Satanic panic

In the 1980s Americans became gripped with satanic panic, the fear that Satan worshippers were committing heinous crimes against children. The alleged crimes included sexual abuse, murder, and animal sacrifice, and the huge number of claims suggested the widespread existence of secret organizations engaging in devil worship and ritual abuse. Although many of these claims were unsubstantiated, they incited a moral panic that spread to other countries and lasted well into the 1990s. In the United States the panic is estimated to have produced more than 12,000 accusations of alleged satanic ritual abuse, resulting in almost 200 criminal charges and dozens of convictions.

Heavy metal and Dungeons & Dragons

The conditions under which Americans would find rumors of widespread satanic ritual abuse credible had been building for years. The 1970s saw the rise of heavy metal, a genre of rock music in which many bands reference occult themes in their lyrics or feature esoteric or satanic imagery on their album covers. In 1974 the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons first appeared, and later editions featured such character types as devils and demons. By the 1980s both forms of entertainment would come under fire from religious and parent groups that blamed rock music and role-playing games for the suicides of young fans.

One notorious case involved the English heavy metal group Judas Priest. In 1985 two young men in Nevada shot themselves after a night of drinking, smoking marijuana, and listening to the band’s music; one of the men survived for a few more years but was severely disfigured. In 1990 their families sued Judas Priest and its label, claiming that the band’s song “Better by You, Better Than Me” contained subliminal messages that encouraged suicide when the record played backward. The band denied adding any secret messages, and a judge ultimately found the band not liable.

Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.

SIGN UP

By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Michelle Remembers

The satanic panic’s inciting incident is often identified as the 1980 publication of the book Michelle Remembers, written by Canadian psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder with his former patient (and future wife) Michelle Smith. The book was billed as the true story of Smith’s childhood abuse at the hands of a satanic cult in the 1950s. Among the incidents she allegedly experienced were being buried alive, locked in a cage with snakes, and forced to witness or participate in the killing of babies and animals. But Smith’s horrific stories were products of a controversial “suppressed memory recovery” technique that many experts argue can create false memories.

Moreover, the claims in the book were never independently verified and were disputed by Smith’s childhood doctor and her family’s former neighbors. Additionally, Smith’s teachers reported that she attended school regularly during the time she claimed to have been locked in a basement for months.

Nevertheless, Michelle Remembers became a bestseller as well as a resource for law enforcement and mental health practitioners, who took the stories to heart and expected to find similar crimes in their communities. Following the book’s publication, other women came forward with newly discovered memories of abuse much like those described by Smith.

McMartin Preschool case

Another landmark of the satanic panic was the case involving McMartin Preschool in Manhattan Beach, California, which began in 1983 when a woman accused a school employee of abusing her child. Zealous investigation of these claims by the local district attorney’s office led to hundreds of additional accusations of sexual abuse.

Explore Britannica Premium!

The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.

SUBSCRIBE

In 1984 the preschool’s entire staff, consisting of six women and one man, was charged with molestation and conspiracy. All the staff members proclaimed their innocence. Charges against five employees were subsequently dropped because of weak evidence. In 1987–90 the remaining two employees—Ray Buckey and his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey—were tried in what became one of the longest and most expensive criminal trials in U.S. history. Although the trial produced no convictions, the proceedings commanded national media attention and featured disturbing testimony from students alleging that they were forced to dig up coffins at a cemetery and drink blood, that they were threatened with death, and that they were abused in secret tunnels hidden below the school. There were also claims that Ray Buckey could fly.

Not only were the stories never proven true, but also at least one student later admitted to lying. It is now thought that investigators and mental health professionals used inappropriate and leading questions while interviewing the children. But the moral panic consumed the country, and by the late 1980s it had become common for claims of devil worship to pop up in investigations of child sexual abuse.

Martensville case and the West Memphis Three

Another prominent case centered on a day care and babysitting service in the small town of Martensville, Saskatchewan, Canada, where nine people were arrested for ritual sexual abuse in 1992. One of the falsely accused—a police officer who had never been to Martensville except on one brief occasion to buy snacks—eventually received a $1.3 million settlement and a government apology. In West Memphis, Arkansas, the murder of three boys in 1993 led to three teenagers being accused of killing the children in a satanic ritual. The teenagers became known as the West Memphis Three; two of them received life sentences, and the third was sentenced to death. They were freed nearly 20 years later after the discovery of new DNA evidence and allegations of jury misconduct led to the vacating of their convictions.

What caused the panic?

Social critics think that much of the satanic panic’s explosive emotional resonance had to do with collective anxiety about cultural changes in the second half of the 20th century, especially concerning gender roles. As economic conditions (namely, a recession) made it necessary for more mothers to work outside the home, there was increased anxiety about finding quality childcare. Anti-feminist backlash may also have played a role, as the domestic labor that had traditionally been the responsibility of female family members was outsourced to childcare workers. Additionally, there was growing awareness about the issue of child sexual abuse, which more communities were beginning to confront.