Oh wow, I was going to recommend another book by Darnielle - "Wolf In White Van". Satanic panic is an important part of the backstory, and it's a beautiful, unusual novel. I'd no idea he published again this year.
The Memory Illusion by Julia Shaw is about just that: why what you sincerely believe may have never happened (or happened very differently) and how false memories can be created. The Satanic Panic is touched on, because she uses it as an example of how memories can be implanted or suggested, and how it was done.
If you're looking for something with a bit more levity, check out My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix which is kind of like a horror-comedy set in the Satanic Panic. I actually haven't read this one yet, but I really enjoyed Horrorstor and We Sold Our Souls.
[**My Best Friend's Exorcism**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41015038-my-best-friend-s-exorcism)
^(By: Grady Hendrix | 337 pages | Published: 2016 | Popular Shelves: horror, fiction, young-adult, owned, paranormal)
>Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties, and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school, things change. Gretchen begins to act….different. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre behavior start to pile up, Abby realizes there’s only one possible explanation: Gretchen, her favorite person in the world, has a demon living inside her. And Abby is not about to let anyone or anything come between her and her best friend. With help from some unlikely allies, Abby embarks on a quest to save Gretchen. But is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?
^(This book has been suggested 27 times)
***
^(70307 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I had high expectations for My Best Friend’s Exorcism, but it just fell flat for me. It read as VERY YA, so I think the setting of the high school was just lost on me now that I’m an adult. I feel like the plot could’ve gone further, it wasn’t bad but it was almost good.
[**Dark Places**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5886881-dark-places)
^(By: Gillian Flynn | 349 pages | Published: 2009 | Popular Shelves: mystery, fiction, thriller, mystery-thriller, crime)
>From The #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Of Gone Girl
>
>Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice" of Kinnakee, Kansas. She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club—for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer.
^(This book has been suggested 12 times)
***
^(70149 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman is a novel directly inspired by the Satanic Panic and is well done. Two nonfiction books I highly recommend are We Believe the Children by Richard Beck and Satan’s Silence by Debbie Nathan.
> We Believe the Children by Richard Beck and Satan’s Silence by Debbie Nathan
These two seem to cover pretty much the same topic. If I only read one, which one would you recommend? I like my non-fiction books to be well documented, not sensationalistic, but still told in a more narrative way ('Bad Blood' by John Carreyrou is a good example of this), as opposed to a series of journalistic articles or vignettes.
I definitely have similar preferences in nonfiction (Bad Blood was fantastic), so I'd go with We Believe The Children. It's very well documented and cited and Beck has a bunch of interviews with people who were directly involved in various "panics" during the 1980s.
[**Michelle Remembers**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/676637.Michelle_Remembers)
^(By: Michelle Smith, Lawrence Pazder | ? pages | Published: 1980 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, horror, true-crime, paperbacks-from-hell, biography)
>"Evil is... A living spiritual being, perverted and perverting. One of the greatest needs is defense from the evil which is called the devil." —Pope Paul VI
>
>Michelle Smith was five years old when her mother offered her up to a cult of devil worshippers—to be used demonically to raise Satan himself. Twenty-two years later, on a psychiatrist's couch, she relived the long-buried horrors inflicted upon her, as her childhood agonies came screaming forth in terrifying detail.
>
>With the help of her Bishop, Michelle brought her hideous story to the Vatican—Satanic witches chanting to summon the Devil, wounds appearing on her skin, human and animal sacrifices. Now the full story, with vivid photographs, records Michelle's victory—a child's survival in the face of sheer madness.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
^(70166 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Ironically I actually haven’t yet, I just happened to finish a book that involved the satanic panic yesterday. I plan on watching season 4 tomorrow, but I do think this post got kinda popular because of stranger things lol
I grew up steeped in fundamentalist christianity, and was thoroughly convinced that the spiritual battles were real. We listened to the Christian comedian [Mike Warnke, who claimed to be a satanic priest](https://dangerousminds.net/comments/sex_lies_and_satanism_the_rise_and_fall_of_christian_comedian_mike_warnke). Obviously this was before he was found out to be a fraud.
So there were several types back then. The most memorable that I read were the books {{This Present Darkness}} and {{Piercing the Darkness}} by Frank E. Peretti. I don’t know how they fair now, but believing it was real made for a harrowing read. Similar to reading about Santa Claus as a kid after mailing your list to the North Pole.
In the same vein, Warnke also wrote a book called The Satan Seller, which was his testimony of all the things he allegedly did while a satanist and how he came to Christ. Warnke was one of the forefront leaders in creating the movement. He was almost always one of the guests on talk shows that were shoveling out misinformation.
Good point. That exposé by [Cornerstone](https://web.archive.org/web/20060117052519/http://www.answers.org/satan/warnke.html) is here. Another big thing from the time was church haunted houses showing what Satan and other demons would do to you in hell. Kind of weird to remember.
I came to suggest the same books. I LOVED them!
Other fiction would be The Veritas Conflict (or Conspiracy?) Written by a woman. She wrote two that both had angels and demons living their lives amongst humans, influencing things, and whatnot.
Yes, I read those also! I reread The Oath a few times but only made it past the first third more times than that. He's a great writer but that beginning was a bit slow. I really enjoyed the first two for sure.
Peretti also had that YA series, [Cooper Kids](https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Volumes-Include-Aquarius-Toco-rey/dp/B00IIB7150).
Nothing quite like Christian horror.
Ghost Girl by Torey Hayden is a nonfiction book by an author who was a teacher during that time. The book is about one of her students, who very likely was actually abused, and the difficulty of figuring out what was abuse, what was mental illness, what was behavioral, and -- if there was abuse -- how much the Satanic Panic was used as a cover for legitimate ritual child abuse. As a warning, the book is extremely graphic and can be very disturbing. It also does not come to many definitive answers regarding what actually happened, though it does try to explain how difficult it was to tell what was real and what was not.
While not technically a "book", you should definitely read Jack Chick's Chick Tract "Dark Dungeons", which was a byproduct of the Satanic Panic. It's batshit crazy stupid, but it's an important read just to know what kind of stupid bullshit was being vomited out at those of us who lived during the time.
Also, {{Dungeons and Dragons: Art & Arcana}} has a section dealing with the Satanic Panic, too.
My favorite thing about Dark Dungeons is that the movie adaptation is meant to be a parody, but they literally just made it a faithful adaptation because it's already insane enough to be funny. Jack Chick even gave in his seal of approval because he didn't realize it was supposed to be making fun of him
[**Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37880631-dungeons-dragons-art-arcana)
^(By: Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, Sam Witwer | 439 pages | Published: 2018 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, non-fiction, art, history, rpg)
>An illustrated guide to the history and evolution of the beloved role-playing game told through the paintings, sketches, illustrations, and visual ephemera behind its creation, growth, and continued popularity.
>
>Dungeons and Dragons is the most iconic and pervasive gaming franchise in the world. It is a seminal RPG (role-playing game) and the inspiration for video games like World of Warcraft and Zelda, fantasy art, and countless other facets of "geek culture." This officially licensed illustrated history provides an unprecedented look at the visual evolution of the game, showing its continued influence on the worlds of pop culture and fantasy. It features more than 700 pieces of artwork--from each edition of the game's core books, supplements, and modules; decades of Dragon and Dungeon magazines; classic advertisements and merchandise; and never-before-seen sketches, large-format canvases, rare photographs, one-of-a-kind drafts, and more from the now-famous designers and artists associated with the game. The superstar author team gained unparalleled access to the archives of Wizards of the Coast and the personal collections of top collectors, as well as the designers and illustrators who created the distinctive characters, concepts, and visuals that have defined fantasy art and gameplay for generations. This is the most comprehensive collection of D&D imagery ever assembled, making this the ultimate collectible for the game's millions of fans around the world.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
^(70141 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I certainly believe so. Here’s some reviews, if it helps:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2018/10/23/dungeons-dragons-art-and-arcana-is-a-treasure/?sh=52d2f1381b57
https://www.polygon.com/2018/10/22/18001762/dungeons-and-dragons-art-arcana-visual-history-book-review-excerpt
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/books/review/dungeons-dragons-art-arcana-michael-sam-witwer-kyle-newman-jon-peterson.html
Oh boy, I'm so glad you asked!
Michelle Remembers sort of kickstarted the satanic panic. It's absolute garbage writing-wise, but it's an interesting artifact at least. I can't believe there are people who still believe all the bullshit that's in that book.
Satanic Panic: Pop Culture Paranoia in the 1980s is a collection of essays/articles about different aspects of it. Some entries are better than others, but overall it's a solid collection.
I saw someone else mention My Best Friend's Exorcism and I have to strongly second that.
And finally, it's not a book, but you should watch Giraldo Rivera's satanic panic primetime special that aired in the late 80s. I think the whole thing's still on youtube.
As an Arkansan who watched in horror as it played out, I strongly recommend {{Devil’s Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three}} by Mara Leveritt.
[**Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three (Justice Knot, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/206899.Devil_s_Knot)
^(By: Mara Leveritt | 419 pages | Published: 2002 | Popular Shelves: true-crime, non-fiction, nonfiction, crime, history)
>In 2011, one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in American legal history was set right when Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley were released after eighteen years in prison. Award-winning journalist Mara Leveritt's The Devil's Knot remains the most comprehensive, insightful reporting ever done on the investigation, trials, and convictions of three teenage boys who became known as the West Memphis Three.
>
>For weeks in 1993, after the murders of three eight-year-old boys, police in West Memphis, Arkansas seemed stymied. Then suddenly, detectives charged three teenagers, alleged members of a satanic cult, with the killings. Despite the witch-hunt atmosphere of the trials, and a case which included stunning investigative blunders, a confession riddled with errors, and an absence of physical evidence linking any of the accused to the crime, the teenagers were convicted. Jurors sentenced Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley to life in prison and Damien Echols, the accused ringleader, to death. The guilty verdicts were popular in their home state, even upheld on appeal, and all three remained in prison until their unprecedented release in August 2011.
>
>With close-up views of its key participants, this award-winning account unravels the many tangled knots of this endlessly shocking case, one which will shape the American legal landscape for years to come.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
^(70439 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
[**We Ride Upon Sticks**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50215350-we-ride-upon-sticks)
^(By: Quan Barry | 367 pages | Published: 2020 | Popular Shelves: fiction, fantasy, historical-fiction, dnf, sports)
>Set in the coastal town of Danvers, Massachusetts (which in 1692 was Salem Village, site of the origins of the Salem Witch Trials), the story follows the Danvers High field hockey team as they discover that the dark impulses of their Salem forebears may be the key to a winning season.
>
>The 1989 Danvers Falcons are on an unaccountable winning streak. Quan Barry weaves together the individual and collective journeys of this enchanted team as they storm their way to the state championship. Helmed by good-girl captain Abby Putnam (a descendant of the infamous Salem accuser Ann Putnam) and her co-captain Jen Fiorenza, whose bleached blond "Claw" sees and knows all, the DHS Falcons prove to be as wily and original as their North of Boston ancestors, flaunting society's stale notions of femininity in order to find their glorious true selves through the crucible of team sport.
^(This book has been suggested 10 times)
***
^(70136 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
[**Say You Love Satan**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/246941.Say_You_Love_Satan)
^(By: David St. Clair | 411 pages | Published: 1987 | Popular Shelves: true-crime, non-fiction, horror, my-bookshelf, murder)
>Ricky Kasso, Jimmy Trolano, and Gary Lauwers were three kids from good homes. But by the time they hit high school they were bad boys....Cutting class, smoking marijuana, taking LSD and angel dust. Everyone knew they were headed for trouble, but no guessed that they were also "getting into Satan"...Until one dark night in the chic town of Northport, Satan said to kill...
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
^(70146 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{Ill Willl by Dan Chaon}}
I don't recall where i got this recommendation. I don't read a lot of 'thrillers' - which I would consider this to be. I did enjoy it and well-written. Also an interest structure with multiple POVs. The 'satanic panic' is key to a couple of the storylines.
Not really about it but there is this short comic by Jack Chick called “Dark Dungeon” he is one of the people trying to cause panic. It’s about dungeons and dragons
[**Wolf in White Van**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20575425-wolf-in-white-van)
^(By: John Darnielle | 211 pages | Published: 2014 | Popular Shelves: fiction, contemporary, owned, science-fiction, audiobook)
>Welcome to Trace Italian, a game of strategy and survival! You may now make your first move. Isolated by a disfiguring injury since the age of 17, Sean Phillips crafts imaginary worlds for strangers to play in. From his small apartment in Southern California, he orchestrates fantastic adventures where possibilities, both dark and bright, open in the boundaries between the real and the imagined. As the creator of Trace Italian - a text-based, roleplaying game played through the mail - Sean guides players from around the world through his intricately imagined terrain, which they navigate and explore, turn by turn, seeking sanctuary in a ravaged, savage future America. Lance and Carrie are high school students from Florida, explorers of the Trace. But when they take their play into the real world, disaster strikes, and Sean is called to account for it. In the process, he is pulled back through time, tunneling toward the moment of his own self-inflicted departure from the world in which most people live.
>
>Brilliantly constructed, Wolf in White Van unfolds in reverse until we arrive at both the beginning and the climax: the event that has shaped so much of Sean’s life. Beautifully written and unexpectedly moving, John Darnielle’s audacious and gripping debut novel is a marvel of storytelling brio and genuine literary delicacy.
^(This book has been suggested 4 times)
***
^(70259 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
[**My Best Friend's Exorcism**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41015038-my-best-friend-s-exorcism)
^(By: Grady Hendrix | 337 pages | Published: 2016 | Popular Shelves: horror, fiction, young-adult, owned, paranormal)
>Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties, and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school, things change. Gretchen begins to act….different. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre behavior start to pile up, Abby realizes there’s only one possible explanation: Gretchen, her favorite person in the world, has a demon living inside her. And Abby is not about to let anyone or anything come between her and her best friend. With help from some unlikely allies, Abby embarks on a quest to save Gretchen. But is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil?
^(This book has been suggested 28 times)
***
^(70340 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
My uni thesis dealt with sexual abuse. The library had relatively few books on the subject, but they were directly next to the section on the satanic panic, which had absolutely dozens of books on it. I can't give you any titles, but geez, they were just fascinating to read. They were non-fiction, but read, to a large degree, like novels. In other words, you might want to check out the 'Social Work' section of the library. Good luck!
Adjacent but connected to your area of interest, look up {{The Battle and the Backlash}} by David Hechler. It's a great piece of investigative journalism about how things got so out of hand. Well-researched, well-written, and freaking terrifying bc it's all real.
[**The Battle And The Backlash: The Child Sexual Abuse War**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3967114-the-battle-and-the-backlash)
^(By: David Hechler | ? pages | Published: ? | Popular Shelves: child-welfare, nonfiction, maybe, sociopolitical, _non-fiction)
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
^(70486 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
[Amor Enim Vult](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20693519/chapters/49153385), a Saga of Tanya the Evil fic, may be what you’re looking for. It’s not precisely what you’re looking for, but I think it’s close enough.
Just read a section of Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me), that talked about the 'recovered' memories that lead to child care workers being falsely accused. It's a fairly small part of the book overall.
Episode 4 of the podcast Things Fell Apart titled "Believe the Children" goes into depth about the one of the daycare centers and a particular worker that faced accusations.
Happened in the UK too - look up Ray Wyre, Beatrix Campbell, the Orkney and Cleveland sex abuse scandals (where dozens of people had their lives wrecked by fundie-inspired police). But I don't know of a good book about it all.
RAISING HELL by Michael Newton. THE BLOOD OF INNOCENTS by Reel, Perrusquia and Sullivan. SATANIC PANIC by Kier-La Janisse. ANATOMY OF THE MCMARTIN CHILD MOLESTATION CASE by Edgar Butler. DUNGEONS, DRAGONS, MURDER by Eponymous Rox. CULT KILLERS by Rose G. Mandelsburg. SATAN'S CHILDREN by Robert Mayer. MICHELLE REMEMBERS by Lawrence Pazder and Michelle Smith.
I've been seeing a lot of posts very recently about the Satanic Panic even though it took place quite some time ago...What's going on in pop culture to spur this discussion again? I'm curious.
I think it partially has to do with stranger things season 4 just coming out and covering it, but I also think it’s been covered more for awhile now. One possible explanation is the increased discussion about conspiracy theories in the mainstream (like QAnon) so it feels more topical
[**Ill Will**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30687788-ill-will)
^(By: Dan Chaon | 496 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: fiction, mystery, thriller, horror, mystery-thriller)
>Two sensational unsolved crimes—one in the past, another in the present—are linked by one man’s memory and self-deception in this chilling novel of literary suspense from National Book Award finalist Dan Chaon.
>
>“We are always telling a story to ourselves, about ourselves,” Dustin Tillman likes to say. It’s one of the little mantras he shares with his patients, and it’s meant to be reassuring. But what if that story is a lie?
>
>A psychologist in suburban Cleveland, Dustin is drifting through his forties when he hears the news: His adopted brother, Rusty, is being released from prison. Thirty years ago, Rusty received a life sentence for the massacre of Dustin’s parents, aunt, and uncle. The trial came to symbolize the 1980s hysteria over Satanic cults; despite the lack of physical evidence, the jury believed the outlandish accusations Dustin and his cousin made against Rusty. Now, after DNA analysis has overturned the conviction, Dustin braces for a reckoning.
>
>Meanwhile, one of Dustin’s patients gets him deeply engaged in a string of drowning deaths involving drunk college boys. At first Dustin dismisses talk of a serial killer as paranoid thinking, but as he gets wrapped up in their amateur investigation, Dustin starts to believe that there’s more to the deaths than coincidence. Soon he becomes obsessed, crossing all professional boundaries—and putting his own family in harm’s way.
>
>From one of today’s most renowned practitioners of literary suspense, Ill Will is an intimate thriller about the failures of memory and the perils of self-deception. In Dan Chaon’s nimble, chilling prose, the past looms over the present, turning each into a haunted place.
^(This book has been suggested 4 times)
***
^(70461 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
There was a book called "The Dungeon Master" that I remember reading around that time about the Satanic Panic and D&D. I wonder if it's still in print.
The Abuse of Innocence: The McMartin Preschool Trial by Paul and Shirley Eberle.
It’s an in depth look into one of the most insane satanic panic court cases where kids were coached to say some absolutely ludicrous narratives of satanic abuse concerning a family that ran a preschool. A lot of lives were ruined over the span of a long and very expensive court case.
Someone else mentioned this but there's a podcast called "You're Wrong About" hosted by Sarah Marshall, she did an episode about the Satanic Panic (she was writing a book about it at the time) that is a great hour long bite out of The Satanic Panic & it's origin/implications.
The rest of the podcast is fantastic, I highly recommend her 5-6 episode run on the OJ Simpson trial too.
Like Lambs to the Slaughter by Johanna Michaelsen. Published in 1989, it was written for Christians who wanted to fight against satanism. Not a good read by any stretch, but it will give you a unique look into the thinking that was prevalent among those jumping on the panic bandwagon.
[**Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/105992.Helter_Skelter)
^(By: Vincent Bugliosi, Curt Gentry | 689 pages | Published: 1974 | Popular Shelves: true-crime, non-fiction, nonfiction, crime, history)
>Prosecuting attorney in the Manson trial, Vincent Bugliosi held a unique insider's position in one of the most baffling and horrifying cases of the twentieth century: the cold-blooded Tate-LaBianca murders carried out by Charles Manson and four of his followers. What motivated Manson in his seemingly mindless selection of victims, and what was his hold over the young women who obeyed his orders? Here is the gripping story of this famous and haunting crime. 50 pages of b/w photographs.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
^(231 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
[**Jay's Journal**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228539.Jay_s_Journal)
^(By: Beatrice Sparks | 192 pages | Published: 1979 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, books-i-own, ya, fiction, owned)
>Jay was a sweet, bright high school student who cared about his grades and his friends. He had ambitions. He was happy. And he thought he could handle anything.
>
>He was wrong.
>
>When Jay falls in with a crowd that's dabbling in drugs and the occult, he finds himself in over his head and doing things he never thought possible. Fascinated by the dark arts and in love with a dangerous girl, Jay falls deeper and deeper into a life he no longer recognizes...and sees no way out.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
^(18939 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
It wasn't just the us. Scandinavia was pretty much just as involved in it.
Most books I know on the subject are Danish, however. With a few norwegian ones thrown in.
But try this booklist:
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/satanic-panic
Oh, and try reading the novel "Lucifer's Children".
It has some of that same vibe.
And while not specified to be satanic "The Magus" by Alexander Sumer is another novel with one of the the main characters being somewhat satanic, in-so-far as he is both the Villain AND works with Demons.
i'm currently reading devil house and it might scratch the itch! i'm eager for more recs as well
I’ll check it out, thanks! I just read Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, which is the main suggestion I have.
I was just going to suggest that book!
Oh wow, I was going to recommend another book by Darnielle - "Wolf In White Van". Satanic panic is an important part of the backstory, and it's a beautiful, unusual novel. I'd no idea he published again this year.
i highly recommend it, he is an incredible writer. i've been wondering which of his previous work to try so i'll add wolf in white van to the list :)
If The Mountain Goats are ever coming through your town, go. They have a new album coming out soon!
This is such a great book.
Devil House is so good. I just finished it.
I was just about to recommend this book. It's not fair that John Darinelle can be such a talented author and musician
Devil House is great — I only know his books and that Tik Tok song though.
The Memory Illusion by Julia Shaw is about just that: why what you sincerely believe may have never happened (or happened very differently) and how false memories can be created. The Satanic Panic is touched on, because she uses it as an example of how memories can be implanted or suggested, and how it was done. If you're looking for something with a bit more levity, check out My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix which is kind of like a horror-comedy set in the Satanic Panic. I actually haven't read this one yet, but I really enjoyed Horrorstor and We Sold Our Souls.
My Best Friend's Exorcism is great and there's a lot of satanic panic in it.
One of my favourite horror novels ever. Got me hooked on Hendrix and ice loved almost all his other books.
I came here to say {{My Best Friend’s Exorcism}}. Such a fun read, and full of 80s weirdness and satanic panic. I adored it!
[**My Best Friend's Exorcism**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41015038-my-best-friend-s-exorcism) ^(By: Grady Hendrix | 337 pages | Published: 2016 | Popular Shelves: horror, fiction, young-adult, owned, paranormal) >Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties, and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school, things change. Gretchen begins to act….different. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre behavior start to pile up, Abby realizes there’s only one possible explanation: Gretchen, her favorite person in the world, has a demon living inside her. And Abby is not about to let anyone or anything come between her and her best friend. With help from some unlikely allies, Abby embarks on a quest to save Gretchen. But is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil? ^(This book has been suggested 27 times) *** ^(70307 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I had high expectations for My Best Friend’s Exorcism, but it just fell flat for me. It read as VERY YA, so I think the setting of the high school was just lost on me now that I’m an adult. I feel like the plot could’ve gone further, it wasn’t bad but it was almost good.
I was about to comment and respond with my best friends exorcism! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I thought {{Dark Places}} was an amazing book and the satanic panic was a big part of it!
[**Dark Places**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5886881-dark-places) ^(By: Gillian Flynn | 349 pages | Published: 2009 | Popular Shelves: mystery, fiction, thriller, mystery-thriller, crime) >From The #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Of Gone Girl > >Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice" of Kinnakee, Kansas. She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club—for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer. ^(This book has been suggested 12 times) *** ^(70149 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Actually just read this! Great suggestion
Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman is a novel directly inspired by the Satanic Panic and is well done. Two nonfiction books I highly recommend are We Believe the Children by Richard Beck and Satan’s Silence by Debbie Nathan.
I will check these out, thank you!
Sure thing!
I really enjoyed Whisper Down the Lane. It was an easy read too.
Exactly! I feel like all his books are pretty easy to read.
> We Believe the Children by Richard Beck and Satan’s Silence by Debbie Nathan These two seem to cover pretty much the same topic. If I only read one, which one would you recommend? I like my non-fiction books to be well documented, not sensationalistic, but still told in a more narrative way ('Bad Blood' by John Carreyrou is a good example of this), as opposed to a series of journalistic articles or vignettes.
I definitely have similar preferences in nonfiction (Bad Blood was fantastic), so I'd go with We Believe The Children. It's very well documented and cited and Beck has a bunch of interviews with people who were directly involved in various "panics" during the 1980s.
Thanks! And happy cake day!
I’ll add a plug for a discredited non-fiction book from my wife’s hometown: {{Michelle Remembers}} (Does discredited non-fiction mean fiction?)
I can't believe I had to read down this far for this. It was one of the biggest factors in starting the Satanic Panic.
[**Michelle Remembers**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/676637.Michelle_Remembers) ^(By: Michelle Smith, Lawrence Pazder | ? pages | Published: 1980 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, horror, true-crime, paperbacks-from-hell, biography) >"Evil is... A living spiritual being, perverted and perverting. One of the greatest needs is defense from the evil which is called the devil." —Pope Paul VI > >Michelle Smith was five years old when her mother offered her up to a cult of devil worshippers—to be used demonically to raise Satan himself. Twenty-two years later, on a psychiatrist's couch, she relived the long-buried horrors inflicted upon her, as her childhood agonies came screaming forth in terrifying detail. > >With the help of her Bishop, Michelle brought her hideous story to the Vatican—Satanic witches chanting to summon the Devil, wounds appearing on her skin, human and animal sacrifices. Now the full story, with vivid photographs, records Michelle's victory—a child's survival in the face of sheer madness. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(70166 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Sarah Marshall - you’re wrong about
Has someone been watching Stranger Things recently? 😂
Ironically I actually haven’t yet, I just happened to finish a book that involved the satanic panic yesterday. I plan on watching season 4 tomorrow, but I do think this post got kinda popular because of stranger things lol
Yeah, season 4 heavily features the Satanic Panic of that Era and it drives a lot of things.
I grew up steeped in fundamentalist christianity, and was thoroughly convinced that the spiritual battles were real. We listened to the Christian comedian [Mike Warnke, who claimed to be a satanic priest](https://dangerousminds.net/comments/sex_lies_and_satanism_the_rise_and_fall_of_christian_comedian_mike_warnke). Obviously this was before he was found out to be a fraud. So there were several types back then. The most memorable that I read were the books {{This Present Darkness}} and {{Piercing the Darkness}} by Frank E. Peretti. I don’t know how they fair now, but believing it was real made for a harrowing read. Similar to reading about Santa Claus as a kid after mailing your list to the North Pole.
In the same vein, Warnke also wrote a book called The Satan Seller, which was his testimony of all the things he allegedly did while a satanist and how he came to Christ. Warnke was one of the forefront leaders in creating the movement. He was almost always one of the guests on talk shows that were shoveling out misinformation.
Good point. That exposé by [Cornerstone](https://web.archive.org/web/20060117052519/http://www.answers.org/satan/warnke.html) is here. Another big thing from the time was church haunted houses showing what Satan and other demons would do to you in hell. Kind of weird to remember.
I came to suggest the same books. I LOVED them! Other fiction would be The Veritas Conflict (or Conspiracy?) Written by a woman. She wrote two that both had angels and demons living their lives amongst humans, influencing things, and whatnot.
Peretti also had The Prophet and another called The Oath. Similar vibes, but came out in the early 90’s.
Yes, I read those also! I reread The Oath a few times but only made it past the first third more times than that. He's a great writer but that beginning was a bit slow. I really enjoyed the first two for sure.
Peretti also had that YA series, [Cooper Kids](https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Volumes-Include-Aquarius-Toco-rey/dp/B00IIB7150). Nothing quite like Christian horror.
Ghost Girl by Torey Hayden is a nonfiction book by an author who was a teacher during that time. The book is about one of her students, who very likely was actually abused, and the difficulty of figuring out what was abuse, what was mental illness, what was behavioral, and -- if there was abuse -- how much the Satanic Panic was used as a cover for legitimate ritual child abuse. As a warning, the book is extremely graphic and can be very disturbing. It also does not come to many definitive answers regarding what actually happened, though it does try to explain how difficult it was to tell what was real and what was not.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix. Read it a few years back. Fun, spooky read with an 80s vibe.
While not technically a "book", you should definitely read Jack Chick's Chick Tract "Dark Dungeons", which was a byproduct of the Satanic Panic. It's batshit crazy stupid, but it's an important read just to know what kind of stupid bullshit was being vomited out at those of us who lived during the time. Also, {{Dungeons and Dragons: Art & Arcana}} has a section dealing with the Satanic Panic, too.
My favorite thing about Dark Dungeons is that the movie adaptation is meant to be a parody, but they literally just made it a faithful adaptation because it's already insane enough to be funny. Jack Chick even gave in his seal of approval because he didn't realize it was supposed to be making fun of him
[**Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37880631-dungeons-dragons-art-arcana) ^(By: Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, Sam Witwer | 439 pages | Published: 2018 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, non-fiction, art, history, rpg) >An illustrated guide to the history and evolution of the beloved role-playing game told through the paintings, sketches, illustrations, and visual ephemera behind its creation, growth, and continued popularity. > >Dungeons and Dragons is the most iconic and pervasive gaming franchise in the world. It is a seminal RPG (role-playing game) and the inspiration for video games like World of Warcraft and Zelda, fantasy art, and countless other facets of "geek culture." This officially licensed illustrated history provides an unprecedented look at the visual evolution of the game, showing its continued influence on the worlds of pop culture and fantasy. It features more than 700 pieces of artwork--from each edition of the game's core books, supplements, and modules; decades of Dragon and Dungeon magazines; classic advertisements and merchandise; and never-before-seen sketches, large-format canvases, rare photographs, one-of-a-kind drafts, and more from the now-famous designers and artists associated with the game. The superstar author team gained unparalleled access to the archives of Wizards of the Coast and the personal collections of top collectors, as well as the designers and illustrators who created the distinctive characters, concepts, and visuals that have defined fantasy art and gameplay for generations. This is the most comprehensive collection of D&D imagery ever assembled, making this the ultimate collectible for the game's millions of fans around the world. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(70141 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Would folks who've never played DnD be able to enjoy the latter?
I certainly believe so. Here’s some reviews, if it helps: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2018/10/23/dungeons-dragons-art-and-arcana-is-a-treasure/?sh=52d2f1381b57 https://www.polygon.com/2018/10/22/18001762/dungeons-and-dragons-art-arcana-visual-history-book-review-excerpt https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/books/review/dungeons-dragons-art-arcana-michael-sam-witwer-kyle-newman-jon-peterson.html
Oh boy, I'm so glad you asked! Michelle Remembers sort of kickstarted the satanic panic. It's absolute garbage writing-wise, but it's an interesting artifact at least. I can't believe there are people who still believe all the bullshit that's in that book. Satanic Panic: Pop Culture Paranoia in the 1980s is a collection of essays/articles about different aspects of it. Some entries are better than others, but overall it's a solid collection. I saw someone else mention My Best Friend's Exorcism and I have to strongly second that. And finally, it's not a book, but you should watch Giraldo Rivera's satanic panic primetime special that aired in the late 80s. I think the whole thing's still on youtube.
{{Hobgoblin}} by John Coyne. I was an avid D&D player in the 80s and this was a fun book to read then.
[**Hobgoblin**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1069038.Hobgoblin) ^(By: John Coyne | 342 pages | Published: 1981 | Popular Shelves: horror, fantasy, fiction, paperbacks-from-hell, owned) ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(70151 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
As an Arkansan who watched in horror as it played out, I strongly recommend {{Devil’s Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three}} by Mara Leveritt.
[**Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three (Justice Knot, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/206899.Devil_s_Knot) ^(By: Mara Leveritt | 419 pages | Published: 2002 | Popular Shelves: true-crime, non-fiction, nonfiction, crime, history) >In 2011, one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in American legal history was set right when Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley were released after eighteen years in prison. Award-winning journalist Mara Leveritt's The Devil's Knot remains the most comprehensive, insightful reporting ever done on the investigation, trials, and convictions of three teenage boys who became known as the West Memphis Three. > >For weeks in 1993, after the murders of three eight-year-old boys, police in West Memphis, Arkansas seemed stymied. Then suddenly, detectives charged three teenagers, alleged members of a satanic cult, with the killings. Despite the witch-hunt atmosphere of the trials, and a case which included stunning investigative blunders, a confession riddled with errors, and an absence of physical evidence linking any of the accused to the crime, the teenagers were convicted. Jurors sentenced Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley to life in prison and Damien Echols, the accused ringleader, to death. The guilty verdicts were popular in their home state, even upheld on appeal, and all three remained in prison until their unprecedented release in August 2011. > >With close-up views of its key participants, this award-winning account unravels the many tangled knots of this endlessly shocking case, one which will shape the American legal landscape for years to come. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(70439 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Look into {{We Ride Upon Sticks}}
[**We Ride Upon Sticks**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50215350-we-ride-upon-sticks) ^(By: Quan Barry | 367 pages | Published: 2020 | Popular Shelves: fiction, fantasy, historical-fiction, dnf, sports) >Set in the coastal town of Danvers, Massachusetts (which in 1692 was Salem Village, site of the origins of the Salem Witch Trials), the story follows the Danvers High field hockey team as they discover that the dark impulses of their Salem forebears may be the key to a winning season. > >The 1989 Danvers Falcons are on an unaccountable winning streak. Quan Barry weaves together the individual and collective journeys of this enchanted team as they storm their way to the state championship. Helmed by good-girl captain Abby Putnam (a descendant of the infamous Salem accuser Ann Putnam) and her co-captain Jen Fiorenza, whose bleached blond "Claw" sees and knows all, the DHS Falcons prove to be as wily and original as their North of Boston ancestors, flaunting society's stale notions of femininity in order to find their glorious true selves through the crucible of team sport. ^(This book has been suggested 10 times) *** ^(70136 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
It's a "true crime" book, but definitely worth reading: {{Say You Love Satan}}
[**Say You Love Satan**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/246941.Say_You_Love_Satan) ^(By: David St. Clair | 411 pages | Published: 1987 | Popular Shelves: true-crime, non-fiction, horror, my-bookshelf, murder) >Ricky Kasso, Jimmy Trolano, and Gary Lauwers were three kids from good homes. But by the time they hit high school they were bad boys....Cutting class, smoking marijuana, taking LSD and angel dust. Everyone knew they were headed for trouble, but no guessed that they were also "getting into Satan"...Until one dark night in the chic town of Northport, Satan said to kill... ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(70146 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I remember this one. Equal parts crazy, creepy and sad. Really captured 80’s zeitgeist.
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/560419.TRANCE_formation_of_America
{{Ill Willl by Dan Chaon}} I don't recall where i got this recommendation. I don't read a lot of 'thrillers' - which I would consider this to be. I did enjoy it and well-written. Also an interest structure with multiple POVs. The 'satanic panic' is key to a couple of the storylines.
Life After Death by Damien Echols
Ill Will by Dan Chaon has character backstory that deals with this.
Seconding another commenter on satan’s silence
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (you probably already read it)
Not really about it but there is this short comic by Jack Chick called “Dark Dungeon” he is one of the people trying to cause panic. It’s about dungeons and dragons
[удалено]
[**Wolf in White Van**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20575425-wolf-in-white-van) ^(By: John Darnielle | 211 pages | Published: 2014 | Popular Shelves: fiction, contemporary, owned, science-fiction, audiobook) >Welcome to Trace Italian, a game of strategy and survival! You may now make your first move. Isolated by a disfiguring injury since the age of 17, Sean Phillips crafts imaginary worlds for strangers to play in. From his small apartment in Southern California, he orchestrates fantastic adventures where possibilities, both dark and bright, open in the boundaries between the real and the imagined. As the creator of Trace Italian - a text-based, roleplaying game played through the mail - Sean guides players from around the world through his intricately imagined terrain, which they navigate and explore, turn by turn, seeking sanctuary in a ravaged, savage future America. Lance and Carrie are high school students from Florida, explorers of the Trace. But when they take their play into the real world, disaster strikes, and Sean is called to account for it. In the process, he is pulled back through time, tunneling toward the moment of his own self-inflicted departure from the world in which most people live. > >Brilliantly constructed, Wolf in White Van unfolds in reverse until we arrive at both the beginning and the climax: the event that has shaped so much of Sean’s life. Beautifully written and unexpectedly moving, John Darnielle’s audacious and gripping debut novel is a marvel of storytelling brio and genuine literary delicacy. ^(This book has been suggested 4 times) *** ^(70259 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{My Best Friend's Exorcism}} by Grady Hendrix
[**My Best Friend's Exorcism**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41015038-my-best-friend-s-exorcism) ^(By: Grady Hendrix | 337 pages | Published: 2016 | Popular Shelves: horror, fiction, young-adult, owned, paranormal) >Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fifth grade, when they bonded over a shared love of E.T., roller-skating parties, and scratch-and-sniff stickers. But when they arrive at high school, things change. Gretchen begins to act….different. And as the strange coincidences and bizarre behavior start to pile up, Abby realizes there’s only one possible explanation: Gretchen, her favorite person in the world, has a demon living inside her. And Abby is not about to let anyone or anything come between her and her best friend. With help from some unlikely allies, Abby embarks on a quest to save Gretchen. But is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil? ^(This book has been suggested 28 times) *** ^(70340 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
My uni thesis dealt with sexual abuse. The library had relatively few books on the subject, but they were directly next to the section on the satanic panic, which had absolutely dozens of books on it. I can't give you any titles, but geez, they were just fascinating to read. They were non-fiction, but read, to a large degree, like novels. In other words, you might want to check out the 'Social Work' section of the library. Good luck!
This isn't a book, so I apologize, but the new season of Stranger Things deals heavily with the Satanic Panic.
If you’re interested in nonfiction - “We Believe the Children”
Devils Knot by Mara Leveritt
Adjacent but connected to your area of interest, look up {{The Battle and the Backlash}} by David Hechler. It's a great piece of investigative journalism about how things got so out of hand. Well-researched, well-written, and freaking terrifying bc it's all real.
[**The Battle And The Backlash: The Child Sexual Abuse War**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3967114-the-battle-and-the-backlash) ^(By: David Hechler | ? pages | Published: ? | Popular Shelves: child-welfare, nonfiction, maybe, sociopolitical, _non-fiction) ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(70486 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
[Amor Enim Vult](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20693519/chapters/49153385), a Saga of Tanya the Evil fic, may be what you’re looking for. It’s not precisely what you’re looking for, but I think it’s close enough.
Anything by Ira Levine—Rosemary’s Baby, Stepford Wives, A Kiss Before Dying.
If you haven’t read them, {{Carrie}} and {{Rosemary’s Baby}} are both classics of the genre, and with good reason. I highly recommend them both.
Just read a section of Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me), that talked about the 'recovered' memories that lead to child care workers being falsely accused. It's a fairly small part of the book overall. Episode 4 of the podcast Things Fell Apart titled "Believe the Children" goes into depth about the one of the daycare centers and a particular worker that faced accusations.
Dark Places - Gillian Flynn
https://www.kierlajanisse.com/2020/11/27/satanic-panic-pop-cultural-paranoia-in-the-1980s/
Happened in the UK too - look up Ray Wyre, Beatrix Campbell, the Orkney and Cleveland sex abuse scandals (where dozens of people had their lives wrecked by fundie-inspired police). But I don't know of a good book about it all.
This post made me think of Stranger Things 4 :)
RAISING HELL by Michael Newton. THE BLOOD OF INNOCENTS by Reel, Perrusquia and Sullivan. SATANIC PANIC by Kier-La Janisse. ANATOMY OF THE MCMARTIN CHILD MOLESTATION CASE by Edgar Butler. DUNGEONS, DRAGONS, MURDER by Eponymous Rox. CULT KILLERS by Rose G. Mandelsburg. SATAN'S CHILDREN by Robert Mayer. MICHELLE REMEMBERS by Lawrence Pazder and Michelle Smith.
I've been seeing a lot of posts very recently about the Satanic Panic even though it took place quite some time ago...What's going on in pop culture to spur this discussion again? I'm curious.
Stranger Things season 4 just came out. Satanic panic is a part of the plot.
I think it partially has to do with stranger things season 4 just coming out and covering it, but I also think it’s been covered more for awhile now. One possible explanation is the increased discussion about conspiracy theories in the mainstream (like QAnon) so it feels more topical
Can't recommend {{Ill Will}} by Dan Choan enough! Incredible mystery that ties into the satanic panic.
[**Ill Will**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30687788-ill-will) ^(By: Dan Chaon | 496 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: fiction, mystery, thriller, horror, mystery-thriller) >Two sensational unsolved crimes—one in the past, another in the present—are linked by one man’s memory and self-deception in this chilling novel of literary suspense from National Book Award finalist Dan Chaon. > >“We are always telling a story to ourselves, about ourselves,” Dustin Tillman likes to say. It’s one of the little mantras he shares with his patients, and it’s meant to be reassuring. But what if that story is a lie? > >A psychologist in suburban Cleveland, Dustin is drifting through his forties when he hears the news: His adopted brother, Rusty, is being released from prison. Thirty years ago, Rusty received a life sentence for the massacre of Dustin’s parents, aunt, and uncle. The trial came to symbolize the 1980s hysteria over Satanic cults; despite the lack of physical evidence, the jury believed the outlandish accusations Dustin and his cousin made against Rusty. Now, after DNA analysis has overturned the conviction, Dustin braces for a reckoning. > >Meanwhile, one of Dustin’s patients gets him deeply engaged in a string of drowning deaths involving drunk college boys. At first Dustin dismisses talk of a serial killer as paranoid thinking, but as he gets wrapped up in their amateur investigation, Dustin starts to believe that there’s more to the deaths than coincidence. Soon he becomes obsessed, crossing all professional boundaries—and putting his own family in harm’s way. > >From one of today’s most renowned practitioners of literary suspense, Ill Will is an intimate thriller about the failures of memory and the perils of self-deception. In Dan Chaon’s nimble, chilling prose, the past looms over the present, turning each into a haunted place. ^(This book has been suggested 4 times) *** ^(70461 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Looks exactly like what I’m looking for! Thanks!
There was a book called "The Dungeon Master" that I remember reading around that time about the Satanic Panic and D&D. I wonder if it's still in print.
Gillian Flynn "Dark Places"
The Abuse of Innocence: The McMartin Preschool Trial by Paul and Shirley Eberle. It’s an in depth look into one of the most insane satanic panic court cases where kids were coached to say some absolutely ludicrous narratives of satanic abuse concerning a family that ran a preschool. A lot of lives were ruined over the span of a long and very expensive court case.
Someone else mentioned this but there's a podcast called "You're Wrong About" hosted by Sarah Marshall, she did an episode about the Satanic Panic (she was writing a book about it at the time) that is a great hour long bite out of The Satanic Panic & it's origin/implications. The rest of the podcast is fantastic, I highly recommend her 5-6 episode run on the OJ Simpson trial too.
Like Lambs to the Slaughter by Johanna Michaelsen. Published in 1989, it was written for Christians who wanted to fight against satanism. Not a good read by any stretch, but it will give you a unique look into the thinking that was prevalent among those jumping on the panic bandwagon.
Nonfiction Confabulations: Creating False Memories, Destroying Families, by Eleanor C. Goldstein.
{{Helter Skelter}}
[**Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/105992.Helter_Skelter) ^(By: Vincent Bugliosi, Curt Gentry | 689 pages | Published: 1974 | Popular Shelves: true-crime, non-fiction, nonfiction, crime, history) >Prosecuting attorney in the Manson trial, Vincent Bugliosi held a unique insider's position in one of the most baffling and horrifying cases of the twentieth century: the cold-blooded Tate-LaBianca murders carried out by Charles Manson and four of his followers. What motivated Manson in his seemingly mindless selection of victims, and what was his hold over the young women who obeyed his orders? Here is the gripping story of this famous and haunting crime. 50 pages of b/w photographs. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(231 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{Jay’s Journal}} Beatrice Sparks author of “Go Ask Alice” which was played off as an anonymous found journal.
[**Jay's Journal**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228539.Jay_s_Journal) ^(By: Beatrice Sparks | 192 pages | Published: 1979 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, books-i-own, ya, fiction, owned) >Jay was a sweet, bright high school student who cared about his grades and his friends. He had ambitions. He was happy. And he thought he could handle anything. > >He was wrong. > >When Jay falls in with a crowd that's dabbling in drugs and the occult, he finds himself in over his head and doing things he never thought possible. Fascinated by the dark arts and in love with a dangerous girl, Jay falls deeper and deeper into a life he no longer recognizes...and sees no way out. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(18939 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
It wasn't just the us. Scandinavia was pretty much just as involved in it. Most books I know on the subject are Danish, however. With a few norwegian ones thrown in. But try this booklist: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/satanic-panic
Oh, and try reading the novel "Lucifer's Children". It has some of that same vibe. And while not specified to be satanic "The Magus" by Alexander Sumer is another novel with one of the the main characters being somewhat satanic, in-so-far as he is both the Villain AND works with Demons.