Speak of the Devil
Speak of the Devil
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USDThe first modern allegations of satanic sexual abuse surfaced in North America during the 1980s, followed a few years later by similar allegations in Britain. Professor La Fontaine, an anthropologist, has studied the literature on satanic abuse in England and conducted a detailed analysis of a number of actual cases. She found no evidence of devil worship. She concludes that behind the hysteria is a social movement, comparable to classic instances of witchcraft accusations and the witch hunts in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe.
- Authoritative, well balanced account of an emotive, topical issue in an accessible writing style
- First account of the phenomenon in Britain by an anthropologist
- Based on actual cases of alleged satanic abuse of children
- Provides historical comparisons with other social movements, extending its scope and appeal to a range of social scientists and historians
Reviews & endorsements
'This modest book is an important contribution to the expanding grey area in which Sociology and Social Anthropology overlap … In general this book must be of very wide interest and it is an excellent demonstration of how valuable the theory and fieldwork of traditional Social Anthropology can be for a problem-oriented study of contemporary society.' Cambridge Anthropology
Product details
February 1998Paperback
9780521629348
240 pages
229 × 152 × 14 mm
0.36kg
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. The personification of evil
- 3. Witches, satanists and the occult
- 4. The extent of the allegations
- 5. The question of proof
- 6. Explaining belief
- 7. Children's stories
- 8. Confessions and tales of horror
- 9. A modern movement of witch-finders
- 10. Aftermath and conclusions
- Notes
- References
- Index.
