by francopoli
In her writings, Mary Baker Eddy developed the concept of "malicious animal magnetism" (MAM), seemingly a form of hypnosis or possibly mental control or mental energy which could harm others. Chapter V of the first edition of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures was titled "Animal Magnetism Exposed," and explained how the mind can cure itself but also harm others ("mind crime"). Eddy apparently believed that such "mind crimes" could be stopped by having people in close physical proximity to her "intercept" these mental emanations.
MAM proved to be a lifelong concern of Eddy's after 1878. She rushed a truncated, second edition of Science and Health into print in 1878 so that her thinking on the issue could become public as soon as possible, and her lectures paid increasing attention to the issue. In 1881, a more complete, two-volume edition of Science and Health appeared, with the chapter on MAM greatly expanded and retitled "Demonology." (Later editions would remove this term from Science and Health.)
This same mentality lead people to think that playing D&D was summoning real demons.