Sex, Satanism and Sacrificial Slaughter

The Fall River Cult Murders, 1979-80

The new age may have dawned in the 1960s, but daybreak never came. For many, spiritual awakening ended in existential crisis as the harsh realities of the following decade began to encroach on their lives. Some found refuge in communes, others turned to drugs or diet fads. And many would join the ranks of the New Religious Movement: a cluster of fringe Christian, Eastern mystic, neo-pagan and various self-help groups that claimed to offer a path to self-discovery and higher purpose. The spirit of religious revival was in the air, but not everyone was celebrating.

The inevitable backlash to these often strange (and sometimes dangerous) new religious sects led to the rise of the "counter-cult movement." Not surprisingly, Christian fundamentalists would play a leading role. The shock propaganda of these “counter-cultists” successfully tapped into the social anxieties of the day and found broad support among concerned parents. With more women joining the workforce and increasing numbers of teenagers left to their own devices, there was a new level of fear and uncertainty within the nuclear family unit. The threat of one’s children falling victim to some crazed cult seemed very real. Or so the public was led to believe.

From within this social context a cultural phenomenon known as ‘The Satanic Panic’ was born.¹ Fueled by religious fanatics, quack psychiatrists and the tabloid media, it was claimed that a vast Satanic criminal network existed throughout the country. Organized devil-worshipers were responsible for any number of heinous acts – including kidnapping, child abuse, animal mutilation, rape, torture, human sacrifice and cannibalism – all of which was taking place under our very noses.

Rebellion of the Damned

Diabolical Witchcraft as Social Revolt in Early Modern France

The Age of Enlightenment had yet to begin and it would be well over a century until revolution touched off in France. Ruled by a traditionalist monarchy and a corrupt state church, the country was still very much stuck in the dark ages throughout the early modern period. The Catholic Church dominated nearly all areas of social, political and economic life, and nowhere was the iron grip of "divine authority" felt stronger than by the rural peasantry.

As the largest single property owner in France, the Church controlled nearly 40% of the country's wealth – much of which accrued through a heavy taxation on the peasantry and the confiscation of lands. Upper Church officials mostly came from old nobility provincial and royal court families and they maintained a lavish and decadent lifestyle (“by the will of God”) while the poorest segments of rural society struggled daily against debt, eviction, poverty, malnutrition and premature death. In the face of such a bleak and unjust state of affairs, what’s a downtrodden peasant to do?