The most scary episodes

[Bob]

The problem with games like D&D isn't the dice-rolling or even necessarily the magic (after all, LOTR has that and yet many of y'all are still fans). The thing is that it gets in-depth into portraying strange spirits (even if it is just in the backstory), and allowing you to ally with them, and in elaborately describing false religions and such that is thereof.

Role-playing in particular isn't wrong, and can be a very useful and fun thing to do, in fact, but if you wouldn't slaughter the innocent or befriend devils in real life, I don't see that there's much purpose in playing at it in a game... and it doesn't much build Christian character (quite the opposite, in fact).

It makes more sense to choose a role-playing system that is mostly scientific, or sufficiently vague regarding its magic that it isn't possibly objectionable -- just like the old fairy tales. They never mentioned how the magic regenerating gingerbread came about, or why the goose laid golden eggs, all we know and all we need to know is that, by some quirk of science or nature, it happened.

A good rule is that if it directly contradicts the Bible, it should be avoided... so no games that portray deities as being real in the game world, etc., etc. If you can come up with a plausible explanation for "magic", like technology, or a natural power that a species has, then that might be fine; anything like religion is probably best left alone. Also, it would probably be safest not to allow any groups you play with to get in the "evil" range -- you should strive to always have good, or at least neutral characters.

-- 02 Jun 2011 07:02 pm --

... gah, post doesn't show up. Test?

[SoccerLOTR]

Yeah, they never clarified a specific RPG--some are harmless, as Whit agreed--but others can get into some occultist stuff, so we just have to watch out.

[Smaug the Dragon]

The only episode I can remember actually being scared was The Unraveling when listening to Justine's message on the answering machine, and then Rachael's line "Justine was found dead at the scene". I was about 8 years old and it freaked me out.

Other than that, I wasn't really scared before. Hold Up was a little freaky, when Hank Murray was shooting at Mr. Whittaker who just stood there saying "Hank Murray... Hank Murray... Hank Murray". And Castles & Cauldrons still creeps me out a little.

[Christian A.]

The first album I ever got as a small child was 38. I was laying in bed, at approx. age 6, scared witless listening to The Black Veil, Part 1. Not knowing at the time how to operate my CD player, I was forced to lay in bed till the end of Disk 1, hearing crazy people break things, screaming, Whit talking about being Hitler, and then ending with Sam Hitchcock's deranged "The disease will destroy us ALL!!". I didn't listen to album 38 for many years after that.

HAHA no way that's exactly what happen'd to me!!! Good times huh?

Pretty similar to what happened to me too. When Whit says, "I was Cain standing over my dead brother....I was Hitler, Stalin....I became pure evil," shivers always go down my spine. Even now as I'm writing this I get goosebumps. And the scene where Sam Hitchcock says, "The disease will destroy us all," was nearly as creepy.

I was also scared, as many others of you seem to have been, of the part in The Case of the Secret Room where Fenwick is in the basement, and he whispers, "Wwwhittakerrrr. Stay out of my way!" My little brothers still get freaked out at that part.

The ending scenes in The Mysterious Stranger are a bit freaky too--what with the mentally impaired father with the weird voice and all.

Castles & Cauldrons definitely deserved the parental warning from Dr. Dobson. Those episodes are rightly scary. But I've never come across role-playing games like that before.

Oh, and some parts in the Green Ring Conspiracy scared me too. No, I'm just kidding.

[Taps]

Yeah man the Green Ring Conspiracy is downright creepy

[The Top Crusader]

I believe that Whit said that for most people it will only be a harmless game, but as Dr. Dobson said at the beginning, there are cases of people getting into demonic contact and Satanism through this game. It's not most, but it does happen.

Eh, I think it was over-reacting to the SATANMANIA RUNNING WILD that was going on in the 80's. I'd really like to hear some stories of people who got into Satanism simply from an RPG without lots of other things going on in their lives that contributed to it. I don't play D&D, but I'm pretty sure its a pen and paper and dice RPG, you don't run around in the woods with plastic toys and cut yourself, etc. So basically cousin Glenn was just a weirdo making stuff up, the episode was kind of unfair to RPG stuff in general. I personally find it all very boring but not SATANIC or something.

That being said, I do like the seriousness of Whit in that episode, and the overall tone. We really don't get stuff like that anymore. Focus seems to want to stay away from stuff that controversial.

As for the actual topic... ehh... nothing is coming to mind as to what actually scared me... I am older than the target audience but I was rather young when the show first started airing but nothing is coming to mind. I will say I just re-listened to Novacom and it has grown on me, the parts of the people going into a rage, while not "scary" had a really good horror movie vibe, which I appreciated. Better done than I remembered!

[Bob]

I tried to make this comment earlier, but it only shows up in the post reply section.

The problem with games like D&D isn't the dice-rolling or even necessarily the magic (after all, LOTR has that and yet many of y'all are still fans). The thing is that it gets in-depth into portraying strange spirits (even if it is just in the backstory), and allowing you to ally with them, and in elaborately describing false religions and such that is thereof.

Role-playing in particular isn't wrong, and can be a very useful and fun thing to do, in fact, but if you wouldn't slaughter the innocent or befriend devils in real life, I don't see that there's much purpose in playing at it in a game... and it doesn't much build Christian character (quite the opposite, in fact).

It makes more sense to choose a role-playing system that is mostly scientific, or sufficiently vague regarding its magic that it isn't possibly objectionable -- just like the old fairy tales. They never mentioned how the magic regenerating gingerbread came about, or why the goose laid golden eggs, all we know and all we need to know is that, by some quirk of science or nature, it happened.

A good rule is that if it directly contradicts the Bible, it should be avoided... so no games that portray deities as being real in the game world, etc., etc. If you can come up with a plausible explanation for "magic", like technology, or a natural power that a species has, then that might be fine; anything like religion is probably best left alone. Also, it would probably be safest not to allow any groups you play with to get in the "evil" range -- you should strive to always have good, or at least neutral characters.

Also, there does happen to be live-action role-playing, which at its best is improvisational acting (albeit with dice), but at its worst could be (in theory) exactly as portrayed in C&C. The fact is that 99% of the time, it isn't going to be anything like C&C shows, but the possibility is still there, if you ever role-play that kind of world, and the fact remains that a devil's a devil, whether just in text or in life... the idea remains the same.

So the situation isn't as bad as listening to C&C alone would make you think, but it isn't all daisies and sunflowers either, and anything that advises against occult activity can't be bad, even if it does portray a worst-case scenario.

[Catspaw]

Nothing to Fear gives me everything to fear I sitll can't listen to that episode

Mr. Whit! You need to come visit us more often!

A few episodes that scared me as a kid (and consequently sometimes still make me think twice before listening to them at night) are "The Mysterious Stranger" because of the general creepiness and the howling, and "The Case of the Secret Room." The thought of a skeleton with a bullet hole was a very creepy thought for me. The episode that I most clearly remember being scared by is a silly one, though. I remember being about twelve years old, lying in bed after dark in my room in the basement when the rest of the family slept upstairs, and listening through my brand new set of Odyssey tapes. I was listening to one of my new episodes when suddenly, a voice came out of nowhere and said, "The middle one, of course!" Yes, I was very scared by "The Treasure of LeMonde." I got over my fear by memorizing the line and saying it with the character so that it didn't startle me, but wow, did that ever scare me at the time!

[Mimi]

Castles and Cauldrons is creeeepy! The Case of the Secret Room is still scary to me....
And I'm currently being totally creeped out by The Mysterious Stranger. I've never heard this before.
Ahhh the screaming.....

[The Top Crusader]

I tried to make this comment earlier, but it only shows up in the post reply section.

The problem with games like D&D isn't the dice-rolling or even necessarily the magic (after all, LOTR has that and yet many of y'all are still fans). The thing is that it gets in-depth into portraying strange spirits (even if it is just in the backstory), and allowing you to ally with them, and in elaborately describing false religions and such that is thereof.

Role-playing in particular isn't wrong, and can be a very useful and fun thing to do, in fact, but if you wouldn't slaughter the innocent or befriend devils in real life, I don't see that there's much purpose in playing at it in a game... and it doesn't much build Christian character (quite the opposite, in fact).

It makes more sense to choose a role-playing system that is mostly scientific, or sufficiently vague regarding its magic that it isn't possibly objectionable -- just like the old fairy tales. They never mentioned how the magic regenerating gingerbread came about, or why the goose laid golden eggs, all we know and all we need to know is that, by some quirk of science or nature, it happened.

A good rule is that if it directly contradicts the Bible, it should be avoided... so no games that portray deities as being real in the game world, etc., etc. If you can come up with a plausible explanation for "magic", like technology, or a natural power that a species has, then that might be fine; anything like religion is probably best left alone. Also, it would probably be safest not to allow any groups you play with to get in the "evil" range -- you should strive to always have good, or at least neutral characters.

Also, there does happen to be live-action role-playing, which at its best is improvisational acting (albeit with dice), but at its worst could be (in theory) exactly as portrayed in C&C. The fact is that 99% of the time, it isn't going to be anything like C&C shows, but the possibility is still there, if you ever role-play that kind of world, and the fact remains that a devil's a devil, whether just in text or in life... the idea remains the same.

So the situation isn't as bad as listening to C&C alone would make you think, but it isn't all daisies and sunflowers either, and anything that advises against occult activity can't be bad, even if it does portray a worst-case scenario.

Eh, I'm all for erring on the side of caution, but in this case I think they took it to a ridiculous degree... the thing is, look at books and listen to media of the time... this episode is basically what all Christians thought D&D was really all about, so you can't really blame them, but a little more research and honesty wouldn't have hurt.

Actually the creepy part was George hanging around in the bathroom while Jimmy was trying to take a bath. >_>

[SoccerLOTR]

Actually the creepy part was George hanging around in the bathroom while Jimmy was trying to take a bath. >_>

YES! I'm not the only person who always found that weird!!

[Leonard Meltsner]

Actually the creepy part was George hanging around in the bathroom while Jimmy was trying to take a bath. >_>

YES! I'm not the only person who always found that weird!!

I KNOW!!! If you think about it, looking at Coming of Age, and how old he used to be, Jimmy was probably around 11 when his father is sitting in the bathroom... that's about as disturbing as Harlow's "you mean it's a room full of pre-adolescent girls who will no doubt develop massive crushes on me as soon as I open my mouth?" "something like that" "no problem". Eww.

[SoccerLOTR]

Hehe...true, true...though I don't think Harlow's statement is that disturbing--if it were literally going to happen, of course it would be disturbing--but it's just another one of his outlandish, untrue, exaggerated statements. Though your reference to Coming of Age reminds me of another disturbing scene--where Jimmy professes his love to Connie. One thing to have an adolescent crush on someone 5 years older than himself--another thing to try to romantically tell her about it!

[Taps]

Odyssey is SUCH AN INAPPROPRIATE SHOW!!! : 0

[Moontide]

and the fact remains that a devil's a devil, whether just in text or in life... the idea remains the same.

So chess would be bad to play if the queens were called devils? And D&D would OK to play if every thing was named after chess pieces?

[Danielle Abigail Maxwell]

I think the only thing that scared me in Odyssey was Castles and Cauldrons. I know people who play D&D. Are they bad people? Nope. Do they let it go to their heads? Nope. Are they Christian? Yup. Would I play? Nope. I actually hate role playing games and role playing in general. Cosplay... whatever. I can't get into it. I still can't listen to C&C to this day just because I find that episode terrifying. IDKY.

I know that DBD is supposed to be scary, but I guess even from the first time I heard it, I didnt' think it was scary, just a lot of action and some heart stopping moments. Blackgaard is annoying. And when Richard is tasered... that scares that crud out of me every time. Okay, that's scary. The rest of it - not so much. The warnings definitely fit though. Some kids might find it scary.

Novacom... not that scary at any point in time... and I haven't heard TGRC, so, I can't say anything.

Scary isn't in AIO's vocab, honestly.

[Bob]

So chess would be bad to play if the queens were called devils?

If you were playing a Chess variant where a "Devil" was the most powerful piece in the game, I would indeed question why you're into that...

And D&D would OK to play if every thing was named after chess pieces?

This is a bit more of a stretch, considering the game's world, but yes, if all of the elements of the game that do or could correspond to spirits, the occult, etc. were removed or altered to no longer allude to those things, I'd say that would make it kosher -- or if not kosher, a large step closer to where it would be.

—

If your game features devils as a primary element of the game, I'm naturally going to be suspicious about it... even if the gameplay was otherwise exactly the same as an acceptable game, like Chess. Would you play Klondike, or Hearts, or some other card game with tarot cards? I'd imagine not.

So to give your questions a quick answer: Probably, and maybe.

[Moontide]

If you were playing a Chess variant where a "Devil" was the most powerful piece in the game, I would indeed question why you're into that...

So the game would be evil just because the name for the most powerful piece in the game is the same as the name for a devil? Isn't that kind of odd? It is not the word "devil" itself that is evil but what the word "devil" means.

[Bob]

So the game would be evil just because the name for the most powerful piece in the game is the same as the name for a devil?

"Evil" might be a bit of an overstatement, but essentially, yes.

It is not the word "devil" itself that is evil but what the word "devil" means.

Since the main definitions for "devil" all have to do with evil spirits, it seems reasonable to me to suppose that if a game piece was named that, it would be in homage to those spirits... which isn't something I would want to see in any game that I'm playing.

If it was, say, a game where all the pieces were named after animals, then that might not be as bad because it could be referring to a Tasmanian devil... but in the absence of any such clarification, I would definitely be wary.

I don't see why this is unreasonable, or a problem... sure, the letters that form a curse word are not in themselves evil, and the curse word itself might not even be "evil", but the popular meaning that everyone ascribes to it is.

[Moontide]

Since the main definitions for "devil" all have to do with evil spirits, it seems reasonable to me to suppose that if a game piece was named that, it would be in homage to those spirits... which isn't something I would want to see in any game that I'm playing.

So chess now is a homage to queens?

If it was, say, a game where all the pieces were named after animals, then that might not be as bad because it could be referring to a Tasmanian devil... but in the absence of any such clarification, I would definitely be wary.

But the piece is referring to it's self, and not to anything else.