Step back into the wild and wacky world of the 1980s, where Satanic Panic turned everyday life into a real-life horror movie!
1. The Satanic Panic
The Satanic Panic — a hysteria that resulted in roughly 12,000 dubious allegations of ritual abuse during the 1980s and early 1990s — proved the devil was truly in the details.
2. Devilish Roots
But long before court cases captivated and horrified the nation, the Satanic Panic got its start on paper, specifically through the 1980 book, ‘Michelle Remembers.’
3. Michelle Remembers
Penned by psychologist Lawrence Pazder and his patient-turned-wife, Michelle Smith, ‘Michelle Remembers’ relied on the largely-debunked practice of recovered memory therapy to tell the tale of alleged Satanic ritual abuse Smith said she had endured at the hands of a cult starting from her childhood. The book’s shocking claims were ultimately debunked with a bit of fact-checking, but the damage was done.
4. Setting the Stage
“The book provided a template for the allegations of Satanic ritual abuse that followed,” explained CBC presenter Lisa Bryn Rundle of the book’s impact.
5. Networks and Repression
Beyond giving more merit to the baseless practice of recovered memory therapy, the book sparked widespread worries about secret Satanic societies that were harming animals and children.
6. Scary Stories
In the years that followed, accusations including human and animal sacrifice, human trafficking, and adult content involving children began sweeping the nation, sending the media into a frenzy.
7. McMartin Preschool Trial
Yet of all the trials stemming from this phenomenon, none made headlines quite like the McMartin preschool trial. Alongside the hundreds of sexual abuse accusations thrown upon seven staffers who worked at the California school, some allegations took a turn for the bizarre. These accusations ranged from flying witches to underground tunnels and even children being flushed down toilets.
8. Price of Fear
After seven years of legal proceedings — one of the most expensive cases in history — none of the McMartin staffers were convicted. The charges were ultimately dropped in 1990.
9. Pop Culture Influence
These claims also sparked several conspiracy theories. Many figures began claiming the game Dungeons & Dragons, heavy metal music, teachers, and even television were all being used as tools to recruit young people into Satanism.
10. AC/DC Jokes it Off
“When AC/DC was accused of backmasking Satanic messages in an album title guitarist Angus Young said ‘you didn’t need to play [the album] backwards, because we never hid [the messages]. We’d call an album H To H, there it was right in front of them.’ Courtesy of Harry (Howard) Potts
11. Lasting Legacy
Though the Satanic Panic had died down by the mid-1990s, this hysteria is thought to have set the stage for several modern conspiracies, including QAnon and Pizzagate.
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