There are a lot of misconceptions about Satanism in mainstream media— even documentaries such as The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness can get the facts wrong about this misunderstood religion. As true crime documentaries gain popularity, they get the facts about serial killers wrong, often in order to make the story more dramatic. Even back in the 70s, the great moral panic surrounding Satanism means a great amount of information was sensationalized to capitalize on the fear and excitement; at the center of the "Satanic Panic" was the Son of Sam case and Maury Terry.
David Berkowitz, also known as the Son of Sam and The .44 Caliber Killer, ran a reign of terror throughout New York City, shooting 13 people and killing six between 1976 and 1977. Berkowitz became one of America's most infamous serial killers for claiming that his former neighbor, Sam Carr, had a dog who told him to kill because he desired the blood of pretty girls. Berkowitz went through several other reasonings over time, claiming he was possessed by a demon and that he was a member of a satanic cult. He also wrote letters to the police and reporters which contained multiple references to Satanism.
Maury Terry, a rookie journalist at the time, began to string pieces of information on Berkowitz into a theory that involved a nationwide, satanic network. The issue was that much of his work surrounding Satanism was built on misconceptions, and the documentary does little to challenge them. As Terry fell down the rabbit hole of satanic cults, it became clear that he was chasing the thrill of the sensation that was the Satanic Panic. Using a reference to "Sons of Sam" in one of David's letters, Terry traced what he believed to be connections between Berkowitz, Satanic cults, the Process Church, Charlie Manson, and the murder of Arlis Perry.
Ritualistic Practices and Official Satanic Beliefs
There are two main factions of Satanistic religions: The Satanic Temple and The Church of Satan. The Church of Satan was founded in April 1966 and was the predominant Satanic organization of the time. The Church has facets that each member is expected to uphold that directly conflict with Terry's theories and mainstream misconceptions. Most importantly, a vast majority of Satanists do not believe in a literal Satan, nor do they worship him — Satan is merely viewed as a symbol of individuality and the rejection of the traditional.
The Sons of Sam's "Devil's Hole" was said to contain the bodies of mutilated German Shepherds, yet the Church of Satan's Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth states that there should be no killing of animals barring self-defense or hunting. Ritualistic animal killing is not a facet of organized satanic religions; while it can be found in small, reactive groups of those who claim to worship Satan, Satanists who subscribe to the Church are taught to be proponents of animal rights. A prison informant claimed that Berkowitz described ritualistic drug use and murders that were satanic in nature; yet again, the Church of Satan has long rejected the use of illegal narcotics and other illegal acts. The Church's official website warns practitioners to "beware of cults offering sex orgies and drugs, or killing animals in the name of Satan," so the depiction of Satanists as serial killers and animal murderers is one even modern Satanists are fighting.
The Process Church Of The Final Judgement
Another facet of Terry's theory relied heavily on The Process Church of the Final Judgement, a religious offshoot of Scientology that started in the United Kingdom. Terry connected Berkowitz to the Process Church through the Carrs, the neighboring family who owned the infamous "talking" dog. Because Satan was one of the four deities the Church recognized (Lucifer, Satan, Jehovah, and Christ), some saw it as a satanic religion, but its practices more closely aligned with Christianity and Scientology. The Process believed that each person possessed a combination of two of these deities depending on their personality and that none of these deities were inherently evil, but a different facet of humanity. They had a heavy belief in the end times, which would occur when the four deities united in love; their talk surrounding the end of the world led society to believe their teachings were more satanic than they were, as myths turned them into serial killers. Unlike the Satanic religions of the period, the Process did not practice magic and they strongly opposed causing pain to animals, meaning Terry's theory that they could be involved in animal sacrifices, especially of German Shepherds, which were revered by the Church, is highly unlikely. Some ex-members even claim the group treated their dogs better than they did the children. Urban legends surrounding the group linked them to the Charles Manson murders, though there was never any evidence to support this claim. The Process split due to infighting in 1974, two years before the start of Berkowitz's murders, making their connection to these killings highly unlikely.
The Arlis Perry Case
Arlis Perry, 19, was murdered in the Stanford Memorial Church on October 12, 1974. Her body was laid out by the altar, and the positioning and staging of her body had some convinced Satanists were to blame – some even said satanic symbols were drawn on her body. When Berkowitz mentioned the case in writing in 1979, Terry immediately began to draw connections between "Satanist" activity and Perry's murder. Terry theorized that Perry was killed by the security guard who claimed to find her (and he was correct there), but there has never been any other evidence to link Perry's murder to Terry's theory that her death was part of a satanic ritual. The only connection in Terry's theory between Berkowitz and Perry was Berkowitz's note in a copy of The Anatomy of Witchcraft by Peter Haining which read, "Arliss Perry, hunted, stalked and slain. Followed to California. Standford Univ." Outside of vague mentions of the case, Berkowitz never gave the details he claimed to have, so it's likely he really had no information at all. While urban legends of satanic cults buzzed on the Stanford campus, DNA has since concluded that Perry was killed by Stephen Blake Crawford, and investigators believe any "satanic" element was likely staged to set the police off of Crawford's tail— a tactic that investigators say was likely used often during this period of Satanic Panic when Satanists made easy scapegoats. Unfortunately, The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness doesn't bother to clarify anything in regard to how much misinformation the sensationalized case of David Berkowitz put out about Satanism.