"Night Prowler" is the last song on AC/DC's album, Highway to Hell, released in 1979. Five years later, Richard Ramirez, a big fan of the group, went on a murdering binge that lasted over a year, leaving 30+ victims in his wake. He claimed the song told him to do it.

As a result of this and other cases, people started believing heavy metal music was Satanic and led people to commit evil deeds. This is an example of a moral panic. These get spread by demagogic types, capitalizing on people's fear of the weird, that can be left, right or center. This time, the right is going to be blaming the Lee incident on Daniel Quinn, Al Gore, Barack Obama, Lady Gaga, the prophet Muhammad and the purple Teletubby.

by LudwigVan on 09/05/2010 05:15:52 AM EST