I thought I had done this, but I can't seem to find it on the site.

Every year about this time I usually run into about a dozen people online who tell me in no uncertain terms that I am an Evil Satan Worshipper Who Must Be Stopped. More often than not, the latest horror film ends up there somehow too.

Let's start with the films.

American horror films are almost always morality films. So are most European horror films. More than that, those films are Christian morality films. All the things that good Christians aren't supposed to think about get lumped together into the films. That's why sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll play such a big part.

And death. Violent, bloody death. Murder. Which somehow becomes a metaphor for all death and why we're supposed to dread it.

Even though we call Christianity a monotheistic faith, it's really about dual values. Things are EITHER of the Christian god OR not of the Christian god. EITHER good OR evil. Black OR white. Most people get beyond that. Some don't.

The dualistic value system is how an entity who started in Hebrew myth as a combination prosecutor and tester ended up as some evil wanna-be rival to the supreme godhead. Well, that and some application of Babylonian myth. But that isn't something I want to deal with here.

If something is EITHER of god OR not of god, then all things not sanctioned by the local deity are evil and therefore must be avoided. Anything not approved by the priesthood must be suppressed because they interpret the divine will. And of course worship of any other deity is automatically evil. As is any practice that doesn't call upon the almighty supreme god. That pretty much covers whatever the person wants it to cover.

These films by stressing those evil things are therefore evil themselves.

Except…

Yep, there's a big except.

Any character who breaks one of society's rules in the film is going to be killed. Or at least get some poetic justice. Maybe punny justice depending on the writer.

Think about it. If someone gets naked for sex, it's so they can be chased down. In the dark, down a dark path so they jiggle a lot. If a guy is stringing two girls along and telling each of them that they're they only one, not only will he be killed, but his death will probably have something to do with his genitalia.

Sin equals death. Unless it's a minor sin, and the character redeems himself by discovering that society's rules aren't so bad compared to the alternatives.

For supposed evil films, the message does a pretty good job reinforcing an extreme Christian message. One that most Christians don't want to have anything to do with except maybe as entertainment. Because they know it's just a story, they can enjoy it. And so can everyone else.

So my life doesn't have a lot to do with those films.

I'm pretty casual about nudity. I'm less casual about sex, but I don't place the emphasis on it that the Moral Guardians™ try to do. The way I look at it, the Moral Guardians™ have shown that they can't always follow their rules themselves. If everyone is an adult and no one is forced, then the self-appointed Moral Guardians™ can take a flying leap into a hard cliff face.

Yep, I practice magick, but I don't call on Dark Powers Who Must Not Be Named. That's in fiction, not in life.

Does my magick work? Ah, now that's an interesting question. Not a particularly useful one, but interesting none the less. You might as well ask me to prove that the red I see is the exact same red you see.

Now, I don't approve of murder. But sometimes the blood in horror films thrills me, especially if it's present in an erotic or animalistic fashion. Is that wrong? No more than watching a film about a bank robbery and feeling the thrill when you see the money. I'm not going to sacrifice your cat under the dark moon (I'm too fond of fourfoots for that). I'm not going to rape your daughter. If she's of age and willing, well, that's different but it's not rape.

What you think you know about me isn't necessarily true.

Not all Pagans are about the shock value.

So are we evil?

Well, that depends on you. If you're stuck in the EITHER OR, then you may think I'm evil. But if you are willing to look beyond your borders, you'll find a guy who likes to putter in a small garden. A guy who's very devout in his own way. A fairly decent neighbor who won't dump trash on your lawn or wake you up with loud music and partying. Someone who likes horror films, sure, but also likes Gary Cooper, John Wayne, and Gene Kelly.

It's more than black and white.

Just like life.

Evil spelled backwards is live. That's what I do.