Guys, I too have heard people claim that this song is about satanism. I can see how people who are really trying to make that connection can find a few lyrics to sort of fit that theme. Aleister Crowley was NOT in the album photo since he died 30 years before the album was released! :)

I know the guys in the Eagles actually hate this song because of all of the negative publicity this song has brought them. For the record, the song is actually about an insane asylum. I heard Don Henley explain this with much pain because of all of the controversy surrounding the song.

The Eagles certainly are not a Satanic band. One amusing note to add...I was a victim of this "Eagles=Cult" rumor when I was a kid. My sister believed this crap, told my mom, and the two of them smashed my Hotel California album with a hammer (never try this yourself - when they finally break, sharp shards of vinyl go flying everywhere like blinding pieces of shrapnel!!!) The funniest thing of all is that my Kiss Destroyer album somehow escaped this tragic fate! LOL! :)

Paul