What was the Satanic Panic?

American History Hit

History Hit

America, History

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 20 November 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Why were more than 12 thousand cases of satanic abuse brought in the 1980s? Was the Prince of Darkness walking among us then? Or did something else cause the panic?

Joseph Laycock joins Don for this episode to discuss the so-called Satanic Panic, from daycares to news outlets to board games. Joe is the author of many books including 'Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic over Role-Playing Games Says about Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds' and 'The Penguin Book of Exorcisms'.

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Quick note of warning, in this episode, there are several mentions of child abuse and the occult.
0:09.8	Oh, it's dark down here, isn't it? No, no, don't light a match. We have to be careful. Quiet.
0:17.7	Here, come close. Just wait for your eyes to adjust. I know it's dank down here. You get the shivers, huh?
0:24.3	Haven't been in this place for years. Just move slowly. Keep your hands on the wall. It's just a short distance down this passageway.
0:33.2	And oh, oh, here it is. Yeah. Feel it? This is the turn.
0:38.8	The hallway, follow me.
0:45.3	You hear the voices, no sounds, and that light, the crack under the door.
0:47.2	They've already begun.
0:51.3	Just let me open it up a bit and...
0:53.6	Hey, who's there?
0:58.5	Well, nothing like the dark arts to brighten up your day.
1:00.9	A meeting of Satanists. Why not?
1:01.9	Pull up a chair.
1:03.5	Everyone's welcome. Good day and blessings. Welcome to American History Hit. I'm Don Wildman. And today we speak of the devil.
1:20.6	Or rather, a time in America, not too long ago when, according to so many, the devil had made himself manifest.
1:29.8	From the 1960s into the 80s,
1:35.3	as cultural and political forces around the country seismically shifted and once trusted norms were challenged, it became evident to millions that this was the work of Satan himself.
1:41.7	Triggered by events that we'll discuss in a moment, a panic took hold.
1:45.1	A satanic panic was the term popularized that pinned what was going on with America on he
1:51.1	whose name ought not be spoken. But my guest today can and should be spoken of. Dr. Joseph
1:56.4	Lecoq is an associate professor of religious studies at Texas State University. He holds an MTS from Harvard Divinity School and a Ph.D. from Boston University and has written several books on new religious movements and American religious history. He currently serves on the programming committee for the American Academy of Religion. My word, it's a resume to make cotton matter blush. Welcome, Joseph Leacog.
2:18.8	Thanks so much for having me. This event, this panic we will discuss, happens in the 1980s,
	...

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