Customer Reviews

Lure of the Sinister: The Unnatural History of Satanism

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Gareth J. Medway's "Lure of the Sinister" is a well written investigation of historical and modern Satanism, focusing on the myths of Satanic Ritual Abuse and the wide-spread Satanic Panic of the 80s, when many people, deluded by sensationalist books and TV talk shows were lead to believe that an international Satanic conspiracy was working to undermine church and state.

The book first addresses the origins of Satanism and the idea behind the existence of the mythical entity known to Christians as Satan and Lucifer. It analyzes the cases most often cited as reliable instances of historical Satanism and devil worship such as Gilles de Rais, the Affaire des Poisons, The Hell Fire Club, as well as modern cases of supposed Satanic crime like the Black Circle Boys and Richard Ramirez. In all cases, paranoia and media sensationalism were shown to have warped the facts of these crimes and have mythologized them to the point were fact and fiction are indistinguishable and that, in truth, Satanism was either not a factor or was only a side issue to the real motivation. It also shows that the Church of Satan, far from being a truly evil threat to mankind, is not much more than a red herring meant to antagonize mainstream Christians and induldge themselves on ego rather than the Dark Lord. The book goes on to take task with the myth of SRA and the panics of the 80s and 90s that were fueled by delusional paranoid religious factions and psychotherapists eager to cash in on a nation's fears by endorsing nothing less than a real modern witch hunt.

While there are very real problems with adolescent crime and drug abuse today, the fears that they are related to a world-wide conspiracy of black magic and devil worship are unfounded and have no supporting evidence. The book debunks the many myths that have grown up around this subject and gives a balanced and interesting accounting of them.

Gareth Medway's book is an illumanating look at the Satanism, and Witchcraft scare that has plagued England, and the United States. Medway retells stories of supposed possessions, satanic activity, and other "evil" occurrences, and discounts the authenticity of these accounts. Even though he is biased in his presentation of some of the facts, his wit, and sense-of-humor emerges throughout the book. The title is misleading though because Medway does not really deal with the history of Satanism, instead with the hysteria surrounding it. His bibliography is also extensive for anyone interested in the occult. This book is ideal for those looking to examine if those stories we heard during the 80's of Satanic rituals in our backyards were true.

Tolkien wrote that hobbits were fond of books full of things they already knew, laid out fair and square with no contradiction. I share that fondness, but even more appealing are books full of things I would _like_ to know. Medway has achieved this - Lure of the Sinister is not for everyone, but if you're a Clear-Eyed, Dedicated Seeker of Truth (with a taste for the occult, obscure and esoteric) this will be just your meat.
His exposition of the 'satanisme' flap in 1890s France is one example - I knew the bare outlines, now I know the details.
I wish I found a book like this every month!

Yet another history of Satanism. While this one was recommended highly by people who should know better, the prose is journalistic, windy and overwrought. Some small parts of it cover interesting history not covered elsewhere but the yellow press who originally covered it. The problem is, some of it was excruciatingly poorly researched nonsense (probably based on some other yellow journalism). Medway desperately needs a fact checker. Footnotes do not mean you checked your facts. Its main purpose seems to be something with footnotes to wave at witch-hunters when they show up at your door bearing pitchforks and torches, assuming you are a friendly neighborhood Satanist. Mostly it made me sleepy. Doubtless the soporific effect would also be effecacious on pitchfork-wielding witch hunters.

Seriously; the world doesn't need another book about this sort of thing. I wish Mr. Medway well in getting his assistant professorship or whatever this book was supposed to accomplish, but the rehash of well-known nonsense involving Led Zeppelin records, Al Crowley and Charles Manson for the umpteenth time is completely unnecessary. The repeating of Huysmans and Dashwood mythology, yet again, is actively harmful to scholarship in this "field." If you want to dig up something new in the Satan game; dig up some reports of Satanism from other cultures and other histories. And please, check some of your footnotes.

_Lure of the Sinister: The Unnatural History of Satanism_ by Gareth J. Medway is a fascinating history of the source of evil in those individuals who have opted to sell their soul to and worship the Dark Lord. Unfortunately, the book is marred severely by the author's skepticism regarding the reality of Satan worship. While many cases of Satanism have no doubt been exaggerated for political gain, there remains the distinct possibility of real live Satanists, often occupying high places in society, engaging in ghastly deeds and defying the Christian God. The author, who is a pagan, seems to feel that the reality of Satanism is inimical to his religious persuasion; however, this is not the actual case.

In any event, this book includes a thorough discussion of much of the history of Satanism, including the persecution of heretics and witches in the so-called Dark Ages. It should be noted that Satanists are not to be confused with pagans in general, wiccans, or even with "Church of Satan" poseurs; they are far more sinister and seek to ape Christ and His Church. The author includes discussions of Satanism and freemasonry including the hoax of Leo Taxil and his allegations against masonry. The author also includes discussions of various cases of possession, such as the Loudon case, as well as various sinister individuals from the Middle Ages, including the child murderer Gilles de Rais. (Unfortunately, both the author's discussion of possession and the case of various mass murderers from the Middle Ages are marred by extreme skepticism.) The author also includes a history of the black mass, fully demonstrating the magical properties associated with the transubstantiation, though again he leans towards skepticism. Notorious black masses include the mass of Saint Secaire and the black mass (supposedly fiction but based on fact) from J. K. Huysman's novel _La-Bas_. The author also discusses various pacts made with the Devil, as well as witchcraft, mentioning such witch-hunter's manuals as the _Malleus Maleficarum_, mentioning demonic acts involving incubus and succubus. In addition, the author discusses various instances of real life Satanism, including the notorious Hell-Fire Club. Upon completion of this survey, the author turns to more modern day allegations. Here, the author mentions cases involving pedophilia and child abuse. Included among these are the notorious circumstances surrounding the case of "Michelle" of "Michelle Remembers" fame, allegedly regaining knowledge of her past after recovering lost memories. It should be noted that in nearly all of these cases, prominent individuals play a role in the abuse of children and the performance of diabolical deeds in obeisance to their Dark Master. While many of these cases have been overblown, and while it is true that many innocents have been unjustly convicted, I believe the author is overly skeptical and should not dismiss the reality of Satanism as out of hand simply from a cursory perusal of the evidence available. The author also discusses the role of conspiracy theories in the thinking of anti-Satanists; however, he never justifies his inherent skepticism of the concept of conspiracy to begin with. The book ends with the author belaboring his point about the non-existence of malignant Satanists, claiming that Satanists are generally law-abiding and that cases of Satanic crime, such as that involving the Manson family or instances in Matamoras, Mexico, are rare occurrences. Finally, the author concludes with an appendix on the black mass, in which he attempts to tar the memory of Roman Catholic priest Montague Summers, whose books attempted to reveal the reality of witchcraft and occultism.

While this book is certainly interesting and much of the material in it is useful in terms of compiling a history of the worship of the Dark One, it is unfortunate that the author has allowed his skeptical "rationalist" bias to interfere with an otherwise scholarly work. While it is certainly true that many of the cases of Satanism have been overblown, it is also true that many more have been real. One need only look to the recent pedophilia cases among the Roman Catholic clergy for instances of such scandal.

I'll start MY review with a quote from an idiotic review from amazon:

"Medway retells stories of supposed possessions, satanic activity, and other "evil" occurrences, and discounts the authenticity of these accounts. Even though he is biased in his presentation of some of the facts, his wit, and sense-of-humor emerges throughout the book. The title is misleading though because Medway does not really deal with the history of Satanism, instead with the hysteria surrounding it."

...now THAT is amusing. The history of REAL Satanism?!?
get real guy -- Just where do you think Satanism is?

This author explains what satanism was from the begining, a fear that such an "ism" might exists. That's the same fear that Anton LaVey and other modern "Satanists" picked-up. This very historical book reads more like a fun journalistic romp through history. It discusses the fear in the Christian mind both in the far past, and recent past of the 1980s when there was much "Satanic Panic" going on.

Fearing that Satanism might exist sorta birthed such a thing into existence. And, hysteria, though intangible, has very real effects. Gareth Medway, in a journalistic manner brings the reader through the past, to the present to explain a very real hysteria. I highly recommend this book for the historian, or simply the curious reader who enjoys nonfiction.

This book was boring. It took all I had to stay awake past the anecdotal tellings of witchcraft of past. This subject is a sensitive one, and I feel that it would be best told straight out, no running from the obvious as the author clearly has.