Horror stories in the media abound in relation to online gaming addiction- of parents disregarding their kids to the point of starvation spouses quarreling or divorcing, students flunking out of school, young men and women dying from heart attacks, even kids poisoning their parents to get online in order to play their favorite game spending copious time away from their family responsibilities. We shake our heads at these previously unimaginable stories of excess, but lately they've begun hitting closer to home. How many readers have seen close friends, even family members seduced away from their meaningful relationships by the promise of a Second Life or a tryst in World of Warcraft? It's the elephant in the room, the skeleton in the closet, the emperor parading naked down the street. Clearly something is going on. This paper aims to describe the link between online gaming and internet addiction. It also points to the gradual evolution of gaming content toward ever-increasingly darker more violent themes, and the effect that excessive play in these online environments can have to the individual spirit. The paper concludes with a call to action by all members of society.