Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend

Jeffrey S. Victor

Open Court, 1993 - Religion - 408 pages

Again and again we are told - by journalists, police, and fundamentalists - that there exists a secret network of criminal fanatics, worshippers of Satan, who are responsible for kidnapping, human sacrifice, sexual abuse and torture of children, drug-dealing, mutilation of animals, desecration of churches and cemeteries, pornography, heavy metal lyrics, and cannibalism. This popular tale is almost entirely without foundation, but the legend continues to gather momentum, in the teeth of evidence and good sense. Networks of 'child advocates', credulous or self-serving social workers, instant-expert police officers, and unscrupulous ministers of religion help to spread the panic, along with fabricated survivors' memoirs passed off as true accounts, and irresponsible broadcast 'investigations'. A classic witch-hunt, comparable to those of medieval Europe, is under way. Innocent victims are smeared and railroaded.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - cmc - LibraryThing

I wanted to like this book more than I did. As a reminder of the "Satanic ritual abuse" moral panic(s) of the late 1908s, it was pretty good, with a nice timeline and good references. I was less ...

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - BruceCoulson - LibraryThing

How does an urban myth go rogue? During the 1980s and 90s, otherwise rational people elevated an urban myth of satanic worship into a serious matter that destroyed lives and families. Victor explores ...

Bibliographic information

• Title: Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend
• Author: Jeffrey S. Victor
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Open Court, 1993
• ISBN: 081269192X, 9780812691924
• Length: 408 pages
• Subjects: Religion / Cults; Social Science / Folklore & Mythology; Social Science / Popular Culture