But as a member of TST as well as a Meatsack, I highly HIGHLY recommend everyone go learn about the Church of Satan via Dan Cummins podcast called Timesuck. It is equally funny as it is informative. Anton was an entertainer. Thats it. He knew how to draw a crowd(he was a circus carnie, after all, and can play the calliope like a bamf) and created the Church of Satan as a secret club for the odd people at that time, those that didnt want to go to church or nightclubs, what we redditors would equate to back then, i suppose. It just snowballed into what it is today due to media and hesaidshesaid. Here’s the Timesuck episode- https://youtu.be/ZTEMoyoYGQQ?si=4qKPV625Qwx32LT3 And here’s Anton LaVey playing the calliope and explaining how he grasps people’s attention by using the macabre, weird, and taboo- https://youtu.be/6FEV2F55g6A?si=FDk6x5LyHqBGyGGp