American Monsters: Tabloid Media and the Satanic Panic, 1970-2000," analyzes an episode of national hysteria that dominated the media throughout most of the 1980s. Its origins, however, go back much farther and its consequences for the media would extend into subsequent decades. Rooted in the decade's increasingly influential conservative political ideology, the satanic panic involved hundreds of accusations that devil-worshipping pedophiles were operating America's white middle-class suburban daycare centers. Communities around the country became embroiled in criminal trials against center owners, the most publicized of which was the McMartin Preschool trial in Manhattan Beach, California. The longest and most expensive trial in the nation's history, the McMartin case is an important focal point of this project. In the 1990s, judges overturned the life sentences of defendants in most major cases, and several prominent journalists and lawyers condemned the phenomenon as a witch-hunt. They accurately understood it to be a powerful delusion, or what contemporary cultural theorist Jean Baudrillard termed a "hyperreality," in which audiences confuse the media universe for real life. Presented mainly through tabloid television, or "infotainment," and integral to its development, influence, and success, the panic was a manifestation of the hyperreal. This dissertation explores how the panic both reflected and shaped a cultural climate dominated by the overlapping worldviews of politically active conservatives. In 1980, neoconservatives, libertarians, economic conservatives, and evangelical Christians, who had begun their cultural ascent over the course of the previous decade, were brought together temporarily under the aegis of President Ronald Reagan. With collective strength they implemented their joint agenda, which partly included expanding their influence on the nation's media sources. Coinciding with a backlash against feminism and the gay rights movement, media outlets often represented working women and homosexuals as dangerous to conservative idealized notions of white suburban family life. Such views were incorporated into the panic, which tabloid media reinforced through coverage of alleged sexual abuse of children at day care centers. Infotainment expanded dramatically in the 1980s, selling conservative-defined threats as news. As the satanic panic unfolded through infotainment sub-genres like talk shows and local news programs (first introduced in the late 1940s), its appeal guaranteed the continued presence of the tabloid genre, and reinforced conservative views on gender, race, class, and religion. Although the panic subsided in the early 1990s as journalists and lawyers discredited evidence and judicial decisions turned against accusers, the legacy of the panic continued to influence American culture and politics into the twenty-first century. / History

This study examined the alleged prevalence of Satanism in Zambia, with a particular reference to the Kabwe District during the period 2010-2013. The overall objective was to ascertain the claims and speculations on the alleged prevalence of Satanism in the district of Kabwe. The claims about the alleged prevalence of Satanism and the satanic scare were found by this study to be a reality in Kabwe, with eighty-eight per cent (88%) of the respondents acknowledging the alleged prevalence of the phenomenon. People’s knowledge of Satanism was mainly through rumours, messages from Churches and the electronic media. Studies on rumours (by Stephen Ellis, Gerrie Ter Haar and Jeffrey Victor) have shown that rumours can be investigated in the search for facts, especially rumours that offer plausible explanations for people’s shared anxieties. The above mentioned scholars argue that with efforts at corroboration, such as by interviewing key informants, the researcher can seek credibility on prevailing rumours by verifying or dismissing mere rumours from true stories. The assertions from scholars above justified the use of rumours as a methodological tool in this study. From sources of information the study relied on, claims about the alleged prevalence of Satanism in the district were investigated. The study refuted the satanic claims in a number of cases that were analysed, because they were mostly based on ‘pious legends’ hence lacked objective evidence. From the few incidents that suggested the prevalence of Satanism, there were still two basic problems faced in assessing their credibility: the first being the difficulty in determining the reliability of the confessions from informants who in this case either claimed they were ex-Satanists or served on behalf of Satanists. The second problem consisted in what seemed to be the inconsistency in the explanations of motives behind human killings found in the ritual murders. Some explanations did not suggest satanic motives. One example of refuted claims concerned the two locations within Kabwe district which were highly rumoured to be sites for Satanists, which were found by this study to be Freemasonry Lodges, contrary to what was rumoured.From the findings of this study, it was believed that people joined Satanism either because of the greedy for riches or to avoid poverty. It was also believed that other peoples joined Satanism unconsciously through luring methods used by Satanists. The study also found the satanic scare to have effects on the lives of people in the district. For example, it caused some people to become more committed Christians in their defence against the alleged satanic forces. Because people had associated riches to Satanism, certain individuals avoided getting rich for fear of being labelled ‘Satanists’. / Religious Studies & Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

This study examined the alleged prevalence of Satanism in Zambia, with a particular reference to the Kabwe District during the period 2010-2013. The overall objective was to ascertain the claims and speculations on the alleged prevalence of Satanism in the district of Kabwe. The claims about the alleged prevalence of Satanism and the satanic scare were found by this study to be a reality in Kabwe, with eighty-eight per cent (88%) of the respondents acknowledging the alleged prevalence of the phenomenon. People’s knowledge of Satanism was mainly through rumours, messages from Churches and the electronic media. Studies on rumours (by Stephen Ellis, Gerrie Ter Haar and Jeffrey Victor) have shown that rumours can be investigated in the search for facts, especially rumours that offer plausible explanations for people’s shared anxieties. The above mentioned scholars argue that with efforts at corroboration, such as by interviewing key informants, the researcher can seek credibility on prevailing rumours by verifying or dismissing mere rumours from true stories. The assertions from scholars above justified the use of rumours as a methodological tool in this study. From sources of information the study relied on, claims about the alleged prevalence of Satanism in the district were investigated. The study refuted the satanic claims in a number of cases that were analysed, because they were mostly based on ‘pious legends’ hence lacked objective evidence. From the few incidents that suggested the prevalence of Satanism, there were still two basic problems faced in assessing their credibility: the first being the difficulty in determining the reliability of the confessions from informants who in this case either claimed they were ex-Satanists or served on behalf of Satanists. The second problem consisted in what seemed to be the inconsistency in the explanations of motives behind human killings found in the ritual murders. Some explanations did not suggest satanic motives. One example of refuted claims concerned the two locations within Kabwe district which were highly rumoured to be sites for Satanists, which were found by this study to be Freemasonry Lodges, contrary to what was rumoured.From the findings of this study, it was believed that people joined Satanism either because of the greedy for riches or to avoid poverty. It was also believed that other peoples joined Satanism unconsciously through luring methods used by Satanists. The study also found the satanic scare to have effects on the lives of people in the district. For example, it caused some people to become more committed Christians in their defence against the alleged satanic forces. Because people had associated riches to Satanism, certain individuals avoided getting rich for fear of being labelled ‘Satanists’. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)