In researching conspiracy theories and certain alternative facts shoved upon the public by political figures via the media (a.k.a. lies), I recently recalled another time when the media turned the world upside down by using lies to reach its goal. During the late 1970s-early 90s, a fear spread across the country, warning that the devil was luring unsuspecting people into its grasp through common happenings. Instances of day care workers running sex caves arose from susceptible and leading questioning of young children in order to gain “evidence” that would arrest a couple. Media reports and police training videos showed teenagers walking through the park and suddenly joining satanic cults. The biggest victim of this media panic, however, was the most innocent—Dungeons & Dragons.
D&D was blamed for its book covers and game characters, with churches and religious parents claiming that the game would lure their children into the dark arts because they would play the characters and forget how to tell the difference between the fantasy game and reality. The pen-and-paper game of imagination was supposedly the cause of multiple latch-key kids becoming entranced by heavy metal music and leaving home to join groups of delinquents that would ultimately lead to animal sacrifices.
During the week of Christmas in 1982, a made-for-TV movie, Mazes and Monsters, premiered on CBS, based on “true” events. From Rona Jaffe’s novel of the same name, the story was supposedly based on the disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III, who vanished from Michigan State University. Egbert had been having troubles with depression and suicidal thoughts as well as drug addiction, but the bigger problem that the media discussed instead was that he was a fan of D&D. Despite simply moving between friends’ homes until finally traveling to Louisiana, where he finally called the private investigator looking for him. A year later Egbert shot himself.
In Mazes and Monsters, Robbie Wheeling, played by Tom Hanks in his first leading role, starts college after having mental troubles (later suggested to be schizophrenia), and having become too obsessed with the popular role-playing game Mazes and Monsters, which his 
parents warn him not to play anymore. He might have kept this promise, if not for a small group of players at his new school seeking him out as the fourth member of their game.
Things are made worse when Jay Jay (Chris Makepeace) decides to commit suicide in the local caves, only to change his mind, instead planning out a LARPing (live-action role-playing) mission in the caves instead. Now, I doubt this was something gamers were actually doing on a regular basis at the time, as the screenwriters felt it was wise for the other characters to think this was a unique idea. This break from the game board causes Robbie to imagine the events in their story more vividly, suddenly seeing monsters that Jay Jay hasn’t created real markers for them to see. Robbie continues to see these visions in his daily life, evolving into a wizard who tells him missions in his dreams. These missions take him to New York, though Robbie barely realizes this as everybody he meets he believes are part of the game’s world, including the monstrous noises of the subway.
Ultimately Robbie’s friends find him in New York and prevent him from jumping off the World Trade Center roof. Unfortunately, they are unable to stop his delusions though. This would be the last time they played the game, but Robbie would be living it for the rest of his life.
Although the movie is made purely out of media panic, it fails to discuss the even bigger issues posed in the plot, including suicide and mental disorders,v such as depression and schizophrenia. What it did do, however, was introduce the world to Tom Hanks.
Mazes and Monsters is available on many free streaming channels on Roku and other devices, as well as on DVD if you happen to find a library with a copy. For more information on the satanic panic, listen to episode 3 of the Just a Story Podcast.