Satanic symbol or stars?
A small plate inscribed with three stars (or pentagrams) found in a dig under the McMartin Preschool in Manhattan Beach, California, in June 1990. The plate was presented as evidence of alleged satanic ritual abuse at the school during a trial that lasted from 1987 to 1990.
Satanic panic
moral panic
Also known as: day care panic, ritual abuse scare
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...
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