My first copy of the Satanic Bible was lent to me by my ex-boyfriend, whom I resided with almost 3 years ago. After recently breaking up with him, I moved in with my grandparents, sans TSB. At the time, I had no source of income, which made it even more difficult to acquire another copy.

So my first thought was to scan the library shelves- which was pretty silly for me, considering my grandmother works for the library, and often checks my account for overdue rentals; she has no inkling as to my religion, and I’d like to keep it that way. However, I was still curious to see what other books they had, relating to Satanism.

But to my surprise, there were none. Yes, there were books on magic, Wicca, Buddhism, and countless literature on Christianity, but even TSB was non-existent. So I thought maybe it was already checked out, as well as any related titles. So my second thought was to search the online catalog, which even includes the four other libraries in my district. But still, it was no where to be found (for free, anyway).

Although I have owned a copy for quite a while now, it still irked me that bookstores were the only holders of TSB near my home. I believe that the library should carry at least one in every branch, or at the very minimum, one copy per district.

So, just the other day my grandmother and I were discussing the topic of “stolen books” from the library. She told me how graphic sex books and Sports Illustrated issues are usually never returned, as with literature on home-made explosives. Her next announcement came as a total surprise: she told me how, “the library used to carry a really popular little black book on Satan,” until countless patrons failed to return it.

She concluded the conversation by admitting that the library gives up on restocking books when they are continually being stolen. But what really angers me, is that it’s not even up to the city to choose which reading materials should be restocked and which should not- all it takes is one supervisor’s opinion before they permanently remove the title off the shelves!

I understand the city would be losing money by constantly having to pay for these materials time and time again, but I am beginning to think it is just an excuse to limit those who are Satanists. It seems as if freedom of religion is gradually becoming obsolete for us.

So out of curiosity, my question is this: Whose fault is it that the Satanic Bible is becoming rarer to find? The library or the thefts? Or should they equally take the blame?

Or have any others encountered the same problem when trying to find public-funded materials relating to Satanism, other than online sources?

>> understand the city would be losing money by constantly having to pay for these materials time and time again, but I am beginning to think it is just an excuse to limit those who are Satanists. It seems as if freedom of religion is gradually becoming obsolete for us. <<


let's not play the victim status card. That is really just a question of simple economics.

The Satanic Bible costs very little. People can just go out and buy it.

Very true, Reverend. I was also concerned about not being able to find other books relating to Satanism. Libraries and bookstores have a very limited selection, and it would be difficult to order them online and have them shipped to a household with very nosy family members. Maybe it’s about time for me to invest in a Kindle...

I agree. Yes it is very annoying how hard it is to find TSB and other Satanist books in libraries; I think any complete philosophy/religion section should have it nowadays; it's been around for close to 50 years.
I would venture that the thefts are most likely from prudish Christians stealing it from the shelf; same with the "porn" and "criminal skills"-type books. Or then again, maybe most of the population who want a book titled "The Satanic Bible" upon seeing it browsing the shelves (knowing nothing of the religion already) are just from a demographic of idiot emo teenagers, who then rage that the book contains nothing about sacrificing cats, and discard it. (I hate pseudo-Satanist devil worshipers so, so, so much!!) /endrage
Anyway yeah, it is pretty cheap; buy it. I don't think we should play the victim card either; keep the Church and all Satanists non-hypocritical regarding religion and churches in general. (Tax payment, "equal rights," free expression.)

(Sorry double post)
Oooooooh is there an e-book version on Amazon? That would be nice. Also if anyone was wondering, back before I had The Satanic Witch (I had TSB of course though) I tried asking for it at a local Barnes & Noble. (a big two-story nice one in a plaza.)
They didn't have it; so it's not just libraries not having it.
I had to order both books online.

Where I'm from, I finally found TSB at a local bookstore under Fiction..wth?

It is (my copy at least) labeled as "Fantasy" by the publisher.
Which is of course stupid. It's philosophy/religion, under non-fiction.

Most Barnes & Noble or Borders bookstores carry TSB and other titles by Dr. LaVey. The Satanic Bible is less than $10.

If you don't want to order the book and have it sent to your home, these are two possible alternatives. You may want to hit Borders before April, however.

If anything, you would think they would have The Holy Bible under fantasy!

The TSB is one of many books that I feel are definitely worth owning. Acquiring a copy should be fairly easy even in these tough economic times. Regarding freedom of religion; an enlightened understanding of the law of the jungle will shed more light on the topic of "freedom" and "religion". And always expect suppression of anything Satanic in nature.

Happy hunting!

As a long-time bookseller, I can tell you that the bottom-strata of people typically looking for books on Satanism, witchcraft, and magic, are the very people who won't hesitate to steal it if they can get away with it. Most of them approach buying a book on magic as they would buying a loaded gun - they want a "spell book" to get over on someone over something. Most garden variety people interested in Satanism, witchcraft, and magic are mentally deficient scumbags.

What makes The Satanic Bible a likely target is that it is 1) The Satanic Bible, 2) it looks spooky, and most importantly 3) it is a pocket-sized paperback and easy to conceal.

No bookstore or library is going to continually stock something that is so routinely stolen. And I can tell you from long personal experience that Satanic books are routinely stolen.

Here's another angle you've probably never encountered: As a Satanist operating or managing a large general-stock bookstore for over 25 years, I would routinely keep Satanic books behind the counter. If someone asked for them I would show them, but ONLY if they weren't retarded scumbags or even someone I didn't like for any reason that might be on my long list of reasons.

How's that for "equal opportunity" service?

Yes, it sucks that Jesus freaks and 14 year-old occult dabblers keep stealing LaVey's books from libraries. But we still live in an age where most of us don't have to drive far to a Borders or Barnes & Nobel to order one, and even more conveniently, are only a few mouse clicks away from sites like Amazon.com. So I really don't think this is much of an issue as it might have been, say, 30 years ago. And of course, even then Satanists were still able to get the book without the luxury of the internet.


I've seen it filed under "New-Age/Astrology" before, and a number of other odd categories over the years. It's almost never put under "religion", oddly enough.

Then again, I remember seeing movies like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea shelved differently in different video stores. Sometimes it was under "Drama", sometimes "Fantasy", sometimes "Sci-Fi", sometimes even "Family". So even with all fears of Satanism aside, a lot of it may just be due to the inevitable imperfections of trying to cram everything into a dozen discrete categories. Then again, "Fiction" is a little ridiculous.

M. Svengali is of course the expert and final word on this matter, but I know from experience that citizens can petition to have books pulled from library shelves. While NYC public libraries probably would not yank TSB if petitioned, Podunk, Iowa libraries probably will, assuming they stocked it in the first place.

There ia also the fact that there is no current print hardcover copy available. Many or most libraries only stock mass market paperback copies of fiction, frequently books they already have in hardcover. I don't recall ever seeing mass market paperback (or even trade paperback) copies of non-fiction in any library.

My local library has a moderately good selection of CoS material. Not surprising as we're a very cosmopolitan and tolerant little burg. I asked once if they had a problem with theft, and they said no, and looked a bit surprised at the thought that anyone would steal a common paperback book that wasn't rare and could be resold for a profit.

(The rarer older books had been stolen in the past, so it now requires a librarian's assistance to access them.)

However, the damned books are always checked out, constantly, and almost never on the shelves. Someone is reading them - but they do get returned.