Customer Reviews

Satan Wants You: The Cult of Devil Worship in America

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As a High Priest of the Wiccan religion, I read the cover with some trepidation - was this going to be another re-hash, trashing my religion?' Thankfully, the answer was a resounding "NO!" Mr. Lyons, in the first few pages of the book, immediately put my fears to rest, as he describes the differences between the Goddess-worshipping, Earth-centered spirituality of the Wiccan religion and the beliefs and practises of Satanism today, "as they themselves define it." Re-assured, I immediately read on, and was impressed by not only his scholarship, but his general neutrality in writing about this religious movement. Several chapters are devoted to the development of the concept of 'the Devil', and its rise in popularity from the Middle Ages to the present. One chapter that was especially well-thought out was the "Urban Legends" chapter, detailing several instances of 'ritual abuse' that had made headlines in recent years. Although somewhat dated now, this is one book that I feel does the subject justice, and is both entertaining and well-researched.

This is one of the best or the best book on satanism ever written. It's a shame it's out of print. this is a must-have for occultists and Christians, who will learn negative accustions against satanism are patently untrue. I enjoyed the chapters on Crowley, LaVey and the Temple of Set the most, though the Crowley chapter should've been longer. Aquino left the Church of Satan partially because LaVey was selling priesthoods wheras Aquino thought it should be on basis of magickal merit. Also Aquino didn't put anything on world merit in satanists where LaVey drew on popular entertainers and respectable world jobs. Satanic serial killers are covered, as are witch hunts. This book is excellent, and holds a very high place in my occult library.

This book belongs on the shelf next to LaVey's Satanic Bible, for it puts Satanism in more of a historic and modern context. The chapter on heavy metal was particulary interesting. While the public's "fear" of this type of stuff has abated during the 1990s, this book remains a must-read.

This is an absolutely wonderful book about Satanism. The author actually has a sense of humor, such a rare thing when writing an exposition on modern Satanism... Read this book.

I bought this book several years ago in a second hand book store, I originally bought it just becuase of the title but once I started reading I became quite engrossed, the book is very factual and to the point and not at all like alot of the so called satanic or occult books on the market that glorify perversion and depravity. If anyone wishes to find out about satanism historically as this is quite an old book or just out of general interest I would recommend this as a thoroughly good overview and actually made quite alot of sense as it takes a hedonstic view on the subject. If you enjoy an alternative lifestyle or if you would like something a bit different to read you should read this book. It deffinently gave me a view on life which I had already started on but made me feel much more confident in the process.