Devil in the details: Movies and TV shows that dealt with Satanic panic

As a period piece awash in the pop culture of the 1980s, and also heavily influenced by said pop culture, it would make sense that “Stranger Things” would touch the Satanic Panic. While there are actual monsters in the world of “Stranger Things,” there was still room for some ginned-up panic in the fourth season. Eddie Munson and his friends, who welcome in the usual “Stranger Things” gang, have a “Dungeons & Dragons” group called The Hellfire Club. Once some mysterious deaths hit Hawkins (again), the town fears Eddie and his club are Satan-loving criminals.

Much of the less-harrowing Satanic Panic in the 1980s was based around “Dungeons & Dragons.” It spawned as many urban legends as Halloween has. The premise in the made-for-TV movie “Mazes and Monsters” is a thinly-veiled take on “D & D” and asserts that such games not only have connections to the Devil, but also causes players to be unable to differentiate reality from the game. “Mazes & Monsters” is not good, but it has remained in the cultural lexicon thanks to its star, a then-unknown actor by the name of Tom Hanks.

Life in the suburbs is breezy…or is it? Joe Dante, as pop culture indebted as “Stranger Things,” directed “The ‘Burbs,” which also happens to star Tom Hanks. Hanks plays a Suburban Dad with new neighbors. The Klopeks are reclusive and odd, so the rumors begin. Among the rumors are that the Klopeks are, yes, Satan worshippers who are committing human sacrifices, and even sacrificed missing neighbor Walter. Part of the cleverness of “The ‘Burbs” is that it leads you to think it’s a “We were the monsters all along!’ ending, before one more twist.

Witches, specifically in the Christian realm, are wholly tied to the Devil. Puritans believed witches not only existed, but were brides of Satan. This, of course, came to the forefront in the Salem Witch Trials. Arthur Miller’s play is the foremost representation of those trials in culture, and naturally the play was turned into a film eventually. Notably “The Crucible” has the cache of having Daniel Day-Lewis as one of the leads, alongside Winona Ryder.

Stephen King’s first novel quickly was bought up for film adaptation, and Brian De Palma stepped in to direct, which means the film version of “Carrie” definitely has a distinct feel. Also, Nancy Allen is in it. The iconic element of “Carrie” is the prom stuff, but there is more to the story than that. Part of what makes Carrie such an outcast is that she has been sheltered, and abused, by her unhealthily religious mother. Mother White fears the Devil, and sees his work in everything. This includes telling Carrie that her period was brought upon her by her sins and is the work of Satan.

“The Simpsons” has covered just about every topic under the Sun. That includes the Devil and Satan worshippers as well. Of course, in the “Treehouse of Horror” episodes actual witches and the Christian Devil have appeared, but even in canonical episodes this has popped up. It’s possible you haven’t seen “Boyz N the Highlands.” It’s a Season 33 episode, after all. Bart and some other kids are on a wilderness trek and they believe they have come across some Satanists. In the end, they turn out to be film students making a found-footage horror film.

The new Peacock show “Hysteria!” is a period piece actively set in the Satanic Panic heyday. When the high school quarterback disappears from a town, murmurs of the occult and Satan begin popping up. This leads a local metal band to rebrand themselves as a Satanic death metal band, which further pushes the, well, hysteria. However, could the levels of panic end up getting dangerously high?

Well, we kind of have to include a movie called “Satanic Panic,” right? It was not a big movie. “Fangoria,” the famed horror movie fanzine, produced it. There are a couple famous faces, such as Jerry O’Connell and Rebecca Romijn, but it’s a pretty barebones horror-comedy for diehard fans of the genre. You know, the “Fangoria” types. A girl working for a pizza place is kidnapped by a cult, and then things heighten from there.

While “Satan’s School for Girls” sounds like the name of a softcore movie, it’s actually a made-for-TV film that was produced by Aaron Spelling. So, yes, it is pulpy and goofy, but it’s also appropriate for an ABC audience. After her sister’s mysterious death, a woman goes undercover as a college student at her sister’s school, ahem, Salem Academy for Women. Two future Charlie’s Angels, Kate Jackson and Cheryl Ladd, are in the movie. ABC remade it in 2000, this time with Shannen Doherty in the lead.

“The Omen” was a huge hit, and it spawned several sequels and a remake. Gregory Peck plays a diplomat who secretly agrees to adopt a newborn baby after he and his wife’s son dies immediately after birth (his wife is unaware). Things start to go awry around Damien, and Peck is told his son is the Antichrist. This leads to a lot of fear, and also investigation. Since this is a horror movie, yep, turns out Damien is literally the Antichrist. Bummer!

Unsurprisingly, “The X-Files” touched on Satan and devil worshippers on multiple occasions. Why wouldn’t they dig into cult storylines between the alien stuff and what have you? The foremost episode of this was “Die Hand Die Verletzt.” A mysterious murder leads Mulder and Scully to a small town to investigate if the teen died in an occult ritual. The clever twist is that there are the remnants of a cult of Satan worshippers in town, but that is in their past and they are mostly just trying to avoid the hassle of being found out. Complicating matters? It seems that Satan has actually popped up in town.

If you are familiar with the silly version of Brother Blood on “Teen Titans Go!,” or the mind-control leader of the H.I.V.E. on “Teen Titans,” you might not know why he is appearing here. In the comics, though, the different Brother Bloods lead the Church of Blood. One version features a Cult of Blood that worships Trigon, who is that world’s version of the Devil. This flavor of Brother Blood appears in a second season episode of “Arrow” as well.

If not for “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” this low-budget horror film would have been completely forgotten. Fortunately, “MST3K” found it, because it led to a great episode thanks in part to the silliness of this movie. A boring young man stumbles upon a young woman he finds attractive, and the two hit it off. He goes back to her farm, where he learns the truth. The woman is, in fact, a 127-year-old witch who agreed to be possessed by Satan to save her sister from being burnt at the stake. She remains a witch, and Satan does pop up again late for a “shocking” twist. Also, this is where the fish live.

Sometimes, your panic about Satan proves apt, even if everybody tries to tell you that you’re crazy. Mia Farrow plays Rosemary, who is pregnant, and she and her husband move into a new, nice building in Manhattan. Things seem amiss, though, and Rosemary begins to believe her neighbors are a Satanic Cult who have nefarious plans for her and her unborn baby. Considered one of the best horror movies ever made, Ruth Gordon won an Oscar for her turn in the film.