https://bloodyshed.com/episode/satanic-panic
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Satanic Panic

Take a long winding road through the history of Satanism, from word origins to a 1980s Satanic Panic! Along the way, we visit witch trials, Aleister Crowley, Jack Parsons and, of course, the Church of Satan--founded by Anton LaVey. A longer episode, but a devil of a good time!

Bonus Material

The Filthy Fifteen

These fifteen bands made the list of material considered offensive, with songs that prickled the ears of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) in 1985. Themes such as occultism, drug use and sex/violence were attributed to songs that crossed their perceived lines of appropriateness. Some were explicit. Others were simply innuendo, harmless theatrics or completely misinterpreted content. Many would be considered tame by modern standards.

  1. Prince "Darling Nikki" — Sex/Masturbation
  2. Sheena Easton "Sugar Walls" — Sex
  3. Judas Priest "Eat Me Alive" — Sex/Violence
  4. Vanity "Strap On 'Robbie Baby'" — Sex
  5. Mötley Crüe "Bastard" — Violence/Language
  6. AC/DC "Let Me Put My Love Into You" — Sex
  7. Twisted Sister "We're Not Gonna Take It" — Violence
  8. Madonna "Dress You Up" — Sex
  9. W.A.S.P. "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" — Sex/Language/Violence
  10. Def Leppard "High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)" — Drug and alcohol use
  11. Mercyful Fate "Into the Coven" — Occult
  12. Black Sabbath "Trashed" — Drug and alcohol use
  13. Mary Jane Girls "In My House" — Sex
  14. Venom "Possessed" — Occult
  15. Cyndi Lauper "She Bop" — Sex/Masturbation

Show notes

SOURCES

, n.d.

00:03:30

Origins of the word Satan

We go back to the beginning and walk through the etymological origins of the words Satan and Devil. As the idea of Satan began to grow into a biblical character, literature through the centuries began to flesh out his traits.
SOURCES

Book: van Luijk, Ruben, Children of Lucifer: The Origins of Modern Religious Satanism (Oxford Studies in Western Esotericism), pp 16-22, 2016

Book: Faxneld, Per, Satanic Feminism: Lucifer as the Liberator of Woman in Nineteenth-Century Culture (Molin & Sorgenfrei), pp 46-48, 184-185, 2014

Book: Introvigne, Massimo , Satanism: A Social History – English translation of (Leiden), Leiden

Book: Jesper Aagaard Petersen, Asbjørn Dyrendal, James R. Lewis, The invention of Satanism (Oxford University Press), 2015

Forsyth, Neil, The Old Enemy (Princeton University Press), pp 335, 1987

00:11:25

Before there were Satanists

Actual Satanists are extremely rare or nonexistent through much of history. That didn't stop anyone from calling groups Satanists. It wasn't just witches. it's surprising the still-extant groups that have been called Satanists through history.
SOURCES

Book: Poelman, Jacob; Smelik, Johanna, The Origin & Demise of Satan: Or the Beginning & End of Satan, Devil, Serpent, Dragon Or Evil (AuthorHouse), pp 37-38, 2009

Kuntz, Darcy, The Battle of Blythe Road: A Golden Dawn Affair (Holmes Pub Grou Llc), 2000

Article: Faxneld, Per, The Strange Case of Ben Kadosh: A Luciferian Pamphlet from 1906 and its Current Renaissance (Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism, Volume 11 (1)), Jan 1, 2011

00:19:10

Occultists and Proto-Satanists

Like Blues came before Rock n' Roll, Occultists came before Satanists - Helena Blavatsky, Éliphas Lévi, Ben Kadosh and Aleister Crowley -- who founded Thelema.
SOURCES

, n.d.

Book: Rydeen, Paul, Jack Parsons and the Fall of Babylon (Paul Rydeen), 1994

van Luijk, Ruben, Children of Lucifer: The Origins of Modern Religious Satanism (Oxford University Press), pp 311-312, 524, 533-546, 2016

00:25:30

The Ordo Templi Orientis comes to America

Aleister Crowley's OTO reaches U.S. shores with a California lodge founded in 1935. Rocket scientist Jack Parsons breaks with the group and becomes the link between Occultists and the first significant Satanist group
SOURCES

, n.d.

00:28:00

Anton LaVey and his many lies

SOURCES

Jesper Aagaard Petersen, Asbjørn Dyrendal, James R. Lewis, The Invention of Satanism (Oxford University Press), 2015

00:31:00

Togar the Lion

Yes. Anton LaVey had a pet tiger. For a man built on lies, this was not false.
SOURCES

, n.d.

00:33:35

The Church of Satan is founded

The first significant Satanist group is founded in 1966 by Anton LaVey with the help of Kenneth Anger and others.
SOURCES

, n.d.

00:38:20

Anton LaVey and Jayne Mansfield

An actress whose life is in disarray, gravitates to Anton Lavey after her son is seriously injured. Her life ends in tragedy not long after.
SOURCES

, n.d.

00:44:05

Anton loved his celebrities

We go through a few other famous names that had interactions with the Church of Satan.
SOURCES

, n.d.

00:46:36

The Satanic Bible

SOURCES

, n.d.

00:52:20

The Manson connection

Through an unfortunate bit of luck, Anton LaVey finds himself connected to Charles Manson Family members.
SOURCES

00:52:20, , n.d.

00:54:20

Satan on the Silver Screen

Media obsession and the hundreds of Satan-themed movies dominate the 1960s and early 1980s.
SOURCES

Book: Case, George, Here's to my sweet Satan : how the occult haunted music, movies and pop culture 1966-1980 (Linden Publishing), 2016

Book: Jesper Aagaard Petersen, Asbjørn Dyrendal, James R. Lewis, The Invention of Satanism (Oxford University Press), pp 112-113, 2005

00:58:15

The Satanic Panic

Starting in the 1970s, fraudulent literature and people contributed to an unfounded fear of Satanic cults taking over the U.S. A series of unfortunate events let to one of the world's most recent cases of mass hysteria.
SOURCES

Book: Jesper Aagaard Petersen, Asbjørn Dyrendal, James R. Lewis, The Invention of Satanism (Oxford University Press), pp 103-112, 2015

Article: Goleman, Daniel, Proof Lacking for Ritual Abuse by Satanists (The New York Times), pp 1994, n.d.

Victor, Jeffrey S., Satanic panic : the creation of a contemporary legend (Open Court), 1993

01:04:55

The Tipper Sticker

The 1980s panic bleeds over into culture when a group of prominent politicians' wives (the PMRC) convince the U.S. Congress to debate labeling music seen as offensive or dangerous.
SOURCES

Book: Christe, Ian, Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal (HarperCollins), pp 117-125, 2004, 2010

, n.d.

01:09:43

The Filthy Fifteen

The PMRC created a list of 15 songs that drove them to demand labels on music.
SOURCES

Book: Slaven, Neil, Electric Don Quixote: The Definitive Story Of Frank Zappa, pp 2009, 2009

Article: Winter In America: It's 1987. Do you know where your culture is? (Option), pp 29, January/February 1987