The Mainstreaming of Wizards and Vampires tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

The Mainstreaming of Wizards and Vampires

Posted by in News & Culture

I’m not one of those “alarmists” who sees a “booger” behind every bush or screams, “Boycott!” at least once a week. Really, I’m not.  Far from it.

But recently I have discovered something that has that truly disturbed me.

My wife teaches fourth grade in a Christian school. She receives the monthly Scholastic book order forms. Scholastic has been providing inexpensive books for kids ever since I was a kid. Scholastic introduced me to one of my favorite series of books, Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators. Remember them?

Teachers love Scholastic book orders because they get free books. The more the kids order, the more a teacher gets for her own class library. It’s a win-win for everyone, and and awesome service for teachers. But Kim (my wife) was really in a quandary yesterday. She was struggling with the notion of sending the monthly Scholastic order forms home with the kids because of a couple of titles that were offered. I asked her to show me. And she did. The books being sold to her classroom of 10-year-olds included how-to books on wizardry and sorcery.

No kidding.

So I did a quick on-line search of the Scholastic web site. I went directly to the “Kids” section and searched the books. When I typed in the word, “wizard,” and hit the search button, it revealed 53 items on the subject being marketed directly to children.  Type the word “witchcraft” and you get 16 items.  Type the word, “Bible,” and you find a whopping 11 items available.

My search revealed books like:

Wizardology: The Book of the Secrets of Merlin. First discovered in 1588, the grimoire of Merlin can finally be utilized by the world’s brave, daring, and magically inclined. Packed with the arcane secrets of history’s greatest wizard and beautifully illustrated, this mystic guide includes secret clues, a crystal ball, a magical map, the relics of magical creatures, instructional booklets, and divination materials!
Fantasy abounds in this realistic and stimulating spell book.

And let’s not forget that classic work of literature …

The Wandmaker’s Guidebook (For Ages 7 and Up). Become a wandmaker’s apprentice. This guidebook covers every aspect of making your own wand, from the type of wood to the powers that you can create with natural elements like sand, herbs, feathers, and more. Your personal powers can be places in the twist-off handle. What kind of wand will you make? Kit includes: 24-page book with pull-out drawer, a wooden wand with removeable handle, three different feathers; three vials with different colored sand, and a vial of multicolored stones.

And then I found …

The Wizardology Handbook (Ages 9 and Up). Calling all aspiring wizards! Do you know the appropriate tools (including flattery) to have on hand should you encounter a Western wizard? Have you memorized the spell for summoning a unicorn familiar? Can you follow the steps for releasing magical powers in a lump of rock or piece of metal? What role do natural objects and animals play in the mysterious ways of the shaman? From charts to booklets to lessons, from fascinating stories to free-form spells to create on your own, this elaborate workbook contains all the elements needed for transforming the reader into a wizard worthy of Merlin himself. The ultimate companion to the best-selling WIZARDOLOGY – an indispensable handbook for would-be wizards everywhere!

All of these books can be found and purchased through the search link that I provided above.

So, no joke … these books, provided through sale at school, teach children how to make their wands, practice divination, and cast spells.

Now, I don’t want to get into the whole Harry Potter discussion. I think it has been beaten to death. I, personally, don’t like the entire idea of combining children with wizardry through literature. Silly me, I guess I always took this passage very seriously. I’ve always made an effort to avoid anything that the Lord considers an “abomination.”

I’m sure that there are many of you who contributed to the gadzillions of $$$ that Rowling made turning wizardry into an everyday, heroic pursuit for children. But that’s “your call.” Interestingly, my kids have never read the books. I did not forbid them to do so. They just never showed an interest. And they are not “culturally deprived” because of it. In fact, I think they’re all the better off.

On a side note … recently, I have noted a significant infatuation with vampires among teens.  The banner advertisements on MySpace are full of info about vampires.  The phenomenon seems to be fueled by the strangely popular Twilight series of books by Stephanie Meyer. (The students at my daughters’ Christian school are captivated by and engrossed in the books of this series.  Other students in our youth group are, apparently, enthralled readers of the series.)

Surely we can see the cultural, philosophical, and theological doors that have been thrown open within our youth culture. Sorcery, witchcraft, and even vampires have been brought into the mainstream through pre-teen and youth literature.  Now, the actual practices of sorcery is being mass-marketed to our children through the sale of books in our schools.  And it seems apparent that Christian parents are unable to discern evil from righteousness.

No, we don’t need to boycott anything. We simply need to know the Word, obey the Word, teach our families to obey the Word, and be on our guard.

What are your thoughts?