Rating: 
Summary: A Fascinating Look At Modern Witch-hunting
Review: I just finished reading this fascinating book and highly recommend it. Everyone should be aware of these FACTS which debunk the whole Christian "Satanic Ritual Abuse" scare campaign. Very thorough and well-researched, this book is a much-needed rational antidote to the current poisonous false accusations against innocent people. Its hard to believe that huge numbers of people will believe such far-out allegations as those of the so-called "experts" (many of which have already been shown to be total frauds) without any evidence except the fantasies of mentally-ill people & small children manipulated into telling tall tales. I became interested in this book from reading about the "West Memphis 3" case, in which 3 youths were convicted of murder (one is on Death Row) without any hard evidence, just the "Satanic Panic" accusations. You think such insane things as the Salem Witch Trials are a thing of the past? Think again! A great non-fiction read---FIVE STARS!
Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating Look At Modern Witch-hunting
Review: I just finished reading this fascinating book and highly recommend it. Everyone should be aware of these FACTS which debunk the whole Christian "Satanic Ritual Abuse" scare campaign. Very thorough and well-researched, this book is a much-needed rational antidote to the current poisonous false accusations against innocent people. Its hard to believe that huge numbers of people will believe such far-out allegations as those of the so-called "experts" (many of which have already been shown to be total frauds) without any evidence except the fantasies of mentally-ill people & small children manipulated into telling tall tales. I became interested in this book from reading about the "West Memphis 3" case, in which 3 youths were convicted of murder (one is on Death Row) without any hard evidence, just the "Satanic Panic" accusations. You think such insane things as the Salem Witch Trials are a thing of the past? Think again! A great non-fiction read---FIVE STARS!
Rating:
Summary: Sorry I didn't take your class
Review: I was at SUNY JCC in 1996 and regret not taking Victor's sociology class. I refused to take this because I thought "Satanic Panic" was an attack on Christians. "Satanic Panic" should be required reading for Christians, and should serve as a wake up call. Christians need to refuse feeding the crazy rumors that often infect our circles. (M.M O'Hare and the FCC) I grew up believing in SRA and it was not until I read things from Christian Research Institute and Bob & Gretchen Pasatino and continued to see Dr. Victor being cited. Please accept my apology for refusing to think and refusing to take your class.
Rating:
Summary: Sorry I didn't take your class
Review: I was at SUNY JCC in 1996 and regret not taking Victor's sociology class. I refused to take this because I thought "Satanic Panic" was an attack on Christians. "Satanic Panic" should be required reading for Christians, and should serve as a wake up call. Christians need to refuse feeding the crazy rumors that often infect our circles. (M.M O'Hare and the FCC) I grew up believing in SRA and it was not until I read things from Christian Research Institute and Bob & Gretchen Pasatino and continued to see Dr. Victor being cited. Please accept my apology for refusing to think and refusing to take your class.
Rating:
Summary: Sorry I didn't take your class
Review: I was at SUNY JCC in 1996 and regret not taking Victor's sociology class. I refused to take this because I thought "Satanic Panic" was an attack on Christians. "Satanic Panic" should be required reading for Christians, and should serve as a wake up call. Christians need to refuse feeding the crazy rumors that often infect our circles. (M.M O'Hare and the FCC) I grew up believing in SRA and it was not until I read things from Christian Research Institute and Bob & Gretchen Pasatino and continued to see Dr. Victor being cited. Please accept my apology for refusing to think and refusing to take your class.
Rating:
Summary: Panic usually is about nothing substantial....
Review: In the late 1970's and early 1980's there arose in the USA the widespread belief that a Satanic underground cult was systematically kidnapping people, abusing children, and sacrificing human beings and animals. Rumours of dead people hung from streetlights, fields littered with the dead bodies of sacrificed babies, and Satanists cooking children in microwaves were accepted without any criticism and, more importantly, any scrap of corroborating evidence. How could this happen?"Satanic Panic" is an important work that explores this. Sociologists, journalists, psychologists, law enforcers, and religious leaders should read it. Victor shows that Satanic panic practically is a sociological phenomenon; his investigations lead to several important discoveries, for example: - Rumours of organised Satanism are most explicit in suburban and country areas, and virtually absent in cities. The 'victims' of Satanists also tend to be white, blond, blue-eyed virgins.
- The belief in organised Satanism is typical of white middle class Christians and blue-collars; there's a clear link between low education and belief in Satanism.
- Rumours of organised Satanism are lead back to and are firmly rooted in historical uprisings of anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and ethnic hatred.
- Rumours of organised Satanism are fuelled by Born Again Christian organisations that push forward 'experts' on Satanic, who earn big money by organising seminars.
- The rise of Satanic panic (around the 1970's) occurred through evangelical Christian publications ("Michelle Remembers") and Christian psychologists who believe that mental disorders are manifestations of demonic forces.
- The 'victims' who 'remembered' are by and large suffering from posttraumatic stress or multiple personality disorder, and treated by Evangelical psychologists or 'believers' using suggestive regression methods.
- Satanic panic has been taken up and spread by paparazzi and sensational journalism.
- The majority of secular persons (journalists, psychiatrists, and law enforcers) that vouched for the truth of Satanic sects have admitted the error of their ways. "Satanic Panic" is not only an informative work, but also a constructive guide to people and organisations that can be contacted when Satanic panic arises, and how to deal with a wildfire rumour. Many innocents in the USA and Great Britain have been accused and sometimes even convicted without any scrap of evidence, resulting in Evangelical communities 'rescuing victims' from 'satanist families'; to this day, these issues remain largely unresolved due to some people too embarrassed to admit they were wrong. "Satanic Panic" deals mainly with the USA, but for the UK there's the interesting pamphlet 'Burn, Witch, Burn', by Lesley Wilkinson from Wyrd Press.
Rating:
Summary: A rational explanation
Review: Jeffery Victor methodically dissects the overblown hysteria-ridden Satanic panic with clear writing, documented facts, and the right touch of humor. A must-read for anyone who's ever played D&D and been accused of being a Satanist, or for people who believe in SRA.
Rating: 
Summary: A balanced history and a welcome warning for the future
Review: Jeffrey Victor has given form to the nervous dismissal most of us might feel when faced with claims of a massive Satanist conspiracy. He's done fantastic amounts of research and weaves between courtrooms and sociologist themes with a well-tempered ear for detail. In times where we learn to assume that the worst is possible, I'm thrilled to see someone debunk an extreme end of the "regress and confess" school of accusational therapy -- because nobody will take actual abuse as seriously while this Satanic nonsense distracts. Plus, it's a fun read for anyone who digs crime lit or Oliver Sacks books... fine work.
Rating:
Summary: A complete review by a rational mind.
Review: Part skeptical review of the Satanic cult scare, part analysis of the history of witch hunts throughout history, Victor's book is a breath of fresh air. For years we have been told that there are Satanists among us. We have been told that our children are at risk of recruitment. We have been told that babies are being sacrificed, demons are taking over human bodies, and that children are being sexually assaulted. Victor takes a careful look at these claims, and finds that there is not much evidence supporting them. Victor then turns his attention to why these claims exist. He traces the Satanism myth back to the publication of Michelle Remembers, the first in a long series of books about recovered memories of ritual abuse. He then goes back another step, and shows that claims of Satanism have been around for years, and that the recent activity is just another cycle in a long and tired story. The real danger comes not from the Satanists, who are pretty harmless if they exist at all, but from the Satan hunters, who often forget rational thought in their pursuit of Satan, the ultimate embodiment of evil. Those who get hurt are the Cathars, the Salem defendants, and the McMartin preschool defendants. Victor suggests that the best solution to the problem is rational thought, not knee-jerk reaction
Rating:
Summary: Not only informative, but reads easily:
Review: Satanic Panic should be required reading for all educators and police officers. The book debunks the myth of a world-wide multi-level satanic cult, explains spates of satanic fears, and does so with humorous insight into the human condition. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because each chapter seems to reiterate too much of the preceeding text; this is probably so any chapter could be used as hand out in a sociology class. The author writes in an uncluttered style, bereft of clinical language that would confuse the pedestrian reader. Satanic Panic, a must for anyone who enjoys reading about deviant group behavior.
| 
