book kept on the shelf at school

A book about the devil, demons, the underworld, and the occult is never again going to leave Northwood High School.


In a compromise with two parents who wanted the book removed altogether, school board members have decided to prohibit students from taking the book from the library.


\”They were concerned about students taking it home to use without supervision,\” James Herr holtz, principal, said. \”Now it is to be a reference book, and I think it was a win-win situation.\”

\”I wanted the book out, but I felt that was the most I was going to get,\” Mrs. Richardson added. \”It could be a stepping stone for pursuing more information like this and with all the violence that is going on, we have to realize how influential [children] are.\”

Terrie and John Richardson had petitioned the Northwood Board of Education to remove the Dictionary of Demons, by Fred Gettings, from the school\’s library.

\”I didn\’t feel it was appropriate material for children to be reading,\” said Terrie Richardson, mother of three children in the district. \”I think it is influential and promotes demonic teaching, witchcraft, and the occult.\”

Dictionary of Demons explains the origin of the devil and other underworld inhabitants.

School officials were unwilling to remove the book, so the compromise was reached.

Mrs. Richardson and her husband are not completely satisfied, but say keeping the book in the school is better than allowing a child to take it home.

\”I wanted the book out, but I felt that was the most I was going to get,\” Mrs. Richardson added. \”It could be a stepping stone for pursuing more information like this and with all the violence that is going on, we have to realize how influential [children] are.\”