38. The Church was founded on Walpurgisnacht in 1966
Having found a ‘tenebrous conceptual tapestry’ from his idiosyncratic research into the occult, philosophy, theology, and psychology, LaVey decided that a new religion was the best way to express his ideas, and that Satan would be the figurehead. So what better time to officially found the newly-dubbed Church of Satan than Walpurgisnacht (April, 30)? Although Walpurgisnacht commemorates Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century abbess who was protection against witchcraft (and whooping cough), her feast day was thought to be a time when devils, witches, and evil spirits were abroad. In Germany, Walpurgisnacht is also called Hexennacht, or simply ‘witches’ night’.