THE DEVIL RIDES ON ... AND ON ... AND ON

In the early 1990s Magonia magazine published a number of articles by Roger Sandell and others, which examined the stories of 'Satanic Abuse' that were current at that time. The writers could see that these allegations, which in many cases were splitting families and sending innocent people to jail, were similar in nature to many of the reported experiences which we were discussing in Magonia, such as alien abductions, false memories, hypnotic regression and guided recall. It was very clear that many of the people involved in these cases such as police, social workers, lawyers and magistrates, were totally unaware of the broader history and social background to such allegations. You may wish to read some of the articles:

Victims of Memory

Somewhere a Child is Crying

Desperately Seeking Satan

Still Seeking Satan

From Evidence of Abuse to Abuse of Evidence
Satanism Update

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Although many of the cases, and the whole idea of 'Satanic Ritual Abuse' appeared to have dropped from the headlines, there was a powerful subculture promoting the concept amongst some social work professionals and law enforcement agencies. Basil Humphreys reported on a conference for social workers at Warwick University in 1997. Here the concept had been toned down to 'ritual' or 'multi-generational' abuse. You can read it here: It Never RAINS but it Pours. Private Eye magazine revealed that ten years later the same ideas were being promoted to social workers: Satanic Panic

One of the later cases, which never seemed to have been fully reported in the national media, took place in Pembrokeshire, and involved a number of families in a small community. In his latest blog entry, Mike Dash reviews the background of the 'Satanic Abuse' panic, and follows the frightening course of the Pembrokshire case, from an account by the journalist Byron Rogers.

I urge you to read it here: When Satan Came to Pembroke and remember that accusations like this are still being made. -- JR