Dark and Perverse

7/26/2025

by M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
The Son of Sam case blazed across national headlines over 45 years ago. At first glance it appears to be the story of a crazed man who murdered strangers for one year in different parts of New York. However there was something much darker and perverse at the heart of who committed the murders, and what motivated them.

Sam Carr, neighbor of David Berkowitz, with his dog Harvey who Berkowitz said was a host for a 6,000-year-old demon. (Source - NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

Between July 1976 and July 1977, six people were shot to death and seven others were wounded in New York City, and it all appeared to be random. The city which had been held in terror breathed a sigh of relief when a 25-year-old Jewish man, a resident of Yonkers was arrested. It was easy to believe that he was crazy when he claimed his neighbor's black Labrador named Harvey, was possessed by an ancient demon who instructed him to carry out the killings.

Fifteen years after his arrest, David Berkowitz, dubbed the Son of Sam by the press was interviewed by journalist Maury Terry who had been investigating the case from the first murder, and wrote a book by the time of the interview titled The Ultimate Evil: Investigation of America's Most Dangerous Satanic Cult.

In 1997, when Berkowitz, who was serving multiple life sentences, sat down with Terry to talk about the killings, he'd found Jesus, and called himself "The Son of Hope". Perhaps because he knew he could never be paroled, or perhaps because he truly had become a Christian, he didn't deny he killed innocent people, and he got what he deserved. However one thing that he affirmed was that he did not act alone, and the murders were not random. On the contrary they were carried out by a highly organized satanic cult whose aim was ritual human sacrifices.

Terry's book agreed with Berkowitz's claim that he had belonged to an occult network, and that they had committed some of the murders. Despite the many verifications that Terry had found while researching the book, he wanted to hear directly from Berkowitz that he was correct. One of the theories he posited was that the murder of Stacy Moskowitz in 1977, was filmed by someone hiding in a van. This alone, if true, would discount the story carried forward by the newspapers and the police department that the Son of Sam was just one man. Was the filming of Moskowitz's murder also circulated as snuff material in underground circles? Terry asked Berkowitz about the van, and he answered:

BERKOWITZ: There was some filming going on. Somebody wanted to film it for somebody else, or, huh, whatever …
TERRY: Are you stating to me, then, that they made a snuff film, from that van, of the shooting of Stacy Moskowitz and Robert Violante?
BERKOWITZ: Maybe that’s what you can call it.
TERRY: Was this the cult group itself that was responsible for the Son of Sam murders? Or was there something else that went on?
BERKOWITZ: Uh, there was another group, a more elite group, hidden into it and woven into it, you know?
TERRY: What other kinds of crimes did they commit?
BERKOWITZ: Well, heavy drug trafficking and, uh, other things involving children. TERRY: Involving children? What do you mean? What kind of business were they in? You’re telling me the Process was producing child pornography? Is that what you’re saying? And providing children?

Police sketch of eyewitness description of the shooter, they all appear to be different persons, and none look like Berkowitz

Berkowitz clarified he belonged to a coven called The Children (aka 22 Disciples of Hell), which was infiltrated by an "elite group" that pushed them into the "dark side".

Prior to Berkowitz's arrest, the police produced a sketch based on witness descriptions of what appear to be different persons.

In an interview, Berkowitz confirmed that the suspect on the top-right was actually a "high-level" woman who came from out of town to take part in the ritual killings. Many of them closely resembled other members of his coven.

Based on his research Terry believed the group might have been The Process Church of Final Judgment. The cult was founded in 1963 by Robert (born Robert Moor in 1935) and Mary Ann (1931-2005) Maclean Moor De Grimston DePeyer in England, after they split from the Church of Scientology. They reinvented themselves and adopted the surname of De Grimston. The pair opened "Satan's Cavern" an all night coffee shop that was visited by film and music celebrities. They fled from England and spent time in Mexico and the Bahamas. They came to the United States via Mexico in 1968, and became influential and opened chapters in the United States and Canada, before going underground during the 1970s. According to Maury Terry, the Process Church was part of a much wider network of secret societies that have existed for centuries.

After Terry's last question about activities involving children, the producer stopped the interview. It was undeniable that this group was involved in activities beyond random killings.

In the flurry after Berkowitz's arrest, not many wanted to look closely at the sketches made by police based on eyewitness accounts. None of them looked like David Berkowitz. Perhaps because the police department would be unable to close the case, which they had been criticized for being unable to solve, they ignored the obvious, which was that all the clues surrounding these murders had elements of witchcraft and black magic.

Once he was arrested, Berkowitz started to leak out what others suspected, which was that he had not acted alone. However he had to be careful because if he ratted out any of the cult members, not only would they kill him, his family would be targeted as well.

In 1979, Berkowitz penned a letter to a preacher in California which read:

I really don’t know how to begin this letter, but at one time I was a member of an occult group. Being sworn to secrecy or face death I cannot reveal the name of the group, nor do I wish to. This group contained a mixture of satanic practices which included the teachings of Aleister Crowley and Eliphaz Levi. It was (still is) totally blood-oriented and I am certain you know just what I mean. The Coven’s doctrines are a blend of ancient Druidism, the teachings of the Secret Order of the Golden Dawn, Black Magick and a host of other unlawful and obnoxious practices. As I said, I have no interest in revealing the Coven, especially because I have almost met sudden death on several occasions (once by half an inch) and several others have already perished under mysterious circumstances.

These people will stop at nothing, including murder. They have no fear of manmade laws or the Ten Commandments. (…) I think it is imperative that I educate certain people—the people whose job it is to clean up after this coven. Of course I am talking about the authorities. Actually it is my duty as a citizen of this planet to do so. But it would be up to those concerned people to do their own investigating. Knowing the fearlessness and dedication this group possesses, I fear greatly for my family. (…) To break away completely is impossible because of a Pact each new member signs in his own blood. Also, each new and carefully screened recruit supplies a picture or pictures of all his or her family members, plus their addresses. These items are used, if necessary, as tools for blackmail, coercion and eventually physical harm should one attempt to betray the group.

Samuel Untermyer

The Children, the coven Berkowitz belonged to met at night at Untermyer Park in Yonkers. Here they would perform black masses and offer ritual sacrifices along the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. They would meet at a derelict pump house called the "Devil's Cave". It stood in the area near the old columns and the abandoned ruins of the Gate House. Several animals, mostly German Shepherds were found killed in the park. It remains a mystery what or who else might have been sacrificed here. There are rumors that young boys may have been buried in the park, but no evidence of that has ever been found to back up that claim.

The park's main entrance is at 945 North Broadway, and sits between North Broadway (formerly Albany Post Road) to its east, and Warburton Avenue to the west. The land was originally owned by the Bolmer family. In 1868, Greystone Estate, a 99-room mansion was built on 33 acres by John Thomas Waring. He also increased the property to 63 acres. In 1876, Mr. Waring suffered a reversal of fortune and was forced to sell the estate.

In 1879, Samuel Jones Tilden, one time governor of New York bought it for $150,000. He added 46 acres to the property. He lived there until his death in 1886. Then for the next 10 years ownership of the property remained in limbo due to a delay in executing his will.

Statues and designs of Untermyer park are filled with mysterious symbolism

In 1899, Samuel Untermyer bought Greystone Estate. He was the son of German Jewish immigrants, and he practiced law in New York. By then he was married and had three children. From 1900 to 1940 he added 150 acres to the estate. He purchased the Duncraggan mansion which was adjacent to the acreage, and converted the land to beautiful gardens, based on the same design of those at Hampton Court in England.

He died in 1940. and left the estate to the City of New York who originally refused it, claiming the cost of maintaining it would be too much. However the city went on to open it 1942, but only 43 acres, the remaining land was used for St. John's Riverside Hospital. In 1948, the Greystone Manor was razed, and the estate became known as the Untermyer Garden and Park.

Complete with sphinxes and Masonic twin pillars, Untermyer Park was built on occult principles and is filled with symbolism relating to elite secret societies.

According to Maury Terry, Untermyer was connected to New York's occult elite, and was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a powerful secret society. He had also been declared a satanist in Britain. By the 1960s, the park fell into disrepair and the statues throughout the park were swallowed by overgrowth. Around 1970, it was being used for teenage prostitution, hippies, drug abusers and as a meeting place for dark magic practitioners.

An excerpt taken from Terry's book describes what happened at Untermyer Park this way:

On August 11, 1977 two young boys, ages eleven and fourteen, were walking along the trail somewhat south of Untermyer Park. They weren't out for a relaxing walk on the warm summer's day. Searching through the tangled brush adjacent to the aqueduct behind Berkowitz's apartment, the youths were on a specific mission. They were looking for a grave. The previous Christmas, they found three dead German shepherd dogs at the site, lying together in separate plastic bags. The boys had buried the animals but now, hearing of Berkowitz's alleged hatred of canines, they believed their find might be connected to the case.

At first, the police weren't interested. Yonkers Det. Leon Wyka said he thought NYPD wouldn't be concerned with the animals. "They're satisfied—they got their man," he told the Yonkers Herald Statesman. However, after some publicity about the matter, Yonkers PD picked up the skeletal remains and had them autopsied. Two of the shepherds, which still had chains around their necks, were strangled; the third was shot in the head.

Berkowitz's interview with Maury Terry c.1993

The Croton Aqueduct dated back to to when the Graystone Manor was erected, and served as a gutter or sewer. It was an underground tunnel about 8 feet across that runs 25 miles from Croton Reservoir in northern Westchester to New York City. A wide path on top of it follows its course through wooded areas and residential neighborhoods.

This was the same path that passed between Berkowitz's apartment building and Sam Carr's house, where a number of dead German Shepherd dogs were found ritualistically killed.

Both of Sam Carr's sons would die under strange and horrific circumstances. John shot himself in 1978 and Michael died in a car crash in 1979. Many of those involved in the case would end up dying by suicide or murder in the years after the Son of Sam shootings.

Doctors and student nurses at the St. John's Hospitals heard chanting and saw torches close to the aqueduct in 1978. Security officers searched the desolate woods only to turn back and call the police. Two capes and one hood were found at the site.

During the 1993, interview, Berkowitz described what happened at the Devil's Cave:

BERKOWITZ: We had a spot where there was like a circle with rocks. (…) You could actually feel, like, a force out there, a presence out there in the darkness. We began to hear more and more conversations about witchcraft, about black magic. We were really having little religious services almost. I did begin to witness some animal sacrifices. We were at a park, I guess it was Untermyer Park. We had this circle formed. And we said OK let’s start chanting now, let’s call the names of the demons. Let’s call Satan’s name, let’s call Lucifer, let’s bring him, let’s summon from the netherworld, from the air, and let’s ask him to anoint you, to knight you as one of his royal soldiers to do his bidding to do his will. There were definitely lots of arson. These demons wanted fire.
TERRY: Was this Lucifer?
BERKOWITZ: Yes it was Lucifer. It was Molech, another god who wanted fire sacrifices.

Son Sam symbols in the letter sent to Jimmy Breslin was similar to a larger symbol drawn in the 19th century by occultist Elphas Levi to represent a pact with "descending hierarchies."

In retrospect, based on investigations by many surrounding the Son of Sam crime, eyewitness testimony and even Berkowitz's own admission it's impossible to believe he acted alone.

Review of the Son of Sam killing found that all but one of the shootings occurred near important satanic festival days. A Midwest occult expert who asked to remain anonymous explained about the group:

I believe you are dealing with a sado-masochistic group with strong undertones of latent homosexuality. This is an evil group that turned to ritualistic killings, using the occult as an outlet and excuse for their own latent homosexual tendencies. They borrowed from satanism, from magic and whatever they saw and liked.

I see the Son of Sam symbol in this way: Mars and Venus or man and woman are on either side. They are separated by the 'S' — Sam — who kills them as depicted by the cross above the 'S'.

This is an extremely dangerous group.

In another interview Berkowitz clarified why he used the name Son of Sam:

Sadly, the psychiatrists or the psychologist are so blind. You know, I tried to explain to them what was happening but they couldn’t grasp it – who Sam really was. I hate to talk about this because they have made a joke about this for so very long, you know the talking dog. Basically, I had given them the whole thing in a nutshell and they never quite caught on that the highest ranking demon is Samhain. And these people who died were sadly … for him.

In his book, Maury Terry explains what Black Masses usually entail:

As mentioned, covens pay homage to Satan, just as traditional religions honor God. Accordingly, in defiance of the Catholic Church, the concept of the Black Mass evolved during the Middle Ages. In the Black Mass, satanic prayers were substituted for those contained in the Catholic service; the Lord’s Prayer was recited backwards; crosses were inverted; black vestments were worn; chalices and hosts stolen from churches were used in the rituals. Elements such as feces, urine, vomit and animal blood were also employed. The host was sometimes smeared with feces or vomit, and urine was frequently poured into a chalice, and consumed. Animals, such as dogs and cats, were sacrificed to Satan and their blood drunk in fertility rites or for other purposes. Some covens, questing for the ultimate sacrifice, offered humans to the devil.

Maury Terry along with other researchers believe that Charles Manson's cult, called The Family (similar to The Children) were under the influence of the Process Church. He explained how this organization is part of a much larger network:

The Process and its secret offshoots didn’t have the Southern California or U.S. occult scene or philosophies to themselves. Master black magician Aleister Crowley, who died in 1947, had written of a unification of God and Satan. That precept, and other Crowleyisms, found their way into Process doctrine. By sharing Crowley’s beliefs, the Process also blended those of the Order of the Golden Dawn.

The Golden Dawn was an English occult society to which Crowley belonged in the late nineteenth century. The Golden Dawn believed in cabalistic magic and taught that the will could be trained to accomplish paranormal effects, including astral projection. The Golden Dawn also strongly believed in symbolism, teaching that certain symbols, or thoughts, had the same meaning for all human beings. Later, during World War II, Crowley helped establish an OTO lodge in Pasadena, California, and OTO branches subsequently sprouted in a number of U.S. cities, including New York and Houston.

In effect, a loose network was formed and already functioning via occult shops and bookstores, newsletters, ads in the underground press and other methods—including personal contacts—by the time the Process arrived in 1967. In fact, many believe that the entire occult underground in America today can be traced back to the formation of that Crowley OTO operation in Pasadena.

The Process, then, incorporated the ideas of a number of its ancestors and current occupants of the occult landscape, including the OTO. Accordingly, there was intermingling of philosophy, membership and networking among the groups. This arrangement makes labeling a difficult, restrictive measure.

Charles Manson, for example, was exposed to the practices of a renegade OTO lodge in Southern California as well as having been influenced by the Process.

Susan Atkins, one of Manson's followers does the one-eye sign while leaving court, which indicates occult elite influence.

Susan Atkins, who belonged to Manson's Family cult, killed Sharon Tate in 1969. Tate was nearly full term in her pregnancy. Her husband was Roman Polanski who released the occult-themed movie Rosemary's Baby the year before. Was it coincidence that the theme of the movie was an ambitious man who sacrifices his young wife to be impregnanted by satan in exchange for fame?

In 1977, Polanski was charged with drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. In 1978, when he learned the judge was not accepting his plea deal where he would only do probation, and instead be sent to prison, he fled to Paris. Afterward, other women have accused Polanski of raping them when they were teenagers.

Susan Atkin's appearances in court were filmed and they were always bizarre. In one video, while Charles Manson is being questioned by reporters, she appears to be lip-synching Manson as if she already knows what he would be saying. Since this was an unplanned interview there was no way she could know what Manson's answers would be. Was this telepathy or a combination of occultism and MK-Ultra ESP?

Perhaps several bizarre and dark events that have terrified Americans have the same point of origin. And one could ask why this occult elite group would go through the trouble of not committing these crimes, but of making them known. Psychological terrorism, or something more alchemical?

In the 1993, interview Berkowitz explained the reason for the killings from an occult perspective:

At this time, we dedicated our lives to Satan’s service, to be his soldiers. And we had to create an atmosphere that would be conducive to his coming upon the world scene.Our goal was to bring chaos to this city which, tragically, we did succeed in bringing the city of New York to its knees and so forth, which was part of the plan.

Occult researcher Michael Hoffman, author of Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare explains why the media was used to terrorize the populace:

The Son of Sam murders were a brilliantly orchestrated ritual whose ceremonial aspects were as precise and detailed as the internal workings of a clock. This theater of death began as a ritual for the cult-members themselves and ended as a giant magical ceremony for the processing of the entire nation, because in the worldwide broadcast of the Son of Sam murders was also broadcast the magical symbols of the “Wicker Man” and of Eliphas Levy. This is the alchemical psychodrama for the transformation of humanity.

We are processed just by reading or watching “the news,” associating death and terror, power and potency, with an old demonic symbol by a 19th century adept of Black magic whose illustration of the hermaphroditic demon of the Knights Templars, Baphomet, is perhaps the most widely recognized occult symbol in modern history.

Readers of the New York Daily News learned to associate “The Wicked King of Wicker” with murder and terror. At the thought of King Wicker, millions felt fear. This fear was imprinted on their minds. This is the same control process hundreds of peasants were put through a thousand years ago while standing in front of a giant wicker effigy, inside of which was caged doomed human sacrifices destined for burning. The only difference is that the peasants knew that their leaders wanted them to fear an occult image.

Modern people imbibe occult fear technology while imagining that there is no such thing. The imprint’s impact is doubled when veiled under such ignorance. Those who think ritual has no power to significantly alter behavior have not studied Catholicism closely. One of the most influential liturgical rites in the history of Christendom was the Tridentine Latin mass. By requiring attendance at the Latin mass every Sunday, on pain of mortal sin, Rome converted almost the whole of Europe to Catholicism.

The occult cryptocracy has a much more refined inducement for attendance at their masonic ritual: spectacular optical. Few need to be induced to watch TV or read a sensational, mass market picture magazine or newspaper. In fact, we pay to do so. Of course, many serial murders are nothing more than the work of a single individual acting out a graphic horror movie he saw, or responding to powerful “psychotic” impulses for aggression and predation. But many other serial murders involve a cult protected by the U.S. government and the corporate media, with strong ties to the police. These murders are actually intricately choreographed rituals; performed first on a very intimate and secret scale, among the initiates themselves in order to program them, then on a grand scale, amplified incalculably by the electronic media. In the end what we have is a highly symbolic, ritual working broadcast to millions of people, a Satanic inversion; a Black mass, where the "pews" are filled by the entire nation and through which humanity is paganized, brutalized and debased in this, the "Nigredo" phase of the alchemical process.

Samuel Untermyer's grandson Samuel Untermyer II with his governess at Graystone

The aim of the Son of Sam killings were in effect human sacrifices meant to shock the nation and the world at large as they consumed all the gory details publicized by the media. These mega rituals traumatized the population. Beyond this case, there is a darker more perverse core where events are orchestrated by psychopaths committing the worse abominations that can scar the human psyche.

In 2021, Maury Terry's book gained new attention due to the Netlix series Sons of Sam: Descent into Darkness. It presents the large amount of evidence he accumulated, but strangely in the end they try to discredit him. Is it because the media is trying to cover for those who call the shots, and tell them who to promote and who to smear?

Maury Terry passed away in 2015.