Customer Reviews

Raising Hell: An Encyclopedia of Devil Worship and Satanic Crime

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book, while unfortunately not as "encyclopedic" as I'd like, does exactly what it says: Under a fairly complete list of headings of modern societies, people, places, and concepts, this book does its best to list links with Satanic worship and crime. With societies such as the Ku Klux Klan, for example, even though they had practically nothing to do with satanism, Michael Newton lists those minor links that do exist in a factual, unbiased sense.

Included are L. Ron Hubbard's strong ties with Aleister Crowley, the origins of Wicca as it was in the 1950s and today, the actual American Church of Satan and its origins, and the various serial murders and other idiots who proclaimed themselves inspired by Satanic powers.

A list of actual cases that link Dungeons and Dragons with Satan worship or demonic possession is there--and Michael Newton actually states at the end of the D&D entry that most of these people had serious problems to begin with and were simply attracted to the game. I think this is quite admirable, considering the hate-mongering so prevalent in non-academic style works these days.

An enjoyable book, and chances are that information about what you're looking for is in here somewhere.

Good reference book that helps clue you in that there is usually much more to the "official" stories.
Also read David McGowans "Programmed to Kill" and "the Franklin Cover-Up"

Yet another by-the-numbers effort (or lack of such) that attempts to provide an all-round view of Satanism and alleged crimes committed in the name thereof. The content of this book is sadly lacking -- much of the data long outdated, and it seems that the author has just thrown in any old thing into it that bears even the most tenuous link to "Satanism" or the "Occult" (e.g. the Ku Klux Klan were neither!). This 400+ page volume has no practical value for anyone wishing to learn anything of significance about either Satanism or the occult -- rather it is a collection of jumbled entries evidently trying to focus mainly on the more "shocking" elements of juvenile devil-worship and neo-pagan or esoteric societies (much of it inaccurate). Serious readers should avoid this turkey like the plague.