The D&D craze also brought controversy.

(RNS) — 'We know that Jesus was born into a Roman imperial occupation, and pretty much immediately becomes a refugee in Egypt, has to flee and faces political violence,' the Rev. Michael Woolf said.

These live shows are actually part of a much longer tradition

YouTube video by Rejected Religion

Scholar and author Joseph Laycock joins us to talk about his book "The Exorcist Effect" and how movies influence what and how we believe.

YouTube video by Seth Skorkowsky

Fake victims like Gaines evoke the little girls of "The Exorcist" and "The Conjuring"

The Editorial Board argues the University should join the league of universities rejecting Trump’s compact in favor of in institutional independence.

PURCHASE ON GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS ►► https://g.co/booksYT/AQAAAECKdEg00M The Penguin Book of Cults Authored by Joseph P. Laycock Narrated by James Lurie, Megan Trout, Nancy Peterson, Robert Fass, Zura Johnson 0:00 Intro 0:03 The Penguin Book of Cults 0:25 Introduction by Joseph P. Laycock 10:25 Outro #josephplaycock #thepenguinbookofcults — GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS Find your next great read with Google Play Books. Google Play Books is a global digital bookstore offering ebooks, audiobooks, comics, and manga. Discover book recommendations personalized just for you. Get the iOS app: https://goo.gle/books-ios Get the Android app: https://goo.gle/books-android — BOOK DESCRIPTION A chilling documentary history of the most notorious cults of the past two thousand years, from the Celtic druids whose ritual sacrifices inspired the folk horror film The Wicker Man all the way up to the Peoples Temple and Heaven’s Gate A Penguin Classic The word “cult” conjures images of people in thrall to a charismatic leader who extracts obedience through lies and threats, and of apocalyptic prophecies, ritual sacrifices, sexual perversion, and mass suicide. The Penguin Book of Cults charts the history of our fear of the religious other: the arrest and public execution of thousands of members of an ancient Roman cult devoted to Bacchus, the god of wine; the burning alive of victims in giant wicker effigies as an offering to Celtic gods; the nocturnal orgies, murder of children, and demon worship of medieval heretics; a church of “human vampires” in nineteenth–century Kansas City; moral panics over the hypnotic powers of yoga; and mass casualty events like the sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo. Bringing to light little–known sources such as a “death tape” of Jonestown’s final hour, when Jim Jones led more than 900 of his followers to drink poison, and a minute–by–minute log of the FBI’s final assault on the Branch Davidian headquarters, and including accounts of drinking the blood of sacrificed cats, theories that we are living inside a hollow earth, and reports that space brothers from Venus are coming to redeem us from the threat of nuclear war, this volume opens a fascinating window into cults and why some of them have ended in spectacular violence. Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English–speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up–to–date translations by award–winning translators. — ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph P. Laycock (editor) is an associate professor of religious studies at Texas State University; coeditor of Nova Religio, the premier journal for the study of new religious movements; the author of several books about new religious movements, possession and exorcism, and moral panic; and the editor of The Penguin Book of Exorcisms. He has written for Quartz and The New Republic and been featured on the television documentary series Mysteries Decoded and The History Channel’s Holy Marvels with Dennis Quaid and The UnXplained with William Shatner. — AUDIOBOOK DETAILS Purchase on Google Play Books ►► https://g.co/booksYT/AQAAAECKdEg00M Language: English Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Published on: October 7, 2025 ISBN: 9798217169597 Duration: 10 hr, 51 min Genres: Religion / Cults, Social Science / Sociology of Religion, True Crime / Murder / Mass Murder

A San Diego writer hunts ghosts in Presidio Park, gets her palm read at psychic shops and drives out to the cults that dot San Diego County. This Halloween episode examines why the supernatural still ...

Browse audiobooks narrated by Nancy Peterson, listen to samples and when you're ready head over to Audiobooks.com where you can get 3 FREE audiobooks on us

Following a court-ordered due process hearing, Texas State University administration made the decision to terminate Associate History Professor Thomas Alter on Oct. 13.  “After a thorough review of Dr...

Exorcists interviewed for this story said their screening process shows that more than 99% of those who claim possession are suffering from a mental illness.

From horror for a spooky start to the month to nonfiction for those not looking for a fright, these new paperpacks offer something for everyone.

As President Trump continues to test precedents, the Supreme Court is seeing a high number of “shadow docket” cases. Here’s why that’s so controversial.

Podcast Episode · Some Place Under Neith · 09/17/2025 · 1h 10m

A professor fired by Texas State University after making remarks at a socialist conference earlier this month will be reinstated, he told CBS Austin on Friday.D

Pope Leo XIV addressed a message to the approximately 300 exorcist priests who gathered in Rome from Sept. 15–20.

The lucrative franchise is based on real stories — and the professional ghostbusters who saved the day. But critics say the real-life couple profited off of people's pain.

A chilling documentary history of the most notorious cults of the past two thousand years, from the Celtic druids whose ritual sacrifices inspired the folk horror film The Wicker Man all the way up to...

Topless protesters hit Boston Common to advocate for a bill allowing women to bare their chests in public. The protest was co-organized by a fringe religious group based on a belief in UFOs.

Scholars say tech worship isn’t new, but warn that AI faith may stem from loneliness and mental health struggles, not divine truth.

The Texas Spirit Gathering brings together leading experts on the occult and Spiritualist history.