24.3: Dungeons, Dragons, and Satan

The book recounts the 1979 disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III, a 16-year-old computer genius and avid Dungeons & Dragons player, from Michigan State University. Egbert's disappearance sparked rumors of witch cults, drug rings, and other explanations. Private investigator William C. Dear was hired by the Egbert family and conducted a meticulous search, including crawling through tunnels and using helicopters. Dear eventually discovered that Egbert had entered the university's utility tunnels with the intent of committing suicide but went into hiding instead. The book also addresses the media controversy surrounding Dungeons & Dragons and the eventual tragic outcome of Egbert's story, who committed suicide less than a year after the incident.

Mazes and Monsters is a novel by Rona Jaffe that explores the lives of four college students—Kate, Jay Jay, Daniel, and Robbie—who use a fantasy game as a refuge from their personal, emotional, and social problems. The story is loosely based on the 'steam tunnel incidents' of the 1970s, where urban myths suggested that students playing live-action versions of Dungeons & Dragons disappeared into utility tunnels. As the characters take their game too far by live-action role-playing in caverns near their campus, they delve deep into the darkest parts of their minds, confronting their most menacing truths. The novel was written during a time of public anxiety over the effects of role-playing games and was later adapted into a made-for-television movie starring Tom Hanks.