THE SATANIC PANIC WAS A HOAX LIKE PIZZAGATE AND QANON.

I had to write that in all caps. I needed to get everyone's attention.

Religious alt-right "paranormal investigators" are attempting to start another "Satanic Panic" and we can't let that happen again.

The McMartin School trials.

The miscarriage of justice surrounding the Memphis Three.

We have to stop it. Let's look at what happened in the past.

The "Satanic Panic" was a widespread moral panic and hoax that occurred primarily in North America from the 1980s to the mid-1990s, based on unsubstantiated fears of a vast, secretive network of Satan-worshipping cults engaging in organized child abuse, sacrifice and other crimes. These claims were proven to be entirely baseless, and no credible evidence of such a conspiracy was ever found by law enforcement or psychological experts. 

Origins and Spread:

Michelle Remembers (1980): The book, co-written by a psychiatrist and his patient, which detailed alleged "recovered memories" of satanic ritual abuse (SRA), helped spark the panic and provided a template for future claims.

Media Frenzy: Daytime talk shows and news programs, such as those hosted by Geraldo Rivera and Oprah Winfrey, uncritically reported sensationalist stories and "expert" testimony about SRA, amplifying the fear across the nation.

Recovered-Memory Therapy: Therapists used controversial and now-discredited techniques like hypnosis and leading questions to help patients "recover" memories of abuse, often inadvertently planting false memories.

Cultural Scapegoats: Anxiety over societal changes, such as more women entering the workforce and an increased reliance on daycares, led to these centers becoming primary targets for accusations. Other forms of popular culture, including heavy metal music and role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, were also falsely accused of being recruitment tools for cults. 

Key Cases and Debunking

McMartin Preschool Trial: This highly publicized California case (1983-1990) became the longest and most expensive criminal trial in U.S. history. Despite years of investigation and hundreds of accusations, no one was convicted due to a lack of physical evidence and the use of coercive child interviewing techniques.

West Memphis Three: Three teenagers were wrongfully convicted of murder in 1994 based on the prosecution's claim that the killings were part of a Satanic ritual. They were later freed in 2011 after new DNA evidence and an admission that the initial evidence was faulty.

Lack of Evidence: A major 1995 report by the National Institute of Justice concluded there was "scant to non-existent" hard evidence for large-scale satanic ritual abuse. The FBI also found no evidence of an organized, nationwide Satanic conspiracy. 

Legacy: The Satanic Panic is now widely regarded as a classic example of a moral panic and a modern-day "witch hunt," where mass hysteria leRd to ruined reputations, wrongful convictions, and the neglect of genuine child abuse issues. Elements of these debunked claims have unfortunately resurfaced in modern conspiracy theories like QAnon, which echo the same baseless fears of child-abusing cabals.

Debunking the Satanic Panic hoax and other conspiracies.

It's time to let a story be a story.

The Maine Man is right. 

Some writers feel that it's their moral obligation to have a message or agenda--and hammer away with it as readers slog through a manifesto thinly veiled as a story.

" Can't you guys just let a story be a story?"

That's a big problem with today's writers. The message is too important to them, it overtakes the story and the characters. It's bad storytelling. The last season of Doctor Who is a good example, but that's typical for Russell T Davies.

Star Trek: Discovery. Well, that was a mess from the very beginning--on many levels--and while the second season was somewhat promising, it went back to its formula of bad, heavy handed writing and the characters doing way too much whispering and crying. Discovery is a good example of show with talented actors wasted as they played boring, cringe-inducing characters as they uttered lame and, again, cringe-inducing dialogue. 

It's a shame because actors like Tig Notaro and Mary Wiseman, to name a few, deserved better. 

More importantly, the audience deserved better.

"First tell the story and everything else will work itself out."

The great science fiction writer and screenwriter Leigh Brackett said that. A lot of today's SF/fantasy writers could learn a lot about the craft of storytelling from Brackett and her contemporaries. That's why I gravitate to those older stories; they weren't overwhelmed by messages or agendas.

Yes, it's fine that writers inject sociopolitical messages into their stories. There's nothing wrong with it. Back when I was in my Libertarian phase--mea culpa, yes, I was one of them--I had some fairly decent ideas but I was so concerned about hammering my beliefs into the reader. Looking back at those stories, they're bad; I can now say that was my Eye of Argon period. 

Some of you might want to Google that.

I want to tell a good story and throw in some social commentary. Nothing wrong with that. But, you see, that's all I want to do. My primary goal is to tell a (hopefully) damn fine story and entertain people. Now, if I can make some comments on this or that, that's okay too. Sinclair Lewis did it quite well with It Can't Happen Here. Lewis had something to say about men like Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip and he did so in an entertaining but frightening way.

Not only did it work but it worked well.

It was also prescient as the world saw Donald Trump's presidential campaign and his nightmarish administration.

It's a fine line, telling stories infused with one's various sociopolitical messages. It can be done. Stephen King has done it quite well over the years; so have other writers but you'll always have your Russell T Davies or a Brad R. Torgersen with their shite.

It happens.

But don't let it happen to you.

Well. That's my opinion.

That's all I have to say.

Be seeing you.

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