitors his kids' music and gaming intake, forbidding bands and video games that are overly violent or degrading to women.

Murray was a death-metal fan, according to posts he purportedly wrote on various websites. He attended a mid-October Cradle of Filth show, and afterward he posted, "Some people say this is 'just entertainment,' but for me, and some of my friends, the songs bands like this sing are VERY REAL, it's kind of something we can 'see' and can feel and in a spiritual sense and we're able to 'connect' 'into' the music." The post included a link to the video for the 1999 Cradle of Filth track "From the Cradle to Enslave."

Murray also claims online that he went through Bill Gothard home schooling, a fundamental Christian organization that has about 2,000 students enrolled nationally. Gothard's program bases a curriculum on the 54 verses from the Sermon on the Mount, and its strict teachings prohibit rock 'n' roll and television.

Gothard, in an interview Wednesday, said he "didn't recall" ever meeting the Murray family, but he was sure one of the parents was probably trained in his program.

Ultimately, Gothard blames rock music for Murray's murderous rampage.

"That is the most contributing factor," said Gothard, who is based in a small town south of Chicago. "It'd be important to see the connection between his passion to rock music and how it ultimately brought this on."

Gothard said whenever he gets calls from parents having trouble with their kids, he asks about what they listen to. "In every case, (the kid) is listening to rock music," he said.

As is the home schooling packs which Gothard provides:
Institute defends teachings in wake of posts by Murray
Rocky Mountain News, CO - 7 hours ago

Shooter had problems at Christian facilities
Summit Daily News, 13th dec

After the conference, the user said his mother and a pastor
searched his room for "anything evil," including video games and a DVD collection.
"After that incident my mother searched my room for the next 3 months EVERY SINGLE DAY. After that I decided it was over, that I had had it with christianity."

In the 1,200-word post, Christnghtmr tells of growing up in a Christian homeschooling family and being removed from the Youth With a Mission program, as Murray had been. As in other postings linked to Murray, the writer expresses anger toward his family and makes allegations of homosexuality in church organizations.

He said being removed from the Arvada mission caused him to lose his faith.
"When I got back home it was back to the good old restriction and that is when I started having serious doubts about christianity," Chrstnghtmr wrote. But according to the post, problems at the mission were only part of a troubled past.

"In addition to all of (Christian homeschool curriculum guru) Bill Gothard's insanity, my mother was into all the charismatic/"fanatical evangelical" insanity.," Christnghtmr wrote. "Her and her church believed that Satan and demons were everywhere in everything. The rules were VERY strict all the time. We couldn't have ANY christian or non-christian music at all except for a few charismatic worship CDs."

Gunman wrote of rejection
Denver Post, CO - 12 Dec 2007

Carl Raschke, a professor of religious studies at the University of Denver, said he believes Murray was "under huge psychological turmoil."

"It seemed like he was involved in his own spiritual battle against the empire of Christianity," adding that one of the screen names, nghtmrchld26, is taken from a video game in which characters battle evil demons.

"I would call him a defector from the spiritual warfare that he was brought up in," Raschke said.

Steve Mariner, the president of Denver's occult group Ad Astra Oasis, says Murray attended group meetings for about a year before being asked to leave in September. Ad Astra Oasis is an officially chartered body of the Ordo Templi Orientis, a ceremonial magic order based on the teachings of English poet and mystic Aleister Crowley.

"He was a mostly quiet, geeky young man," Mariner said of Murray. "He was a skinny little kid. He was your typical I-like-college-over-cars type. He was a voracious reader, as far as I could tell. I never heard him raise his voice."

Mariner said the group of about 15 people realized over time that Murray was not fitting in."It seemed like he needed some time to back off and evaluate himself," he said. "We could summarize it as saying the personalities were not a good mix."Mariner said he was shocked when he learned Murray was the shooter.

"You are sitting there having a conversation with someone ," Mariner said. "We all have our little personality quirks, but you don't appraise them of being someone who would go off and do something this atrocious."

But Murray's behaviour demonstrates classic signs of schizophrenia and other mental problems. Blaming the music he listened to is as inadequate explanation as Murray's decision to blame his Christian upbringing for his social problems and to go on a rampage.

Curiously one of Murray's victim's was a reformed metaler:
Missionary went from rebellion to redemption
Philip Crouse is remembered for his turnaround from "the dark lord" to Christianity.
Denver Post, CO - 6 hours ago
By Kirk Mitchell As a skinhead and Goth in Washington, Pa., Philip

Crouse was the one others feared. "He would come to youth group in a black trench coat," childhood friend Shiloh Ryan-Anikienko said Wednesday morning. "He really embraced being the Goth scary guy." But Wednesday morning at his memorial service, those who knew him honored him as a selfless missionary who wanted to find homes for orphans and teach the Gospel to people in foreign countries...
"He went from the dark lord from the abyss to this angel of light," Ryan-Anikienko said.

While another victim was a metal musician:

Dan Griebenow is known as a snowboarding missionary, his sister said.

Griebenow, 24, who was wounded in the neck in the Arvada shooting, was in critical but stable condition at Denver Health Medical Center.

He snowboards and sang with a Christian heavy metal band in South Dakota before enrolling two years ago in the missionary training program in Arvada, his sister, Becky Griebenow, told the Rocky Mountain News

.

Protests against Lordi

In a world in which there are genuine Satanic Black Metal bands it seems rather odd that anyone protests against Lordi. Did they march against the inclusion of costumed orcs in Lord of the Rings too? But maybe it is Ozzy and KISS who they are worked up about. Only about thirty years too late there.

Oh Lordi ... Christians take on fiends of rock - New Zealand, Stuff.co.nz

A crusade is looming as church groups prepare to take on heavy metal heavyweights poised to play in Wellington over Easter.

Wellington pentecostal church Lifepoint says the lineup of bands - including former bat-biter Ozzy Osbourne and Kiss - are "not appropriate" and will have "negative influences" on the city during the two-day Rock2Wgtn festival on March 22 and 23. They plan to lobby other church groups and will look at taking their concerns to Wellington City Council.

"It's not appropriate from our angle of things," said pastor Karen Crawshaw.

"I don't think we can force our views on others but at the same time we think it's a very negative influence on our city. It'll put a damper on the things the church traditionally focuses on at the Easter season."

The condemnation follows confirmation that another hellish rock act, Finnish heavy metal band Lordi, has been booked to appear at the Wellington event. The band, whose five members dress in elaborate costumes as monsters and demons, won the Eurovision song contest last year.

The winning song, Hard Rock Hallelujah, includes the lyrics "I got horns on my head, my fangs are sharp and my eyes are red" - and prompted Finland's religious leaders to warn that the band could inspire devil worship. But vocalist Tomi Putaansuu, a former film student who calls himself Lordi, denies any Satanic leanings.

Ozzy has a very odd way of being Satanic as other news confirms.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sharon Osbourne and her Black Sabbath frontman husband, Ozzy, raised more than $800,000 (389,000 pounds) for charity after heavy metal enthusiasts turned out en masse for their Beverly Hills-style garage sale, auction manager Darren Julien said on Saturday. Bidders at the auction, which benefited the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Foundation, ran the gamut from metal heads to the high-brow.

Iraqi Metal band forced into exile

"Starting a band anywhere isn't easy. Along with everything that can go wrong before the first song is even written, logistical concerns like rehearsal space, gear, transportation, venues and audience are always troublesome. Even the heartiest and most talented of hipsters can find their rock 'n' roll dreams shattered by bad luck. Now imagine starting a band in Iraq during the dictatorship of Sadaam Hussein and continuing it through the increasingly dangerous years following the U.S. invasion and occupation. This is the reality for Acrassicauda, Iraq's only known heavy-metal band, a reality brought to light in the documentary Heavy Metal in Baghdad.

The Vice magazine-produced doc follows Canadian filmmakers Suroosh Alvi (one of the founders of Vice) and Eddy Morretti as they journey to the war-ravaged nation to try and help the band put on a show and cut a record in the worsening conditions - to mixed and frustrating results.

"Hope decreases day by day," Alvi says of Baghdad. "The band are fighters, their conviction is so strong. It's amazing they haven't given up during all of what is happening to them."

Inspired by Western metal legends like Metallica and Slayer, Acrassicauda (Latin for "black scorpion") formed during Hussein's oppressive regime. Honing their skills in a Baghdad rehearsal space, practicing sometimes 18 to 21 hours a day, the band was only able to play three shows before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

During the ensuing occupation, increasing security and the violence of the growing insurgency made it almost impossible for the band to practice or play shows. As things grew worse, members of the band began to receive death threats and were labeled Satan-worshipers by insurgents and fundamentalists.

Eventually the situation became unbearable and the band - like an estimated two million other people - became refugees, living in Damascus, Syria.

"Then it became a new problem," Alvi says. "As refugees, Iraqis are unwanted in Syria. As a band, the guys aren't even welcome in the ghettoized Iraqi parts of the city - they're seen as Satan worshipers or whatever. There's no audience for them. And there's nowhere for them to go because anyone with an Iraqi passport can't leave the country."
Heavy Metal, Hard Times: Thursday, October 25, 2007

The band have made into Turkey. Find out more about the band and the successful documentary here:

Heavy Metal in Baghdad

The West Memphis three appeal launched

The infamous case of the West Memphis Three, widely regarded as a miscarriage of justice, has a new appeal launched a few days ago with new genetic evidence. Supposedly expert testimony on the case in 1993 helped support an ongoing idea in the media that heavy metal and goth was closely connected with blood thirsty occult crime. The conviction was mainly made on the basis of a inconsistent confession, which may have been obtained under police duress.

Lawyers file DNA motion in Ark. murders - Los Angeles Times:

"Attorneys seek to overturn the convictions of three young men who were found guilty of brutally killing three Cub Scouts in 1993. By Henry Weinstein, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer October 30, 2007 Attorneys for a death row inmate found guilty of killing three 8-year-old boys in Arkansas in 1993 filed a motion in federal court to overturn his conviction based on new evidence, including DNA test results that found no genetic material on the victims' bodies from his client or two others convicted with him. The sensational case in West Memphis concerned three Cub Scouts whose bodies were found submerged in a drainage ditch not far from their homes; one boy's body appeared to have been sexually mutilated. Two of the defendants frequently dressed in black and were described as 'Goths.' Accusations of satanic rituals were presented in court testimony...

The new petition includes analyses done by seven forensic scientists, including Dr. Richard Souviron, chief forensic odontologist at the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department, who played a significant role in Florida's successful 1979 prosecution of serial killer Ted Bundy. All of them challenge prosecutors' claims that Christopher had been sexually mutilated with a knife.

The forensic pathologists and odontologists, who separately reviewed autopsy tests, photos and trial testimony, state that the evidence strongly indicates that after Christopher was killed by blunt-force blows, animals ate parts of his body.

The brief also states that some of the key testimony asserting that the teenagers were part of a satanic cult -- something they have denied -- was presented by a so-called witchcraft expert with "a fraudulent PhD" from a California school that was put out of business by state authorities."

Support for three has been widespread amongst a range of people and bands:

"However, a group of musicians determined to reverse the defendants' misfortune has come to the aid of the West Memphis Three. "Free The West Memphis Three: A Benefit for Truth & Justice" is a loud petition featuring the signatures of such luminaries as Tom Waits, Joe Strummer, Steve Earle, Eddie Vedder, Rocket From The Crypt and a reunited Killing Joke."

Burk Sauls, a founding member of the Free The West Memphis Three Support Fund, notes that while being a punk or goth in certain parts of the country is perfectly acceptable, in others, it remains an open invitation for harassment.

"The thing with Damien is he was in a town that wasn't as receptive to that low-level rebellion," Sauls said. "If you wear a black trench coat, it's not okay. And if you walk around with a Metallica t-shirt with your hair teased up like Edward Scissorhands, it is not okay.

"In a lot of the towns in the South, you don't have those punk clubs or goth clubs. You've got your sports bars and those are your only choice. And if you walk into a sports bar with a Dead Kennedys t-shirt, someone is going to give you hell about it."

Indeed, one of the prosecution's star witness was Dr. Dale W. Griffis - an occult expert with a mail-order credential. Griffis testified during Echols' trial that "wearing black fingernails, having black painted hair and wearing black t-shirts" were all signs of youthful Satanic worship."

West Memphis 3 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

In the trial it was revealed: "The State's theory of motive was that the killings were done in a satanic ritual. On cross-examination, Echols admitted that he was deeply interested in occultism and non-Christian religions, and considered himself a Wiccan. Various occult-related items were found in his room, including a funeral register upon which he had drawn a pentagram and upside-down crosses and had a copied magical spell. Among the evidence seized were black T-shirts and lyrics from Metallica songs. Echols testified that he wore a long black trench coat even when it was warm. One witness, Jerry Driver, said he had seen Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley together six months before the murders, wearing long black coats and carrying long staves... Pink Floyd lyrics from the suspect's notebooks, Stephen King novels,and Echols' interest in heavy metal music and Wicca were also presented in court as evidence against the teenagers."

If you're asking if I felt that was strange, yes sir, I did.
-Det. Bryn Ridge, testifying about Damien reading Stephen King books


Campaign website: Free the West Memphis Three