According to certain religions such as Christianity or Catholicism, God created Satan, and they've been battling each other ever since...or at least that's part of what's been taught. Lamentably, a good majority of people, even those whom are presumed to be understanding and broad minded still believe that Satanists are behind the most wicked atrocities, such as sacrificing animals to Satan on Halloween or spilling innocent human blood because the devil requested them too. Stereotypical satanists are said to wear all black and inverted pentagrams, not care for the ones they love, and to practice very odd rituals. This same perspective has been going on for centuries. Back when Malleus Maleficarum,a treatise on the prosecution of witches written by German Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer was published in 1486, it's purpose was to describe the lifestyle of the satanist which were known as witches in that time period. It gave details of how they lived a life in Sin and Blasphemy. From then until now, present day, most people have been frightened by what they think they know. Although the concept of Satanism has always been around, it wasn't until the 1950's that the whole concept of it was quickly gaining popularity. It originated both in the U.S. And in the U.K. Its popularity increased greatly because of Walpurgisnacht, a German holiday of pagan origin that started on the 30th of April in 1966. It's also known as the night before May day and the night of the witches. Before 1966, the night of the witches was known as the day the witches and everything devil related came out at night to cause destruction by ruining farmer's crops and livestock. In 1966 however it was viewed as more of a celebration and also as a night to come together with the Evil that was lurking around at night. The night before May day is very similar to Halloween in North America and it's also celebrated in Finland and Estonia. Also in 1966, Satanism was established by Anton Szander Lavey
