Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend [Hardcover]

Jeffrey S. Victor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1993 | ISBN-10: 0812691911 | ISBN-13: 978-0812691917

We are informed by many sources - particularly journalists, police, and fundamentalists - that there exists a secret network of criminal fanatics who worship Satan and who are behind pornography, forced prostitution, and drug-dealing. Satanists engage in the sexual abuse and torture of children, human sacrifice, cannibalism, kidnapping, random murders, mutilation of pets and farm animals, desecration of churches, and vandalisation of cemeteries. This popular tale is almost entirely without foundation, and investigation has often uncovered the less colourful truth. But the legend continues to gather force, in the teeth of evidence and sense. Networks of "child advocates", credulous or self-serving social workers, instant-expert police officers, and alarmist preachers help to spread the panic, along with largely fictional survivors' accounts and sensational broadcast documentaries. Dr Victor has researched the dynamics, the background and the causes of this contemporary witch-scare, showing in detail how unsubstantiated rumour can be turned into "fact", and exploring the social and psychological causes of the scare, which include the perceived moral crisis in American society, the money and power gained by groups combatting imaginary Satanism, and the continuing reverberations of medieval folklore.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Victor relies heavily upon the theories of social behavior and urban legends to explore and explain the "rumors, claims, and allegations" about Satanic cult crime in American society. Helpfully, he uses a language that renders the theories understandable to the lay reader, thus clearing away the psychological and linguistic smoke screen that usually accompanies the idea of Satanism. Along with his clear, well-researched analysis, Victor ( Human Sexuality , 1980) provides the reader with several appendixes, including an excellent bibliography and names and addresses of professionals who can be contacted for help. Parents, school administrators, police, and psychotherapists will find this a valuable tool as they investigate the underlying motivations of the Satanic panic in America. It should be made available to balance the one-sided, hysteria-driven production of books created by Satanic "experts" and "survivors."-- John B. Wright, Brigham Young Univ. , Provo, Utah
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: Open Court Pub Co (June 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812691911
• ISBN-13: 978-0812691917
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,961,548 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lucid, rational view of an emotionally charged issue, July 15, 2000

By 

Ima Pseudonym "Entil_Zha" (Somewhere) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend (Hardcover)

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.

27 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Look At Modern Witch-hunting, April 14, 2000

By 

"bryan_benway" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend (Hardcover)

I just finished reading this fascinating book and highly recommend it. Everyone should be aware of these FACTS which debunk the whole Christian "Satanic Ritual Abuse" scare campaign. Very thorough and well-researched, this book is a much-needed rational antidote to the current poisonous false accusations against innocent people. Its hard to believe that huge numbers of people will believe such far-out allegations as those of the so-called "experts" (many of which have already been shown to be total frauds) without any evidence except the fantasies of mentally-ill people & small children manipulated into telling tall tales. I became interested in this book from reading about the "West Memphis 3" case, in which 3 youths were convicted of murder (one is on Death Row) without any hard evidence, just the "Satanic Panic" accusations. You think such insane things as the Salem Witch Trials are a thing of the past? Think again! A great non-fiction read---FIVE STARS!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A balanced history and a welcome warning for the future, October 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend (Paperback)

Jeffrey Victor has given form to the nervous dismissal most of us might feel when faced with claims of a massive Satanist conspiracy. He's done fantastic amounts of research and weaves between courtrooms and sociologist themes with a well-tempered ear for detail. In times where we learn to assume that the worst is possible, I'm thrilled to see someone debunk an extreme end of the "regress and confess" school of accusational therapy -- because nobody will take actual abuse as seriously while this Satanic nonsense distracts. Plus, it's a fun read for anyone who digs crime lit or Oliver Sacks books... fine work.