How Dungeons & Dragons Set Off a Moral Panic | Joseph P. Laycock

Joseph P. Laycock, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Texas State University answers our question: How did role-playing games such as D & D cause so much moral panic?

"In the literature on moral panics, it says what you need to have a really good moral panic is you need one, some innocent who is under attack, and then you need an enemy who isn't strong enough to actually fight back, so D&D is perfect. You've got these innocent children being seduced, and you've got a shoestring budget, a role-playing game company."

"Dungeons and Dragons was published in 1974. And in 1979, you had this famous case of Dallas Egbert who disappeared from Michigan State University. He was from a wealthy family who hired a detective named William Dear who gave a press release and said, "I think I know why this child disappeared. He played too much Dungeons and Dragons and he entered a fugue state and is currently wandering around believing that he lives in a medieval world.

None of that was true. The kid called his family from New Orleans a few weeks later and said, "I'm ready to come home." But by then, the story was in the press. So that was sort of the beginning of this idea that this was more than a game, that it had profound, dangerous psychological consequences to it."

Listen to the full interview: https://youtu.be/8acA6irjIuM

Check out Joseph P. Laycock's book:
Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic Over Role-Playing Games Says about Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds
https://bit.ly/2X1jwze

Listen to clips from our interview with Joseph Laycock:

Has Dungeons & Dragons Caused Any Suicides? Joseph P. Laycock
https://youtu.be/1cBZ-MN2puI

Did Dungeons & Dragons Escape the Stigma of Satanic Panic?
https://youtu.be/jYwns9L3AFM

Are Role-Playing Games a Positive Force For Kids? | Joseph P. Laycock
https://youtu.be/xz_S6hDpFlI

How Did Satanic Panic Get Started in the '70s | Joseph P. Laycock
https://youtu.be/Ebx6oFomd3E

Does Modern Day Satanic Panic Exist? Interview with Joseph P. Laycock
https://youtu.be/zaw3yaddGT0

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