For this class we where tasked to research and write a paper about a historical event of our choice, I chose to write about the satanic panic. Growing up I heard a lot about this event because my mom grew up during the time period and would tell me stories. I've always had an intrest in dark history so researching all the nitty gritty details about this topic was really fun for me. The only changeling part I really faced was finding a way to come through all the information, most of my sources where hundreds of pages long and contained many in depth reports of the events of the saitinic panic, so much happed and was going on at the time it was hard to condence all the information within a 7 page paper. Overall I found this paper super fun to write and research about. My historical question is, Why did the satanic panic of the 1980s take place and what can this tell us about psychology throughout history? Throughout the course of writing this paper I learned a lot about the historical context, during the satanic panic of the 1980s, it was widely believed that millions of people were being abused at the hands of satanists in what was called “satanic ritual abuse”, sparking an almost 20-year mass panic throughout the United States. The Satanic Panic took place from around 1980 and ended sometime in the early 20th century. It was a period of what some people consider mass hysteria where the general public believed there was satanic cults in their community committing rituals and heinous crimes, like committing murder and rape to thousands. This has since proven to be completely false but is still one of the most interesting events in recent history.
My Sources:
Kenneth V. Lanning Supervisory Special Agent. Investigators Guide to Allegations of Ritual Child Abuse , Jan . 1992, www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/136592NCJRS.pdf.
https:/. / www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/136592NCJRS.pdf primary
This source is extremely informative and inte. resting. This is the official FBI report disapproving satanic ritual abuse. This almost 50 page report goes into the extreme detail about how the court cases during that time could not have been proven. It discusses not only the psychological aspect of children at the time but also the general public and why the fears were so amplified. This source completely disproves any physical evidence and psychological “proof” it dives into child abuse as a whole and discuses how trafficing and sex rings are the real worry. It also mentions how convoluted and complicated the entire panic truly is. With so many different aspects and voices / accounts of abuse.
I can use this source in many ways through my essay but primarily as the voice of reason. This source is from the fbi and is proof of extensive investigation. This source proves the point that panic never happened. It also dives into psychology as it investigates why the children involved in this panic were having false memories and how that translates into the proof of a crime, or the lack thereof.
Watters, Ethan. “The Forgotten Lessons of the Recovered Memory Movement.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Sept. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/09/27/opinion/recovered-memory-therapy-mental-health.html.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/27/opinion/recovered-memory-therapy-mental-health.html
secondary This source is an essay about repressed memories and how therapists falsely confirmed that children had repressed memories of satanic cults. It all turned out to be a huge scam and this article discusses why that happened, what happened and how it happened. It talks about how ritual child abuse and fales memories left a lasting mark on the credibility of therapy. It talks about how false memories were taken so seriously and why they can now be disproven. It also has some shocking data about how many repressed memories were said to have been discovered.
I will be able to use this paper as a source for my writings of the psychological aspect of this event. I will be about to use this to further disprove the panic and explain why the events were false. I will also be able to use this source to further prove the media's impact in this.
Missouri Legislative Library, www.senate.mo.gov/LegislativeLibrary/Panic.html. Accessed 15 Mar. 2024.
https://www.senate.mo.gov/LegislativeLibrary/Panic.html Primary
This Source has multiple primary sources from the Satanic panic including posters and news coverage of this false event. It acts as a timeline for my research and includes all the dates and years the pivotal events went down that led to the widespread hysteria. I will be able to use these sources as primary sources in my research for this paper.
I can use this source for my essay to make sure the timeline stays accurate and be sure that all information stays organized and true.
Waterhouse, R.T. (2014). Satanic abuse, false memories, weird beliefs and moral panics. (Unpublished Doctoral thesis, City University London)
https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/11871/1/Satanic%20abuse,%20false%20memories,%20weird%20beliefs%20and%20moral%20panics.pdf primary
This Source discusses everything about the satanic panic including its origins and effects on the general public. It goes into a lot of detail about how it started and what took place. The author is a journalist and investigated the event for years on end. This 100 page paper goes into a lot of detail about the author's findings and explains different events and news on the moral panic. It also briefly mentioned the psychological aspects and explains the science of false memories. It researches and explains a lot about how false memories are implanted and beloved to be true. It also explains how it all became such a big deal, it explains the spread of the panic and how it all happened. I will be able to use this source in many ways including the history of the event and details about it. I will also be able to use this source to explain a lot about the false memories and how this event was proven to be false.
This house will be of most use when describing what events led to the panic starting. This paper dives very deep into the spread of the panic and geographically how it spread all across the world. I will be able to use this source as proof of impact on the public as well because it goes into how the world was affected by the satanic panic.
Guldner, Jessica. Patriotic Pandemonium: Examining Moral Panic and Civil Religion ..., Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, May 2023, www.proquest.com/openview/1edcf75745762cb6422ff963b7d0bfd7/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y.
Book source https://www.proquest.com/openview/1edcf75745762cb6422ff963b7d0bfd7/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y secondary and primary This source discusses many of the underlying causes of the satanic panic. It also briefly mentions the events of the panic, and how it affected the public years to come. I think this source is very interesting because it explained how movements like feminism and civil rights amplified the public's fear of satanism. It also goes into a lot of detail about why this event was so impactful and why the public was so afraid. It also talks about the psychological aspect of why these accounts of repressed memories were not questioned. This paper also explains how the accounts where disproven and why the panic disbanded the way it did in the late 90’s
I will be able to use this source to understand the history of the time. The panic blew up the way it did due to underlying issues in the 1980s. This source will be able to provide some context to my essay and help further understand why the whole ordeal became so widely feared.
“What You Need to Know about the Mcmartin Case.” California CACI Removal Lawyer, www.cacilawyer.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-mcmartin-case.html#:~:text=The%20McMartin%20case%20was%20part,Zealand%2C%20and%20several%20European%20countries. Accessed 15 Mar. 2024.
https://www.cacilawyer.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-mcmartin-case.html#:~:text=The%20McMartin%20case%20was%20 part,Zealand%2C%20and%20 several%20 European%20 countries. secondary source
This source is the rundown of the Mcmartin preschool case. It discusses how it started in 1983 and how it came to be such a pivotal part of the satanic panic. The case was one of the most widely known and expensive trials in American history. This source talks about how this happened and why it was such a huge deal. This source also briefly mentions that the victims later retracted their statements and admitted the allegations were false. I will be able to use this source to better provide context for this specific case and explain how the hysteria snowballed from here.
my final essay can be found here:
My Sources:
Kenneth V. Lanning Supervisory Special Agent. Investigators Guide to Allegations of Ritual Child Abuse , Jan . 1992, www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/136592NCJRS.pdf.
https:/. / www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/136592NCJRS.pdf primary
This source is extremely informative and inte. resting. This is the official FBI report disapproving satanic ritual abuse. This almost 50 page report goes into the extreme detail about how the court cases during that time could not have been proven. It discusses not only the psychological aspect of children at the time but also the general public and why the fears were so amplified. This source completely disproves any physical evidence and psychological “proof” it dives into child abuse as a whole and discuses how trafficing and sex rings are the real worry. It also mentions how convoluted and complicated the entire panic truly is. With so many different aspects and voices / accounts of abuse.
I can use this source in many ways through my essay but primarily as the voice of reason. This source is from the fbi and is proof of extensive investigation. This source proves the point that panic never happened. It also dives into psychology as it investigates why the children involved in this panic were having false memories and how that translates into the proof of a crime, or the lack thereof.
Watters, Ethan. “The Forgotten Lessons of the Recovered Memory Movement.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Sept. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/09/27/opinion/recovered-memory-therapy-mental-health.html.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/27/opinion/recovered-memory-therapy-mental-health.html
secondary This source is an essay about repressed memories and how therapists falsely confirmed that children had repressed memories of satanic cults. It all turned out to be a huge scam and this article discusses why that happened, what happened and how it happened. It talks about how ritual child abuse and fales memories left a lasting mark on the credibility of therapy. It talks about how false memories were taken so seriously and why they can now be disproven. It also has some shocking data about how many repressed memories were said to have been discovered.
I will be able to use this paper as a source for my writings of the psychological aspect of this event. I will be about to use this to further disprove the panic and explain why the events were false. I will also be able to use this source to further prove the media's impact in this.
Missouri Legislative Library, www.senate.mo.gov/LegislativeLibrary/Panic.html. Accessed 15 Mar. 2024.
https://www.senate.mo.gov/LegislativeLibrary/Panic.html Primary
This Source has multiple primary sources from the Satanic panic including posters and news coverage of this false event. It acts as a timeline for my research and includes all the dates and years the pivotal events went down that led to the widespread hysteria. I will be able to use these sources as primary sources in my research for this paper.
I can use this source for my essay to make sure the timeline stays accurate and be sure that all information stays organized and true.
Waterhouse, R.T. (2014). Satanic abuse, false memories, weird beliefs and moral panics. (Unpublished Doctoral thesis, City University London)
https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/11871/1/Satanic%20abuse,%20false%20memories,%20weird%20beliefs%20and%20moral%20panics.pdf primary
This Source discusses everything about the satanic panic including its origins and effects on the general public. It goes into a lot of detail about how it started and what took place. The author is a journalist and investigated the event for years on end. This 100 page paper goes into a lot of detail about the author's findings and explains different events and news on the moral panic. It also briefly mentioned the psychological aspects and explains the science of false memories. It researches and explains a lot about how false memories are implanted and beloved to be true. It also explains how it all became such a big deal, it explains the spread of the panic and how it all happened. I will be able to use this source in many ways including the history of the event and details about it. I will also be able to use this source to explain a lot about the false memories and how this event was proven to be false.
This house will be of most use when describing what events led to the panic starting. This paper dives very deep into the spread of the panic and geographically how it spread all across the world. I will be able to use this source as proof of impact on the public as well because it goes into how the world was affected by the satanic panic.
Guldner, Jessica. Patriotic Pandemonium: Examining Moral Panic and Civil Religion ..., Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, May 2023, www.proquest.com/openview/1edcf75745762cb6422ff963b7d0bfd7/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y.
Book source https://www.proquest.com/openview/1edcf75745762cb6422ff963b7d0bfd7/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y secondary and primary This source discusses many of the underlying causes of the satanic panic. It also briefly mentions the events of the panic, and how it affected the public years to come. I think this source is very interesting because it explained how movements like feminism and civil rights amplified the public's fear of satanism. It also goes into a lot of detail about why this event was so impactful and why the public was so afraid. It also talks about the psychological aspect of why these accounts of repressed memories were not questioned. This paper also explains how the accounts where disproven and why the panic disbanded the way it did in the late 90’s
I will be able to use this source to understand the history of the time. The panic blew up the way it did due to underlying issues in the 1980s. This source will be able to provide some context to my essay and help further understand why the whole ordeal became so widely feared.
“What You Need to Know about the Mcmartin Case.” California CACI Removal Lawyer, www.cacilawyer.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-mcmartin-case.html#:~:text=The%20McMartin%20case%20was%20part,Zealand%2C%20and%20several%20European%20countries. Accessed 15 Mar. 2024.
https://www.cacilawyer.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-mcmartin-case.html#:~:text=The%20McMartin%20case%20was%20 part,Zealand%2C%20and%20 several%20 European%20 countries. secondary source
This source is the rundown of the Mcmartin preschool case. It discusses how it started in 1983 and how it came to be such a pivotal part of the satanic panic. The case was one of the most widely known and expensive trials in American history. This source talks about how this happened and why it was such a huge deal. This source also briefly mentions that the victims later retracted their statements and admitted the allegations were false. I will be able to use this source to better provide context for this specific case and explain how the hysteria snowballed from here.
my final essay can be found here:
