Lure of the sinister : the unnatural history of Satanism / Gareth J. Medway.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Medway, Gareth J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Satanism.

Physical Description:

ix, 465 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, [2001]

Summary:

Rumors of Devil-worship, or Satanism, have circulated for centuries. Tales of Black Masses, demonic possession, mysterious nighttime ceremonies, and human sacrifices have captured the popular consciousness, prompting the Christian Church to move aggressively to root out Satanism and its practitioners through often extraordinarily brutal means of detection and interrogation.

Until recently the stuff of myths and stories, allegations of occult worship have of late taken the form of police investigations concerning ritual child abuse, teens involved in Satanic cults, and serial killings. Unsubstantiated rumors have found their way into the popular and serious press and have been reported as fact, often with little or no verification. Obsessive anti-Satanists find evidence of Satanic lyrics in rock music from Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" to Live Aid's "We are the World, " while the numbers "666" lurk in barcodes in supermarkets.

Drawing on a remarkable range of sources, from newspapers and pulp literature to early modern works on demonology, Lure of the Sinister explores the entire history of Satanism from the origins of the Devil in pre-Christian theology through the Inquisition to the life and times of Aleister Crowley, "the wickedest man in the world." The book also investigates modern charges of Satanism, the psychology of the people who make the allegations, and the legal and religious contexts in which they arise, showing how rumors of Devil-worship come to take on a life of their own. Lively and wittily written, Lure of the Sinister reveals a strange tapestry of dark and fearful beliefs that have haunted our imagination for centuries.

Contents:

1 What Is a Satanist? 9

2 Why Worship Satan? 34

3 The History of Satan and the Pact 50

4 Historical Satanism 70

5 Satanic Crime 100

6 Hell on Earth 123

7 Before Michelle Remembered 141

8 Sex Slaves of Lucifer 175

9 Is Your Vicar a Witch-Hunter? 216

10 I'm Not Paranoid, There Is a Conspiracy 256

11 "Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch ..." 292

12 How? 309

13 Why? 329

Appendix The Black Mass 380.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 425-442) and index.

ISBN:

081475645X

OCLC:

42643579