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Throughout its over 30 years, D&D has faced all sorts of criticism from groups relating it to cultism and devil-worship. Because of this, the game has gained a stigma of being some sort of occultist tool dealing with witchcraft.

Some of this is due to Paula Pulling and her group, BADD (Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons). Pulling was a parent whose son killed himself. She related that this was in response to a curse that had been placed on him at a D&D game earlier in the day. (It should be noted that no news reports at the time suggested D&D was at all involved with her son's death. Also, the lawsuit that she filed against the principal of the high school where her son played D&D was thrown out of court.) The sensationalist aspects of her work made it into national news. Shows like 60 Minutes, Geraldo and national TV and radio shows. Also, the wrote a book called "The Devil's Web" linking D&D and the occult in many people's minds.

Of course, such claims were baseless, built on anecdotal "evidence" but the stories sparked many people's imaginations. Add this to the fact that many gamers tend to be reclusive in their gaming, setting up a table away from distractions and acting in a way that, while quite understandable, might be seen as secretive (especially when someone has put the "cultist" bug in the parent's ear).

In 1979, a much publicized case involving a supposed live-action version of D&D in the steam tunnels under Michigan State University and the death of 16 year-old James Dallas Egbert III. In fact, a boy had attempted, but failed, to commit suicide in those tunnels, left campus and spent a few weeks with a friend. Later, he succeeded in killing himself. This had nothing to do with D&D but the speculations of an investigator looking into the case catapulted more sensationalist versions of the story across the country. It ended up being an urban legend regarding D&D when the role-playing game was in no way involved in the case.

That didn't stop Rona Jaffe from writing a story based on the sensationalist reports called "Mazes & Monsters". This was a work of fiction but had often been quoted later from groups (like BADD, mentioned above) as if it were actual fact. To make matters worse, the story was made into a TV movie starring Tom Hanks, before he became a good actor. (In my opinion, it was an absolutely horrid movie.)

There are more valid complaints about the game. For example, the focus on violence has long been noted. Of course, the actual violence in the game is far less than what could be seen on TV or most video games now. Also, gamers are known to devote too much time to the game to exclusion of work, school or other activities. The same can be said of many other activities and hobbies.

The fact of the matter is that the same complaints against D&D are often being used against popular fantasy movies and TV shows. I've heard complaints about the links of witchcraft and the occult to Harry Potter or "The Lord of the Rings". Most of us, these days, have become inured to such claims, rolling our eyes at the claims of mainly evangelical religious groups that object to this type of story. Unfortunately, when D&D was first released, such claims were not so commonplace and the general public felt that there was far more truth to the rumor than was actually warranted.

Learn more about this author, Steven Laskoske.
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