Friday, June 25, 2021

Weird Tract Number 136: "Satanism: Diabolical Religion of Darkness" by Jess Pedigo of Christian Crusade

 Troy Davis writes:

satanism jess pedigo hargis
I previously wrote about the flamboyant career of Pastor Billy James Hargis, the head of the proto-Moral Majorityesque group Christian Crusade. Christian Crusade is best known for Hargis' rabid anti-communism and his cultural wars against the 60s counterculture; the group also helped set the stage for the 80s satanic ritual abuse moral panic; Christian Crusade's 64-page booklet by Jess Pedig  is a good example of the fundamentalist scare literature from the 70s that led to one of the most irrational cultural trends of the 80s.  

Like Hal Lindsey in the mega-bestseller The Late Great Planet Earth, Pedigo believes the occult revival in the 60s (at least in younger circles)  was evidence that Satan was marshalling his forces for The Final Battle. On the museum's Chick Tract Parody Page, I had noted that The Collinsport Historical Society, a blog celebrating the cult TV show Dark Shadows, had a post mentioning that Jack Chick accused the show of being a tool of Satan in the original 1972 version of his tract "Bewitched."  Pedigo also had a Pissy-About-TV-Vampires-For-Christ attitude:  

dark shadows demon satanism

Pedigo believes 
Léo Taxil's late 19th century hokum about The Illuminati and Baphomet and includes images of the supposed Masonic Baphomet used in Taxil's writings in the late 19th century. 

appropriation of Baphomet taxil

 Pedigo views psychedelic experimentation and other counterculture practices as portals to satanic control. When I created the infamous "Doorways to Demonic Possession panel for my Chick tract parodies, most of the items listed were from fundamentalist sources. 
Not surprisingly, Pedigo cites Kurt Koch's The Devil's Alphabet, a work in the museum's collection (I briefly discuss the book here). 

DOORWAYS TO DEMONIC POSSESSION
The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.



Sunday, June 6, 2021

Weird Tract Number 135 "The Kids [sic] Guide to President Trump" by The Kids [sic] Guide

 Troy Davis writes:

kids guide to Donald Trump

The Kids [sic] Guide to President Trump
is not ostensibly religious literature but I'm sure that future historians and psychiatrists will view the obsession with a psychopathic vulgarian con artist by tens of millions of Americans as a pathological quasi-religious movement. This 20-page booklet is the product of former Arkansas governor, presidential candidate, and drastic weight-loser Mike Huckabee. Not surprisingly, it's a whitewashed hagiography of Trump,

Huckebee was accused of wrongly billing people who received a free sample copy (similar to the recent Trump campaign contribution scandal). When I went to The Kids [sic] Guide website, I noticed that Huckebee was also shilling The Kids [sic] Guide to Joe Biden

The Museum of Weird and Demented Religious Tracts is a project of Les Zazous Postmodern Art Galley of Bellaire, Ohio. Read the Welcome Statement of The Museum here.

For more on the gallery, check out the web site here and the gallery's Twitter handle is @ZazousLes.  The Twitter handle for the museum is @WeirdTracts

The index of tracts for the museum's website is here

Contributions of weird tracts to the museum can be made by mail: send your weird tracts to Les Zazous Postmodern Art Gallery 3475 Guernsey Street, Bellaire, Ohio 43906.

mike huckabee weight loss before after
kids guide to joe biden





Weird Tract Number 142: "Mark of the Beast" by Anonymous

Troy Davis writes: "Mark of the Beast is an anonymous, undated four-page pamphlet promoting the Catholic-baiting book by Seventh Day Ad...