The latest craze is the Labubu doll, a cute but spooky looking creature based on the writings and art of a series of books from Hong Kong. The story is based on Nordic fairy tales, where monsters live together, some good and some evil. The monsters are Zimomo, Tycoco, Spooky, and Pato – but the most famous one is Labubu, a creature with pointed ears and sharp teeth.
Even though the books and toys are meant for children, it is Gen Z that has latched onto it the most, collecting the dolls and showing them off on social media. Their grimace, horns and evil look has caused Christian conservatives to question whether the dolls are evil or Satanic.
But, similar to the Beanie Baby craze of the 90’s, people are collecting these dolls, some in a miniature and portable version, trading them online for hundreds of dollars, and collecting each new one that comes out, often modeled after celebrities.
People are going to desperate lengths to find the one that they like the best. The dolls have been around for a while, being released in 2019 by Chinese toy maker, Pop Mart, based on the characters from Kasing Lung.
The market for these dolls is so popular that there is even a side market for fakes or dupes.
The issue that Christians are having, similar to their issues with other fictional books, toys and series, are that they think the doll resembles a demon. Namely, it is Pazuzu, the ancient Mesopotamian demon.
Pazuzu’s form is seen as having a lion’s face, with bird’s talons and wings, carrying a serpent. Some of the conspiracy theories even suggest that the dolls carry a ‘demonic energy’. They go as far as using their bible to explain their theory, saying that ‘Satan disguises himself as an angel of light’, from Corinthians.
The company that produces the dolls hasn’t publicly addressed the conspiracy theories, but they did post a mock ‘recall notice’ on April 1st as a prank, saying that the dolls were possessed.
Who Or What is Pazuzu?
Pazuzu, an ancient Mesopotamian diety, was invoked as a protector against other evil spirits and natural disasters. In particular in their stories, Pazuzu would protect against the demon Lamashtu, who preyed on newborn babies. So, according to their stories this Pazuzu demon seems kind of benevolent and even helpful. But, at the same time they believed that this demon also controlled the forces of wind, and locusts, which was highlighted and made famous by the Exorcist movie.
In fact, if the Exorcist movie and book was never even made, Christians wouldn’t even care about Pazuzu – it’s not even mentioned in their own bible as a demon. Since then, this demon has gained a legendary status as being powerful and evil. It makes you wonder if the ancient Mesopotamian people were around today, they would find that their demon, who has been demonized by the dominant religion, is a misunderstanding of their own beliefs.
In general, you won’t find many Satanists who are into ancient Mesopotamian beliefs. While some Satatnists do work with demons, Pazuzu isn’t really one of the popular ones. Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic, meaning they worshiped many gods and goddesses, and also henotheistic, with particular cities or groups favoring specific deities, none of which appeals to Satanists, in general.
On a Reddit thread, members of the Satanic Temple discuss how this trend is actually kind of funny:
One user writes, “Sigh – I remember the satanic panic in the 90s, when Harry Potter and Pokemon were sent here by the devil to brainwash children. Too bad to see we have not moved on.”. Another user states the obvious, “What kind of Christian believes in non-Christian deities in the first place? Weird way to blaspheme but ok.”. Another points out the pro-life stance of this demon with, “Of course christians paint pazuzu as the most evilest of bad-asses. [Pazuzu] protects pregnant women and mothers, defending them from the machinations of Lamashtu.”
Still, we may think the dolls are cute! The anime versions of Baphomet that have become popular may have swayed Christian’s opinions on what Satanists find attractive. But, there’s no collector group for Satansits, and there certainly isn’t a Satanic themed version of the doll. It’s quite funny that anything that society seems to find entertaining, that takes them away from the rigid teachings of their Christ, is seen as evil. Some things never change.
References:
Labubu dolls are now daemonic?
https://www.reddit.com/r/SatanicTemple_Reddit/comments/1mp3fut/labubu_dolls_are_now_daemonic/
Are Labubu dolls ‘demonic’? No, but they’re definitely evil – The Times
https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/are-labubus-demonic-evil-lt3dxf9cb
