Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend

This is a book from the 1990s that is written buy a sociology academic. The author described the rumors and fears behind potential satanists in the 1970s and 1980s. There really were and still are satanists that practice in know haunted locations. This book does NOT talk about them. The rare occurrence of satanists happening in some parts of the country led to rampant rumors of active satanic cults or covens that are killing people all over the country. In some small towns, local authorities and community leaders went so far as to call in "experts" to help rid people of the fears. Sadly, none of those people were real experts and only helped to fuel false rumors. This book would be outdated for a current psychology student as he refers to people having MPD or multiple personality disorder. That has been reclassified as DID or Dissociative Identity Disorder. If you read this book, understand some of it's terminology is outdated but the information is still relevant today.

The author does a wonderful job of dissecting the nature of the "panic" that had many Americans believing in the existence of a Satanic "underground" movement in the eighties and early nineties. Extremely readable and not couched in overly academic language, the book is useful for anyone who needs solid, reasonable information on the subject--the lay public, academics, the clergy, or police officers will all benefit from reading this work and keeping an open mind. Victor follows the panic from a number of angles; religious, sociologic, folkloric, and so on. For each he presents a balanced case that seeks not to ridicule anyone who "bought into" the stories of widespread Satanism, but simply to understand why they did so. He also shows how some people (psychologists, police, and so on) actually thrived on the notoriety they achieved in their capacity as "witch hunter" and sought to keep the panic alive in order to further their own agendas. Excellent reading, and a book that shows the danger of blindly believing rumors and unverified conspiracy tales.

This is one of the few books published that deals honestly with the whole satanic ritual abuse/cult crime hysteria, and does so in some detail. There are books written by biased people claiming a satanic cult conspiracy but this book lays out the details and seems to leave nothing out. I reccomend this book for those who believe the satanic cult crime/ child sacrifice claims of certain self-proclaimed experts ( biased and geared to promote a certian religious view and not the simple truth) because ignorance of the facts harms themselves. Another good author is Debbie Nathan. The hysteria from SRA did a lot of damage to many people. While I would have mentioned details of the hysteria culprits, the author did a good job. My copy is dog eared.

Jeffery Victor methodically dissects the overblown hysteria-ridden Satanic panic with clear writing, documented facts, and the right touch of humor. A must-read for anyone who's ever played D&D and been accused of being a Satanist, or for people who believe in SRA.

It was good that the Satanic Cult hysteria of the 1980s was brought to light in book form but he fills this book with boring and in my opinion incorrect sociological explanations for the "devil worshipper" witchhunts of the 80s. He loves to point fingers "white", "blue collar", and "uneducated" types. In other words he's a typical academic ivory tower type that blames everything on working class white peoples intolerence and stupidity. He fails to mention, or doesn't realize that this whole pathology is caused by Christianity. Even if all the claims about underground Satanic cults murdering people and sexually abusing children were true it would be a drop in the bucket compared to the pedophilia that is rampant in all Christian churches. A young boy would be safer at a Nambla meeting than a Christian church.

Jeffrey Victor’s exhaustive, massively researched volume is a case study from a psychological and sociological standpoint in the creation of a modern-day “urban legend”—which is what the “Satanic ritual abuse” scare of the 80’s and 90’s really was, since no concrete, provable evidence of any of the bizarre alleged misdeeds of “Satanists” (cannibalism, child sacrifice, drinking of blood, animal mutilation, etc. etc. ad ridiculum!) was ever found. It is an appalling example of the gullibility of the public and the tendency in the public mind to “go with the flow” (a sort of “mindless herd” mentality) rather than carefully and rationally think things through. It is also a stunning indictment of psychotherapists, prosecutors, district attorneys, conference speakers and self-styled “experts” who took advantage of the public preoccupation with this issue to profit financially at the expense of innocent children, day care operators and others who had done nothing wrong. Perhaps the most fascinating part of the work is the tracing of the phenomenon’s origin back to the middle ages and the “witch hunts” and persecutions of such groups as the Albigensians and the Knights Templar—often (then and now!) for political purposes or financial gain, and how the techniques of psychological/religious manipulation (especially effective in times of rapid change which create a sense of fear and uncertainty in the public mind, along with the need to find a scapegoat to blame for it all) have not changed, except that today rumors, lies and misinformation can be spread, and panic created, far more rapidly through the mass media, and, since the book’s writing in 1993, the internet. One area that was perhaps overlooked was the role of the entertainment industry in creating an obsession with the occult in the 1970’s along with the growing conviction that “Satanists” had infiltrated every level of society and were lurking under every rock and around every corner; witness the popularity of “The Exorcist” and such network TV shows as “Night Gallery”, “The Sixth Sense”, and “Ghost Story/Circle of Fear”. Even the comic book industry did its part with such titles as “Ghost Rider”, “The Witching Hour”, “Chamber of Darkness” and others, plus the unforgettable character of Mephisto in “The Silver Surfer”! The most tragic part of this phenomenon is how many perfectly innocent people had their reputations tarnished and livelihoods destroyed through false accusations and innuendo, since a “not guilty” verdict (because of total lack of evidence) failed to erase an impression in the public mind (as in the McMartin preschool case). It is comforting to know that in some cases (such as that of Dale Akiki in San Diego) those unjustly accused were able to win countersuits against prosecutors and therapists by showing how they had asked leading questions, coached witnesses (usually children) and implanted false memories of supposed “abuse” and bizarre “Satanic rites” in order to win convictions. Sadly, the “Satanic Panic” scenario has reared its ugly head again today as part of the “Q-Anon” conspiracy theory, which shows that it never entirely went away. The “perpetrators” and scapegoats may change, but the scenario remains the same. What next?! **** review by Chuck Graham ****

I have read this book several times since it came out. The process of creating dramatic "fact" from things much less dramatic - or entirely fictional - is well documented. The book may be 20+ years old but the dynamics haven't changed and can applied to many events that have trended over the years. The internet, which was not so promeninent 20 years ago, and the manner in which information - any and all information - can be spread has only added to the problem.

In the late 1970's and early 1980's there arose in the USA the widespread belief that a Satanic underground cult was systematically kidnapping people, abusing children, and sacrificing human beings and animals. Rumours of dead people hung from streetlights, fields littered with the dead bodies of sacrificed babies, and Satanists cooking children in microwaves were accepted without any criticism and, more importantly, any scrap of corroborating evidence. How could this happen? "Satanic Panic" is an important work that explores this. Sociologists, journalists, psychologists, law enforcers, and religious leaders should read it. Victor shows that Satanic panic practically is a sociological phenomenon; his investigations lead to several important discoveries, for example: - Rumours of organised Satanism are most explicit in suburban and country areas, and virtually absent in cities. The 'victims' of Satanists also tend to be white, blond, blue-eyed virgins. - The belief in organised Satanism is typical of white middle class Christians and blue-collars; there's a clear link between low education and belief in Satanism. - Rumours of organised Satanism are lead back to and are firmly rooted in historical uprisings of anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and ethnic hatred. - Rumours of organised Satanism are fuelled by Born Again Christian organisations that push forward 'experts' on Satanic, who earn big money by organising seminars. - The rise of Satanic panic (around the 1970's) occurred through evangelical Christian publications ("Michelle Remembers") and Christian psychologists who believe that mental disorders are manifestations of demonic forces. - The 'victims' who 'remembered' are by and large suffering from posttraumatic stress or multiple personality disorder, and treated by Evangelical psychologists or 'believers' using suggestive regression methods. - Satanic panic has been taken up and spread by paparazzi and sensational journalism. - The majority of secular persons (journalists, psychiatrists, and law enforcers) that vouched for the truth of Satanic sects have admitted the error of their ways. "Satanic Panic" is not only an informative work, but also a constructive guide to people and organisations that can be contacted when Satanic panic arises, and how to deal with a wildfire rumour. Many innocents in the USA and Great Britain have been accused and sometimes even convicted without any scrap of evidence, resulting in Evangelical communities 'rescuing victims' from 'satanist families'; to this day, these issues remain largely unresolved due to some people too embarrassed to admit they were wrong. "Satanic Panic" deals mainly with the USA, but for the UK there's the interesting pamphlet 'Burn, Witch, Burn', by Lesley Wilkinson from Wyrd Press.