Antagonistic Viewpoints: A Law Enforcement Problem Folklorist William Guinee studied the reactions of the law enforcement, religious, and pagan communities to a "pan pagan festival" sponsored by the Elf Lore Family (ELF) and attended by about 140 Neo-Pagans between September 20-22, 1985 in Yellowwood Forest near Nashville, Tennessee. Law enforcers assigned to provide security did not receive pre-festival preparation or education, nor did the ELF family try to educate or allay possible law enforcement prejudices. Guinee's study illustrates how the preconceptions of each group influences the other groups' actions, ultimately causing problems within the community that may have been avoided. Reactions to the Event... "ELF customarily doesn't advertise the location of its festivals until very late to avoid the arrival of too many people who have not registered and to avoid harassment by the police. This secrecy was interpreted as suspicious by the police, and their suspicions were reconfirmed by the presence of people in robes, unusual symbols, and dancing around a fire. The response of the police to this information was to carefully monitor the activities of the gathering from a distance. This observation was interpreted by members of ELF as harassment and the impression was reinforced by the policemen's fear of getting too close to the gathering... Members of Pastor James Brown's congregation became so concerned about the 'Satan worshippers' in the forest that they took what they considered to be a humane and Christian action. They decided to illuminate the pagans to the dangers of having converse with the Devil... Out of a very large stock of religious literature, they chose two tracts which whey felt were particularly applicable to the current situation: 'Satan; the god of this world' and 'The Burning Hell: Tortured Lost Souls Burning Forever!' The Baptists then... drove rapidly past the campsite, which was right next to the road, and threw the tracts out the window. The neo-Pagans didn't respond favorably to this action. As one of them told me 'we hate having people say that we are damned.' Furthermore, the ELF family professes a tremendous concern for the environment and their handout warned participants not to litter... So the neo-pagans picked up the tracts and threw them in the fire... The burning of religious tracts could not have been favorably interpreted by the watching Baptists... The interaction between neo-pagans, Christians, and the police was consistently motivated by preconceptions, and served only to further validate those preconceptions on all sides. Each side seemed to participate only in a world of their own creation. Without intending to do so, each group reconfirmed the antagonism of their rivals." Accounts of Neo-Pagan Activity "All accounts have certain features in common: there were a large number of people in the park for the weekend; they played music; they stood in a large circle around a fire; symbols were displayed by at least some of those present. Beyond these minimal features there seems to be only disagreement. Deputy Walls noticed a large number of specific occurrences which he interpreted as signifying practices of devil worship. Walls saw people drinking blood, eating raw meat, dancing around the flames naked in a triple wedding ceremony, wearing devil-like costumes and having a ceremony with burning candles in the graveyard... Conservation Officer Dave Phelps, Walls' colleague, saw almost none of these things. The most he saw was a large group of people holding hands, dancing, and yelling around a large fire. Phelps had very few complaints with the group: they should have covered over their fire pit a little better when they left; they may have been slightly too noisy after the park's quiet hour of 11:00 p.m. Phelps specifically states that he never felt that the participants were engaged in Satanism... Pastor James Brown also saw some things which he interpreted as suspicious. He saw people dressed in red and black outfits, a six-sided star in a circle, three scantily clad women, and something which might have been a candle on a tombstone. Brown also saw the performances of what he calls 'their services' ... and concluded that the power behind such gatherings must be satanic... Terry Whitefeather, leader of ELF, absolutely denies the presence of several of the items described by Walls such as the eating of raw meat, drinking of blood, and naked dancing. Whitefeather denies the charges of 'Satanism' which he claims is only a perversion of Christianity and has nothing to do with his group at all." Source: William Guinee, "Satanism in Yellowwood Forest: The Interdependence of Antagonistic Worldviews." Indiana Folklore and Oral History , Vol. 16, No. 1 (January-June 1987):3-5; 15-17.