Episode 47

The highly technological society in which we live obscures the fact the we are still a very primitive species. One which continues to fall under the spell of magical beliefs and mass hysteria. Although we'd like to think we have evolved, this story which mirrors the insanity of the Salem Witch Trials shows, that perhaps, we have not. In the early 80's a madness was brewing. The rise of heavy metal music combined with the infiltration of demonic imagery into American homes in the form of VHS and Betamax videotapes of horror films such as The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby and The Omen, had many of the public on edge. Combine that with several books and TV shows suggesting that Devil Worshipers make up a vast underground network that can exist in any middle-class neighborhood and you have a recipe for disaster. Fear turns to terror. Terror turns to mass hysteria. This phenomena was called Satanic Panic and elements of it can still be seen in our culture even today.

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