1980s Satanic Panic

[Delbow]

This was something that came up in series 4 of Stranger Things, where credulous people believe that playing Dungeons and Dragons is a sign of kids being devil worshippers. I remember that being a thing in the 80s, but hadn't realised it went a lot further than that until I listened to an episode of Jon Ronson's excellent Things Fell Apart , through which I learned that in America there were many people who believed in the existence of Satanic cults across the country that were ritually murdering and sexually abusing children, despite there being no evidence at all for this. The programme focuses on one woman who was sentenced to life in prison for crimes for which there was no evidence at all. Her conviction was later overturned. 

 

Of course, the same madness resurfaced more recently with the Pizzagate and QAnon conspiracy theories. 

 

When I was listening to Things Fell Apart it struck me that despite all our apparent advances, we're really not that different in many ways to the people who burned 'witches' 400 years ago, especially in America. The whole series is really interesting and great and a bit terrifying, and a reminder of how important it is to distinguish between what we believe and what we know, and how wild and dangerous life gets when people decide to do away with rational thinking and inconveniences like evidence. It also explains a lot about America and shows how different it is in Europe, where rationality is still clinging on. Really, there's an argument for sealing America off from the rest of the world to contain the madness. It's a place where literally anything can be true, even when it's not.

[Tipstaff]

Good post!  

[Guest]

I seem to remember there being a similar madness in the Orkneys

[gaz 786]

15 hours ago, Delbow said:

This was something that came up in series 4 of Stranger Things, where credulous people believe that playing Dungeons and Dragons is a sign of kids being devil worshippers. I remember that being a thing in the 80s, but hadn't realised it went a lot further than that until I listened to an episode of Jon Ronson's excellent Things Fell Apart , through which I learned that in America there were many people who believed in the existence of Satanic cults across the country that were ritually murdering and sexually abusing children, despite there being no evidence at all for this. The programme focuses on one woman who was sentenced to life in prison for crimes for which there was no evidence at all. Her conviction was later overturned. 

 

Of course, the same madness resurfaced more recently with the Pizzagate and QAnon conspiracy theories. 

 

When I was listening to Things Fell Apart it struck me that despite all our apparent advances, we're really not that different in many ways to the people who burned 'witches' 400 years ago, especially in America. The whole series is really interesting and great and a bit terrifying, and a reminder of how important it is to distinguish between what we believe and what we know, and how wild and dangerous life gets when people decide to do away with rational thinking and inconveniences like evidence. It also explains a lot about America and shows how different it is in Europe, where rationality is still clinging on. Really, there's an argument for sealing America off from the rest of the world to contain the madness. It's a place where literally anything can be true, even when it's not.

They only burned them if they did not drown 1st either way they were killed 

[butlers]

John Ronson was just on the Intelligence Squared podcast

[altus]

The second part of Suranne Jones's recent Channel 4 series on witch trials made a similar comparison between the hysteria around witch trials and modern day equivalents such as QAnon.

[Anna B]

Whether people like it or not, Satanism certainly exists in the modern world, every bit as much as Christianity or any other religion.  Whether it has any power is debatable, as is prayer in mainstream religions. 

I suggest People who doubt it look it up in association with Hitler, 'Bohemian Grove' etc.

Wicca and Paganism are also becoming more popular as a branch of nature worship. 

 

Many people are searching for belief, and try different religions until they find a fit. 

[Baron99]

I remember when you could buy a 'Ouija' board as a toy from Redgates. 

 

I wonder if anyone took theirs back for a refund because they failed to summon up the forces of darkness or get in touch with granny? 

[Delbow]

10 hours ago, gaz 786 said:

They only burned them if they did not drown 1st either way they were killed 

 

True. That actually tallies well with the police investigation he describes in the podcast - the police had clearly decided this woman was guilty of satanic child abuse (without any evidence) and proceeded to do their best to get the 'evidence'. Anyone who knows anything about interviewing children about abuse would be horrified at the way the police interviewed these children - the questions were so leading, it was obvious they were going to get the answers they were looking for. If they couldn't drown her, they'd burn her instead.

 

It's like a form of mass hysteria and once that takes hold, any inconvenient facts that don't support the hysteria just get explained away or ignored. As with Pizzagate and QAnon, if you point out that it's all bolloques and there's no evidence, the witchfinders just accuse you of being part of the conspiracy. Like in the case of the pizza restaurant that supposedly had underground dungeons where the Clintons were abusing children, once that mad lad took a rifle in there and the police had to intervene and found no dungeons, easy explanation - the police are in on it as well and protecting the Clintons! It's so absolutely nuts. I guess what I found interesting about the 80s Satanic panic is that it's easy to think that all this madness started with the internet, but it was going on before then, though the internet has undoubtedly amplified it.

 

 

[butlers]

Loathesome Galloway reported lost his seat