Comments on: Remnants of the Ex-Satanist Movement http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/08/remnants-of-ex-satanist-movement.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:15:33 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Rufus Opus http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/08/remnants-of-ex-satanist-movement.html/comment-page-1#comment-2098 Rufus Opus Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:52:00 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/08/remnants-of-the-ex-satanist-movement.html#comment-2098 You guys have no faith. The Spirit of the LORD shall again descend, and whip up some good old fashioned auto de fes. You just have to be friggin' patient. <br/><br/>Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING runs on a 25-30 year cycle. It's not a coincidence that Saturn cycles through its happy little dance of glee in that period as well.<br/><br/>It's about due. Just be patient. You guys have no faith. The Spirit of the LORD shall again descend, and whip up some good old fashioned auto de fes. You just have to be friggin’ patient.

Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING runs on a 25-30 year cycle. It’s not a coincidence that Saturn cycles through its happy little dance of glee in that period as well.

It’s about due. Just be patient.

]]> By: Ananael Qaa http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/08/remnants-of-ex-satanist-movement.html/comment-page-1#comment-2079 Ananael Qaa Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:23:00 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/08/remnants-of-the-ex-satanist-movement.html#comment-2079 It certainly sounds like a last gasp to me. The panics of the 1980's were fueled in part precisely because the accounts were so lurid that they attracted a lot of attention. The account quoted above is lame - no sex, no sacrifices, no blood. Why would anyone bother getting involved in that, or even reading about it?<br/><br/>The "Satanic Ritual Abuse" folks essentially painted themselves into a corner. Once the evidence overwhelmingly showed that the accounts were made up, nobody was willing to believe the extreme stories any more. They toned them down, but the extreme accounts were precisely what kept people coming back to read more and as a result they lost most of their media presence.<br/><br/>If all they're left with is the above, I doubt their "movement" will go on for much longer. It certainly sounds like a last gasp to me. The panics of the 1980’s were fueled in part precisely because the accounts were so lurid that they attracted a lot of attention. The account quoted above is lame – no sex, no sacrifices, no blood. Why would anyone bother getting involved in that, or even reading about it?

The “Satanic Ritual Abuse” folks essentially painted themselves into a corner. Once the evidence overwhelmingly showed that the accounts were made up, nobody was willing to believe the extreme stories any more. They toned them down, but the extreme accounts were precisely what kept people coming back to read more and as a result they lost most of their media presence.

If all they’re left with is the above, I doubt their “movement” will go on for much longer.

]]> By: Yvonne http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/08/remnants-of-ex-satanist-movement.html/comment-page-1#comment-2062 Yvonne Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:37:00 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/08/remnants-of-the-ex-satanist-movement.html#comment-2062 When, when, when will Christians learn that their "truth" is not the only truth? Why can't they just leave it out? I sincerely hope this IS the last gasp of the "satanic panic" brigade, but at least with the "satanism" slur we could just say, nope, we don't worship a being who is part of Christian cosmology. Now that they're rebranding us as "subtly dangerous", isn't that actually worse? When, when, when will Christians learn that their “truth” is not the only truth? Why can’t they just leave it out? I sincerely hope this IS the last gasp of the “satanic panic” brigade, but at least with the “satanism” slur we could just say, nope, we don’t worship a being who is part of Christian cosmology. Now that they’re rebranding us as “subtly dangerous”, isn’t that actually worse?

]]> By: Peg http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/08/remnants-of-ex-satanist-movement.html/comment-page-1#comment-2060 Peg Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:21:00 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/08/remnants-of-the-ex-satanist-movement.html#comment-2060 I recently submitted a chapter to the forthcoming Handbook of Contemporary Paganism being put out by Brill; it's on media and the occult revival. One area I really enjoyed researching was the impact of the so-called "recovering" satanists and occultists as they were presented on shows like Geraldo and Oprah in the late 1980s. Remember the Matamoros Cult murders? Even though they took place in Mexico and there was only one American victim (the kid on spring break who was probably looking to score drugs, sex or both when he ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time), the shows decided to spice up their coverage of this crime with special guests like Lauren Stratford (who claimed her son had been kidnapped and murdered by occultists but who could never prove the crime since there was no physical evidence and the police were "in on it"). Other guests claimed to have been brought up in satan-worshipping families that sacrificed countless babies and children (like "Rachel" who suffers from multiple personality disorder), and others who were not directly involved in the occult who claimed to have had children and other loved ones murdered in "occult" rituals. One of these rituals consisted of a teenager beating another with a baseball bat; grisly as this is, how is it related to the occult? other than the heavy metal music the teens liked to listen to? It's not surprising the West Memphis Three debacle occurred amid such a circus-like atmosphere. I recently submitted a chapter to the forthcoming Handbook of Contemporary Paganism being put out by Brill; it’s on media and the occult revival. One area I really enjoyed researching was the impact of the so-called “recovering” satanists and occultists as they were presented on shows like Geraldo and Oprah in the late 1980s. Remember the Matamoros Cult murders? Even though they took place in Mexico and there was only one American victim (the kid on spring break who was probably looking to score drugs, sex or both when he ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time), the shows decided to spice up their coverage of this crime with special guests like Lauren Stratford (who claimed her son had been kidnapped and murdered by occultists but who could never prove the crime since there was no physical evidence and the police were “in on it”). Other guests claimed to have been brought up in satan-worshipping families that sacrificed countless babies and children (like “Rachel” who suffers from multiple personality disorder), and others who were not directly involved in the occult who claimed to have had children and other loved ones murdered in “occult” rituals. One of these rituals consisted of a teenager beating another with a baseball bat; grisly as this is, how is it related to the occult? other than the heavy metal music the teens liked to listen to? It’s not surprising the West Memphis Three debacle occurred amid such a circus-like atmosphere.

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