Are churches being attacked by satanists?

In January, residents of Lyndhurst, a village in the middle of the New Forest, were horrified to discover the severed head of a deer in the porch of their local church. Unfortunately, it was not an isolated incident. 

At a church in nearby Bramshaw, a dead cat was hung from a flagpole next to the church. An inverted cross and the number ‘666’ was painted on the door back in 2019. Dead sheep sprayed with pentagrams were found in 2020, as well as animal carcasses left in various places. In 2021, another severed deer’s head was left at a foodbank in St Michael’s in Lyndhurst, while pigs’ hearts and candles were found in a deserted area in 2023. 

The local police say “thorough enquiries” have been made, although no one has yet been prosecuted.

Local churches were reluctant to discuss these disturbing incidents, although rumours and speculation abound. “These things have always been talked about,” said one long-standing resident. People have been seen “doing pagan things” in the forest on more than one occasion. Another said: “We don’t know what’s motivating them…some people can be a bit weird.” 

A wider problem

The New Forest may be a particular focus of occult activity due to its associations with Gerald Gardner, who is credited with reviving Wicca in the UK – another word for witchcraft, although many practitioners consider themselves ‘good’ witches. Gardner claimed to practise the same spells as pre-Christian pagans, having been initiated by an ancient coven in the New Forest, though some historians doubt this. 

But while the New Forest has a particularly high number of these incidents, the practice of satanism and witchcraft exists across the UK. 

Some extremist groups describe themselves as satanist, often with links to neo-Nazism, Islamic terrorism and paedophilia. Cameron Finnigan, 19 from Horsham, West Sussex was recently sentenced to six years in prison for possessing terrorist material, child abuse images and attempting to persuade someone to commit suicide. Police say he was part of a satanist terror network that targeted children and had adorned his bedroom with swastikas and pentagrams. 

Most occult groups, however, do not profess such extreme beliefs. 

Light in the darkness

It is a disturbing subject that frightens many. But some satanists who have converted to Christ have attempted to demystify the practices. Their stories warn against the dangers of the occult, but also demonstrate the hope, protection and healing found in Christ. 

Rev Ben Atkins was previously a satanist and said that as a troubled teenager, he was drawn to it “because I needed a mindset that acknowledged the pain of life, and I found every other avenue inadequate”. He was part of a group for about 18 months. “I felt like I had a relationship with Satan,” he said. “It got really dark, [I got] really anxious. I started to realise it was killing me, when I was hoping it would save me. It was awful.”

Although he had “strong feelings” against the Church, he was invited to a Christian event and experienced God through prayer – and then chose to reject satanism. But it would be several years before he was completely set free through deliverance ministry. 

Satan’s real victory is not the deer’s head – it’s a whole bunch of Christians going crazy 

He believes that the dead animals and strange objects found in these church attacks are being used in satanic rituals. However, he said that Christians do not need to be afraid. Quoting 1 John 4:4 he said: “He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world,” adding: “All we need is a word of authority, put the demons back in their place and crack on; sometimes a bit of fasting [is necessary].” 

Rather than being afraid of these practices, he said the worst outcome is to become obsessed with the subject. “Satan’s real victory is not the deer’s head – it’s a whole bunch of Christians going crazy and spending all their time reading about it, when they should be loving their neighbours.” 

Since speaking publicly about his experiences, Rev Atkins has been threatened and harassed. But he warns that many people involved in the occult are traumatised and damaged, sometimes by the Church, and that care must be taken to distinguish genuine satanists from those who are disturbed and have mental health difficulties. 

A worldwide problem

This distinction is also made by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC), which collects data on attacks on churches across the continent. “It’s very hard to distinguish between the usage of satanist symbols and actual satanist attacks,” said their executive director, Anja Hoffman. 

The OIDAC is aware of 15 attacks on European churches that used symbols in 2024. It is more obvious in a Catholic context as practising satanists seek to use consecrated hosts in their “black masses” as an act of blasphemy. Hoffman said that animal slaughter, as seen in the New Forest, is rare. 

She expressed concern that the authorities often do not take the threat seriously: “In secularised European societies there is a lack of understanding that these things are even happening,” she said. “Even if it is not widespread, it is important that it is taken seriously.” 

Chief inspector Scott Johnson, district commander for the New Forest, said he “can’t confirm” any link between the incidents and has an “open mind” about the motivation. “It is possible that these are deliberate acts to shock the community, rather than related to any specific belief or practice,” he said.