Curiosity, dissatisfaction with past religious experiences, quest for personal power, recognition, and excitement are some of the main reasons people are drawn to satanism, said John Rittenhouse of the Campus Crusade for Christ.

Speaking to a capacity crowd Tuesday night in the Holmes Student Center Carl Sandburg auditorium, Rittenhouse said there is a growing number of individuals interested in the occult today.

“There is a radical existence of evil in our culture today. More people are interested in the satanic world,” he said.

There are three types of satanists according to Rittenhouse: Self-styled satanists, such as Charles Manson and the “Son of Sam” killer; generational satanists, who carry on the family tradition; and religious satanists, who Rittenhouse said are the least dangerous.

“Religious satanists are probably not as dangerous to our culture, they usually have no criminal records, but they do fuel motivation among teen satanists,” he said.

The main mediums that pass the satanism message along are literature, psychic phenomona, and certain types of heavy metal music, Rittenhouse said, citing Black Sabbath and AC/DC as examples.

Movies also influence people according to Rittenhouse. After he showed a clip about a human sacrifice from “Ghoulies,” he said, “Those things are happening today and often give people ideas.”

Slides were featured in the presentation showing various drawings of satanic figures, including one drawn by a fourth grader that elicited a shocked response from the audience.

Satanism is rampant across America, Rittenhouse said. He listed examples of police officers in Southern California telling him of mutilations of animals and the sale of fetuses links to satanism.

People can interpret material differently, but Rittenhouse says he interprets as a Christian and believes God is infinite, and that Satan is a real spiritual character.

Evil can also come in the form of board games in Rittenhouse’s opinion.

When the board game Oujia sold millions of copies in 1917, it was the beginning of the first World War, and many people were trying to contact the dead, he said.

Rittenhouse is originally from Iron Mountain, Mich. He graduated from Michigan Tech in 1978 with a degree in chemical engineering.

He has been with the staff of the Campus Crusade for Christ for 12 years, and works at the branch in Oshkosh, Wisc. His wife Linda also works with the CCC. The subject first interested him seven years ago when a friend spoke on the issue. Rittenhouse did research on the issue and now trains police officers on the subject.