The Church of Satan (COS) is a controversial religious organization that has caused a lot of fear and speculations all around the globe. It was founded by Anton Szandor LaVey in 1966 and it has been active ever since.

Anton LaVey was a very charismatic man and he knew how to draw people to him and that helped him in forming a closed circle of people interested in Satanism. He was an author and an occultist and he published numerous books about Satanism with the help of his long-term partner Diane Hegarty, co-founder and the High Priestess of the Church of Satan. One of those books, if not the most important one, is the Satanic Bible – the book with all COS doctrines.

One big misconception about the Church of Satan is that it is all about worshiping the devil, but it is not about the devil at all. COS is actually composed of atheists so there is no god and no devil in the picture. However, one of the most important parts of this religion is magic and the greater magic can be achieved through specific rituals. Many of those rituals have been performed in LaVey’s own house, also known as the “Black House.”

15. The Scariest Satanic Rituals

Many of the rituals that LaVey used to perform in the Black House have been captured on camera and some of them look pretty creepy. Many of the rituals involved naked women laying on the altars, human skulls, medieval swords and other weapons, and the COS members wearing scary animal masks. They were performed in a room with the walls painted black and there was usually one huge Sigil of Baphomet painted on the wall. The rituals have always been performed by a High Priest or Priestess, usually by Anton LaVey himself and often with the assistance of his girlfriend and High Priestess Diane Hegarty, also known as Diane LaVey. After Anton and Diane broke up, she sued him for palimony and he lost ownership of the Black House.

14. Satanic Cults Around The World

While the Church of Satan was the first official religion dedicated to Satanism, many minor cults all around the world have derived from it, some of them have nothing in common with the original COS. And while OCS was definitely controversial, it has never proven that it represented a danger to other people. However, these new cults are quite the opposite. For example, in 2008, 7 young members from one of the Satanic cults in Russia killed three teenage girls by stabbing them 666 times. They then cooked their hearts and tongues and ate them. They stated that they had been researching the Church of Satan on the Internet and that’s how they learned how to perform a Satanic ritual. Anton LaVey, the founder of the COS, probably wouldn’t be happy at all to hear that.

13. Connection To The Manson Family

One of the scariest and most disturbing things about the Church of Satan was its possible connection to the Manson Family. The Manson Family was a cult formed by Charles Manson and they were responsible for numerous infamous murders, including those of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. Even though Anton LaVey denied any connection to the cult, the fact is that one of the people convicted of those murders, Susan Atkins, was a member of COS and a regular guest at LaVey’s parties. Charles Manson himself was seen multiple times in a house where many of the COS members were living while they had nowhere else to go. The murder of Sharon Tate has been described as a ritual murder and people still believe that all of that is just too big of a coincidence for there to be no connection between the two cults.

12. LaVey’s Grandson Involved In Sexual Assault

Wild orgies and sex parties have always been a part of COS rituals but the sex has always been consensual. However, as the panic around Satanism grew bigger, people started spreading the rumors about abductions and sexual assaults involving COS members, but nothing has ever been proven. Unfortunately, there was one incident that makes it easier to believe that those things actually did happen. In 2011, Anton LaVey’s grandson, Stanton LaVey was arrested for sexually assaulting a teenager. He and his girlfriend, Mishael Nicely, lured a 19 year old into their home where they slipped her some drugs and then forced her to watch pornography while they sexually humiliated her. His landlord and neighbors at the time stated that it didn’t surprise them too much because he seemed like “that kind of a guy.”

11. Two Kinds Of Magic

The Church of Satan was based on two different types of magic. If you think it’s about black and white magic, think again. COS members didn’t believe in good and bad magic, they had their own kind of magic instead. There was the “lesser magic” which was used for bending a person’s will through all kinds of psychological manipulation, and then there was the “greater magic” that was achieved through Satanic rituals. COS members believe that there is no god and no devil, but that magic is always present around us and the scientists will prove its existence sooner or later. Through the greater magic, one can manipulate different natural forces and use them for their own prosperity. Many of those rituals were performed by the COS founder Anton LaVey himself in his house in San Francisco.

10. LaVey’s Parties In The Black House

While one part of COS meetings was all about Anton LaVey’s lectures and about learning all of the important things about Satanism, the other part was all about having fun. Anton LaVey really did know how to throw some pretty wild parties. Satanism is all about indulging in sin and that is exactly what COS members were doing at those parties. There was a lot of good food, alcohol, and a lot of sex involved. It was all a part of the ritual to achieve the greater magic. However, it was also pretty dark and scary. Just imagine one naked woman on the altar having sex with multiple partners with huge and creepy animal masks. Naked women were a must for almost every ritual and their naked bodies were captured in most of the pictures taken during Satanic rituals.

9. Incest In The LaVey Family?

Sex was a very important part of almost every Satanic party and ritual and while there is nothing wrong with consensual sex between two adults, sex involving minors is a very serious and disturbing thing. The COS founder Anton LaVey and the co-founder Diane Hegarty were in a relationship for many years and they had a daughter together – Zeena LaVey. Zeena grew up surrounded by the COS members and she was a part of many rituals, including her baptism that was the first baptism performed by the Church of Satan. However, Zeena became pregnant at the age of 13 and the father’s identity has never been revealed. There have been some speculations about her becoming pregnant during one of LaVey’s rituals or orgies and many people suspected that Zeena’s son is actually a product of incest between Anton and his daughter.

8. Crimes Committed In The Name Of Satan

While Anton LaVey’s initial idea wasn’t about being evil and committing crimes in the name of Satan, many COS members have gone a couple of steps further and they have twisted the whole COS idea into an excuse for doing some really horrible things. One of the biggest misconceptions is the one that Satan demands human sacrifices and there have been serial killers who believed that that is what Satan expects them to do. One of the latest cases of that is the case of a pastor who used to perform his own kind of Satanic rituals in his church where he physically abused children and humiliated them sexually. Another famous case is that of Adolfo Constanzo, also known as “The Witch Doctor,” who performed magic that required body parts and he is responsible for at least 25 murders.

7. Celebrities Involved With The COS

Anton LaVey was a very charismatic person and he had his ways of drawing people into his circle. He managed to do that with some celebrities too. Jayne Mansfield, the Hollywood sex icon, was not only ordained a High Priestess of the Church of Satan, she was also romantically involved with LaVey. There have been some pictures captured of her in the middle of LaVey’s Satanic rituals and her fans weren’t happy about that at all.

Another well-known COS celebrity member was Sammy Davis Jr., an actor, comedian, and singer, particularly popular during the ‘60s. He was offered an honorary COS membership and he accepted it publically during one of his concerts. After that, he was seen wearing Satanic symbols and there was no doubt about him being a member of the Church of Satan.

6. Basic Principles Of The COS

Have you ever wondered what the Church of Satan was actually all about? Well, most of the members are atheists; it is not about the god or about the devil. It is about magic and some basic principles of how one should live their life. The Church represents the opposite of what traditional religions represent. There are 9 basic Satanic principles that every Satanist should live by. First of all, they should accept indulgence instead of the abstinence and they should accept hedonism and sin. However, the compulsion is not welcome. Also, every person’s free will is the number one thing and it shouldn’t be limited in ways other religions tend to limit it. Vengeance is welcome as well and if somebody does you wrong, it’s okay for you to seek revenge.

5. Satanic Principles Twisted By Gangs

While the Church of Satan isn’t a violent organization, some of its elements have been twisted and used by some of the most dangerous gangs in the world, one of them being Mara Salvatrucha aka the MS-13 gang. They have adopted some of the Satanic symbols and they have their own kinds of Satanic rituals that involve making sacrifices for Satan. Some of the members have been accused of kidnapping young girls in order to include them in Satanic rituals and ultimately to sacrifice them to Satan. One of the girls managed to escape and she revealed the secrets of how those rituals looked. She was being raped and severely beaten repeatedly and she heard one of the gang members saying that Satan demands human sacrifices.

4. The Darkness And The Colour Black

One of the first Satanic symbols that comes to the mind is the darkness of the color black. Anton LaVey painted his house black in order to make it a suitable place for Satanic rituals. Also, Satanists almost always wear black clothes and they sometimes dye their hair black. The thing about the color black and the darkness it represents is that it isn’t connected to the devil and to hell as many people believe. It is actually connected to the jin and the jang – the darkness inside the light and the light inside the darkness. The darkness cannot exist without the light and vice versa. Also, people believe that certain colors have their specific magical properties and that black is considered to be the most powerful of all the colors.

3. The Satanic Ritual Abuse

The Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) was the subject of the global paranoia that spread all over the world during the ‘80s and the ‘90s. It was a huge moral panic that originated in the US and it involved accusations of physical, verbal, and sexual abuse as a part of Satanic rituals. Many new conspiracy theories were brought up, including the theories about the Church of Satan slowly taking control of the whole world. There have been numerous reports of horrible crimes committed by Satanic cults. Lawyers, social workers, police investigators, psychologists, and many others had their hands full during this time because people were so terribly affected by the phenomenon called the “Satanic Panic.” It was sort of a modern witch hunt and almost none of the reported crimes have actually been proven to be true.

2. Satanic Symbols And Demonic Imagery

Symbols have always been an important part of every religion and the Church of Satan is no different in this aspect. There is a variety of Satanic symbols and while some seem pretty normal, there are a couple of them that will give you goosebumps, at least if you are not aware of their true meaning. One of the most controversial Satanic symbols is the inverted cross. Many people assume that it was made to mock the Christian crucifix, but the truth is the inverted cross is actually much older than Christianity itself and it represents chakras in the human body. Another controversial symbol is the inverted pentagram, but that actually represents the Baphomet with two top spikes symbolizing the goat’s horns. And while Baphomet might look slightly scary, it actually represents knowledge and wisdom.

1. Anton LaVey’s Controversial Family Life

Anton LaVey dedicated his whole life to the Church of Satan and all of his family members have been part of that journey too. He divorced his first wife after meeting Diane Hegarty who was a co-founder of the COS and she spent 25 years in a relationship with him. They were never officially married but they had a daughter Zeena together. Diane was a High Priestess of the COS and she was involved in the majority of the rituals but things weren’t as perfect as they seemed. Reportedly, she was physically abused by Anton and she had been hospitalized several times as a result of that. Their daughter Zeena became pregnant at the age of 13 and many people have suspected that it was Anton’s baby. When the baby Stanton grew up, he was arrested for sexually assaulting a teenager. Zeena has since abandoned the family and she has no contact with any of her family members.