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Not Just A Game Title: Vampire
-- Not Just A Game
Source: www.the700club.org,
2/12/96, and broadcast on The 700 Club's television show on the same date.
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Vampire -- Not Just A Game
February 12, 1996
MEEUWSEN: It sounds farfetched, like something out of a horror
movie. A self-proclaimed vampire seducing young girls into deviant
sexual acts. But it's not a joke nor the product of someone's
runaway imagination. In fact, a few weeks ago the arrest of just
such a vampire shocked the Virginia Beach community. CBN News
reporter Tod Freeman has the story. And we do want to strongly
warn the parents in our audience that this report is by its very
nature not suitable for children.
TOD FREEMAN reporting:
January 17 this year, John Christopher Bush is arrested in Virginia
Beach, Virginia for sexually assaulting teen-age girls. Using
a fantasy game as a lure, the 26-year old Bush tells police that
he's a vampire. Don Rimer is the detective on the case.
Detective DON RIMER (Virginia Beach Police Department): Mr. Bush,
without hesitation, explained to us that he created a vampire
family here. That he was given permission to create his own family
and that there was nothing wrong with what he did. That he doesn't
understand what our concern is to begin with.
FREEMAN: One of the tools Bush used was fantasy game called Vampire:
The Eternal Struggle. While games like these may stress a hands-off
approach in the rules, many teenagers sadly found out too late
Bush didn't play by the rules. If teenagers wanted to be part
of Bush's family, they had to play by his rules. According to
police, female members, most between 13 and 16, had to submit
to deviant sexual contact with Bush, including breast biting,
oral sex and intercourse. Members of Bush's clan would cruise
area malls looking for new recruits. Before his arrest last month,
Bush's vampire family had as many as 40 members. Police say they
were also recruited from area schools.
The link between role-laying and fantasy games, such as The Eternal
Struggle, with crime is well-established. In March, 1991, 17-year
old Shawn Novak murdered a nine and seven year old in cold blood.
Novak was said to be fascinated with Dungeons and Dragons. And
his attorneys said their client was possessed when he slit the
boys' throats. Detectives say The Eternal Struggle has the potential
of being even more dangerous than Dungeons and Dragons.
Det. RIMER: I do think it is more dangerous because they talk
constantly about killing. Whereas in Dungeons and Dragons while
there is the element there, it's not always that. But here it
seems to be constantly the quest for power and position.
FREEMAN: Richard Marks is a counselor who studies the occult.
He says America's fascination with fangs is growing.
Mr. RICHARD MARKS (Counselor): They're not really the evil people
that we used to think of them as. Compassion comes out of the
one who views the movies. So we now see them as somehow erotic
because of the strong sexual connotation to vampires. We see them
as lonely sometimes. So we're now evoking human compassion out
of humans towards someone who is dead.
FREEMAN: Consider the last few years. Anne Rice's Interview
with the Vampire was a blockbuster, all the while embracing
the erotic side of vampires.
Bram Stoker's Dracula also immersed America in the
gothic. And the new film From Dusk Till Dawn which
was number one at the box office during its opening week, two
gun-crazed criminals stumble unknowingly into a vampire bar where
they end up spending a bloody night blasting, bludgeoning and
stabbing their way through dozens of the undead.
In bookstores, Anne Rice's best-selling vampire novels have captivated
millions of readers. Vampires have even made it into the Internet.
Everything from Vampire Chat Rooms to frequently asked questions
can be just a few mouse clicks away. Manufacturers of many of
these games stress clearly that players take a hands-off approach
to game playing. In this vampire game, The Masquerade, the instructions
warn clearly that, "You must not use anything that can harm you
or another cast member." At the same time the instructions go
on to say, "Make-up and fangs are strongly encouraged and other
players appreciate the effort involved in creating a very vampiric
appearance."
Rob Anderson is one gamemaker that knows the power of fantasy
in role-playing games. He created the Christian card game Redemption
to have a positive influence on players.
Mr. ROB ANDERSON (Creator, Redemption): If someone wants to become
a Christian or dedicate their life to Jesus Christ, as partially
in part to playing my game, I think that's a wonderful event.
If people are doing that for a Christian game, I wonder if they're
doing it the other way for darker games.
FREEMAN: What is the common thread, if any, that tie all of the
teenagers together who played Bush's game? Detective Rimer thinks
he knows.
Det. RIMER: One of the common things we did see, however, is that
there was a high percentage of children from fragmented homes,
single-parent homes and there was also a high percentage of the
children who did not truly belong to anything or any other what
we call positive influence in their life.
FREEMAN: For many of the players of fantasy games, like The Eternal
Struggle, the adventure ends when the game is over. But as Detective
Rimer knows, that's not always the case.
Det. RIMER: We have to look at the fact that we've identified
somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 children just in this one
incident and that causes us to take a real strong look at this
kind of activity all across the nation. What we constantly caution
the children about is, you're getting into a game here that you
may not safely get out of.
FREEMAN: Tod Freeman, CBN News.
ROBERTSON: It's an incredible aberration in our society but Dungeons
and Dragons, which sent some people over the edge, some kids committed
suicide, was a very dangerous thing. We warned about it a long
time ago and were criticized roundly and then all of a sudden
it began to come out, the danger.
MEEUWSEN: You see it multiplying so incredibly. We got a family
computer for Christmas and so we spent some time before the holiday
in electronic stores looking at games that were available. I was
so amazed at the number of "dark games." There were
occult-type things. It really is incredible.
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