Fans of the legendary rock band Led Zeppelin have confessed that they shunned the group during their younger years due to a spine-chilling myth.
The debunked tale of demonic symbols hidden within one of the band’s most acclaimed tracks evidently made a lasting impression on those who grew up listening to their tunes. On a Reddit forum, music enthusiasts recounted their hesitance to listen to Stairway to Heaven, the renowned track from Led Zeppelin’s fourth studio album, Led Zeppelin IV.
Despite now being hailed as one of the all-time greats and securing its place in the annals of rock history, the song was once viewed with suspicion upon its release. The origin of the sinister reputation can be traced back to televangelist Paul Crouch Jr, who propagated the notion that the band’s lyrics, when played in reverse, contained malevolent messages linked to the Devil.
He alleged that reversing the line “If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow” would unveil verses extolling Satan.
However, Led Zeppelin’s own Robert Plant dismissed these accusations, stating: “Who on Earth would have ever thought of doing that? You’ve got to have a lot of time on your hands to even consider that people would do that.”
Members of the r/exmormon subreddit have been swapping tales of the times they were warned against Led Zeppelin’s iconic track Stairway to Heaven, fearing its supposedly dark influences. One user sparked the conversation with a casual inquiry, posting: “Were you ever told to avoid the song Stairway to Heaven? I was.”
The thread quickly filled with responses from others who had similar experiences, ranging from avoidance advice to assertions of outright sinister undertones in the tune crafted by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.
Recollections of the “Satanic panic” that swept through the public also surfaced, alleging that playing the song backwards revealed demonic chants.
Another user recollected their high school days during the height of this paranoia, saying: “Oh yes! I was in high school for the Satanic Panic! I had a seminary teacher (in Logan UT) who played us audio of a guy derailing all the masked messages from Zep, Beatles, etc. KISS and AC/DC were acronyms for these Satanic bands’ real intent. After school, I went home and listened to my Black Sabbath and Zeppelin records.”
While one was thankful to have missed the madness, commenting: “I’m so glad I wasn’t alive for the panic. I was able to enjoy DandD happily. Unfortunately we had the witch panic of Harry Potter though.”
Adding to the anecdotes, a third chimed in: “One of my Young Men’s leaders brought in a record player and Led Zep album to show us how the song was Satanic.”
The meeting involved experiments with the record’s speed and direction, but it might’ve backfired as the user noted: “We played it slow, played it fast, played it backwards, all while he was saying ‘See? Did you hear that? Right there it sounded like he said stairway to hell! This is definitely Satanic!’ I think it had the opposite effect on most of us. Now 40 years later I still love Led Zeppelin!”
Tales from the past have surfaced as some people reminisced about events where the menacing tones of certain rock music bands were highlighted to impressionable young minds. Recalling one such incident, a user commented: “Yep. Went to a fireside at BYU in the early 80s and the guy was on fire about the evils of rock music and he did play Stairway to Heaven backwards. I got all crazy and threw out my music that he talked about. Even my TBM friends were like what the hell?”.
The credibility of such spooky warnings was brought into question by others, with someone pondering: “What I’ve always wondered is why is it ‘Satanic’ when it sounds wacky and distorted to the point of being unintelligible? If that’s how Satan sounds, no one has anything to fear from him…because he’s too unintelligible to communicate.”
Despite the panic that gripped some during the time, others shared fond memories of enjoying Led Zeppelin’s music regardless of the controversy. One person revealed: “My dad lived the life in the 60s and shared his album collection with us. Zeppelin was one of the greats.”
Meanwhile, another reflected on their teen years: “The song was played at every ward and stake dance I went to as a teen in Upstate NY.”