Most of the followers are sick, yet there is no epidemic. Their beliefs are not illegal; their methods of worship are. Their god is not real but their suicides and sacrifices to appease Satan are very much so.

In the last decade, more and more reports of clandestine gatherings, ritualistic animal and human sacrifice and child abuse have surfaced in the United States. In the Midwest especially, reports of organized Satanism and juvenile experimentation have increased.

“A true Satanist wants to put down anything religion puts forth. If the Midwest is the Bible Belt, you’re going to see alot of activity here,” said Det. Loyal Slaughter of the Rockford Police Department Crime Prevention Unit.

Though reports of Satanic activity are on the rise, as always, statistics can be misleading.

“Is it growing or just being discovered?” asked Father Eric Barr of the Newman Catholic Student Center.

Barr conducts weekly talks at NIU residence halls as a part of the Center’s Outreach program. The talks give students a chance to relate any knowledge they have of present Satanic activities—Barr said he is not aware of any at NIU—or past experiences they may have had. Barr said the talks emphasize how students can deal with Satanism if they encounter it in their future careers.

Barr, who became interested in the subject as a high school principal, said the Satanic talks are the most popular of the Outreach programs, drawing between 60 and 90 people a night. There are no visual aids in the program because Barr does not want to sensationalize Satanism or blow it out of proportion.

Though Ogle County Sheriff Jerry Brooks said, “I fear it a lot worse than drugs for the future, Barr downplays the threat.

“It’s a growing problem, but it’s not something to get panicked about,” he said, adding that the problem in the DeKalb-Sycamore area is “sporadic.”

Law enforcement officials agree that the worship of Satan is not illegal; their beckonings to the Dark Lord, however, are rarely innocent. Drugs, pornography, animal and human sacrifice and sexual abuse are all characteristics of the more serious worshipers’ gatherings, especially during the four main ritual dates, or Sabats, during the year.

Brooks described two suicides in the last two years in which Satan was mentioned in the suicide notes and Satanic signs were scrawled at the scenes.

In Winnebago County, according to Barr, black cats, popular sacrificial animals, were found mutilated this past Halloween.

About the same time, a mausoleum in DeKalb’s Sairview Cemetery was criminally damaged, said DeKalb Det. Ron Pierson. On it was written, “unholy passion,” “November coming fire,” and “all things must come to ash.”

The latter incident would be described as the act of “dabblers” as Sycamore Det. Randy Hofer calls the least dangerous of the Satanists. He said “dabblers” dress the part—heavy metal T-shirts, black fingernails, black clothing—and are usually experimenting.

The danger increases in the “follower” category—those who Hofer said are tired of “dabbling” and “will do anything to be in a covenant (Satanic group).” The hardcore group, the “involved,” do not advertise their beliefs and are extremely secretive of their activities, said Hofer.

Police usually come upon a ritual site after the fact where they find pentagrams etched in the ground, any sacrifices and, in this area, heavy metal lyrics.

“They’re not advanced enough around here to use the witch alphabet or backward writing,” Hofer said.

The connection between Satanism and heavy metal is highly publicized but threadbare, Barr said. Though metal music emphasizes violence and uses Satanism for marketing, Barr said only about five percent of its listeners are Satanists.

“Is there a connection? Yes. But not a strong one. If you’re on the edge, it can push you over,” he said.

Barr described Satanists as people who are lost and then found.

“They don’t fit in, they don’t fit in anywhere, so when they find others like themselves that becomes a pretty meaningful group to them no matter how bizarre they are.”