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{{Satanism}}
'''Satanic ritual abuse''' (or '''SRA''') is alleged to be the work of a network of [[Satanism|Satanists]] who engage in [[brainwashing]] and [[abuse]] of victims, especially [[child abuse|children]], throughout the world.

Claims of SRA remain [[controversy|controversial]]. [[Law enforcement]] sources<ref>[http://www.religioustolerance.org/ra_rep03.htm Kenneth V. Lanning, "Investigator's Guide to Allegations of Ritual Child Abuse"] (1992 FBI guide for investigators of SRA); URL retrieved 2007-07-23</ref>, [[criminology|criminologists]], [[psychology|psychologists]], and [[Religion|religious affairs]] commentators<ref>[http://www.religioustolerance.org/ra_intro.htm#wid  ] - B.A. Robinson, "Ritual Abuse: 
An introduction to all points of view" 1995-2005; URL retrieved 2007-07-23</ref> generally consider this belief false or at least grossly exaggerated. As of July, 2007, press and media figures and much of the public treats claims of Satanic ritual abuse with great [[scientific skepticism|skepticism]]. Many [[sociology|sociologists]] {{Specify|date=September 2007}} class the public outcry in the [[1980s]] concerning SRA as an example of a public [[moral panic]].

The term ''Satanic Ritual Abuse'' is often used interchangeably with '''sadistic ritual abuse''', a broader term that refers to any and all ritualistic abuse. 

==Prevalence==

There are no firm [[prevalence]] figures on satanic ritual abuse, since its very existence is doubted in many quarters, and the definition of what constitutes satanic ritual abuse vary between researchers. 

The statistics most directly relevant to the question of the [[prevalence]] of satanic ritual abuse comes from two studies in [[Britain]]. A survey of organised [[paedophile]] activity undertaken by British police forces in the late 1980s found that a total of 1,812 children have been sexually abused by 186 organised paedophile rings in the three years prior to survey, and one in forty cases involved allegations of ritualistic activity <ref>Brindle, D. (1990) "Ritual abuse occurs 'in 1 in 40 child sex rings'" The Guardian. 19 October, London </ref>. In another study, 29% of the 211 cases of organised [[child sexual abuse]] reported to researchers by British police, social and welfare agencies from the period of 1988 to 1991 were designated "ritual abuse" cases by respondents <ref>Gallagher, B., B. Hughes and H. Parker (1996). "The nature and extent of known cases of organised child sexual abuse in England and Wales." in P. Bibby (Ed.) Organised Abuse: The Current Debate. Aldershot, Arena/Ashgate </ref>. 

[[Empirical research]] on substantiated [[sexual abuse]] cases in daycare centres also provides prevalence statistics on ritual abuse. Finkelhor and Williams collected a sample of 270 substantiated cases of [[sexual abuse]] in daycare centres throughout [[America]], of which 17% involved multiple perpetrators and 13% involved ritualistic elements <ref> Finkelhor, D. and L. M. Williams (1988). Nursery Crimes: Sexual Abuse in Day Care. Newbury Park, Sage Publications.</ref> Faller’s exploratory study of 48 children sexually abused in daycare found that half of the victims had been abused by more than one perpetrator, and that multi-perpetrator sexual abuse was associated with ritualistic sexual abuse, the production of [[child pornography]], and a higher number of female perpetrators <ref> Faller, K. C. (1988). "The Spectrum of Sexual Abuse in Daycare: An Exploratory Study." Journal of Family Violence 3(4): 283 - 98.</ref>. These findings concur with those of Kelly (1989) and Waterman (1993), whose respective studies compared samples of children ritually abused in daycare, children sexually abused in daycare, and a non-abused [[control group]] <ref> Kelley, S. (1989). "Stress Responses of Children to Sexual Abuse and Ritualistic Abuse in Day Care Settings." Journal of Interpersonal Violence 4(4): 502-13, and Waterman, J., R. J. Kelly, M. K. Olivieri and J. McCord (1993). Beyond the playground walls: Sexual abuse in preschools. New York, Guilford.</ref>.

Research in [[Australia]], [[Britain]] and [[America]] suggests that between a third and a quarter of psychotherapists, social workers and counsellors have encountered at least one client who discloses a history of ritualistic abuse. The most comprehensive survey on the subject was undertaken in the early 1990s by Bottoms, Shaver and Goodman. They found that, among 2,709 members of the [[American Psychological Association]] who responded to a poll, one third of psychologists had encountered at least one client with a history of “ritualistic or religion-related” abuse, and over 90% believed their clients <ref> Bottoms, B. L., P. R. Shaver and G. S. Goodman (1996). "An analysis of ritualistic and religion-related child abuse allegations." Law and Human Behavior 20(1): 1 - 34.</ref>. These findings are commensurate with surveys of healthcare workers and social workers in [[Britain]] and [[Australia]] on their experiences with clients disclosing a history of ritualistic abuse <ref> see Andrews, B., J. Morton, D. A. Bekerian, C. R. Brewin, G. M. Davis and P. Mollon (1995). "The recovery of memories in clinical practice: Experiences and beliefs of British Psychological Society Practitioners." The Psychologist: Bulletin of the British Psychological Society 8(5): 209-14, Creighton, S. J. (1993). "Organized Abuse: NSPCC Experience." Child Abuse Review 2: 232 – 42, Schmuttermaier, J. and A. Veno (1999). "Counselors' beliefs about ritual abuse: An Australian Study." Journal of Child Sexual Abuse 8(3): 45 - 63.</ref>

There are available statistics on the depth of need for specific ritual abuse services, which may be relevant to the debate on the prevalence of satanic ritual abuse. In 1992, Childhelp USA logged 1,741 calls pertaining to ritual abuse. Monarch Resources of Los Angeles logged approximately 5,000, Real Active Survivors tallied nearly 3,600, Justus Unlimited of Colorado received almost 7,000, and Looking Up of Maine handled around 6,000. <ref> Gould, C. (1995). "Denying Ritual Abuse of Children." Journal of Psychohistory 22(3): 328 – 39 at http://www.geocities.com/kidhistory/denyra.htm</ref>.

==Historical context==

The phrase “satanic ritual abuse” first arose in the mid-1980s to describe the disturbing disclosures of some children in child protection cases, and some adults in [[psychotherapy]]. The early 1980s saw an exponential increase in child protection investigations in [[America]], [[Britain]] and other developed countries, driven by the implementation of [[mandatory reporting]] laws and increased public awareness of [[child abuse]]. In a small number of investigations, children began speaking about organised and ritualistic forms of [[sexual abuse]] by parents and carers <ref>see Kagy, L. (1986). "Ritualised Abuse of Children." ReCap: From the Child Assault Prevention Project (Winter), Hechler, D. (1988). The Battle and the Backlash: The Child Sexual Abuse War. Lexington, Massachusetts; Toronto, Lexington Books, Cozolino, L. J. (1989). "The Ritual Abuse of Children: Implications for Clinical Research." The Journal of Sex Research 26(1): 131 - 8.</ref>. Adults in psychotherapy were also speaking about similar experiences in childhood <ref> Van Benschoten, S. C. (1990). "Multiple Personality Disorder and Satanic Ritual Abuse: The Issue of Credibility." Dissociation 3(1): 22 – 30, Ireland, S. J. and M. J. Ireland (1994). "A Case History of Family and Cult Abuse." The Journal of Psychohistory 21(4): 417-26, Corwin, D. L. (2002). "An Interview with Roland Summit." in J. R. Conte (Ed.) Critical Issues in Child Sexual Abuse: Historical, Legal and Psychological Perspectives. Thousand Oaks; London; New Delhi, Sage Publications: 1 - 26.</ref> These disclosures included descriptions of sexual abuse in the context of Satanic cults, rituals and the use of Satanic iconography, garnering the label “satanic ritual abuse” in the media and amongst treating professionals.

Early criminal trials in [[America]] and [[Britain]] involving allegations of organised and ritualistic abuse were characterised by acquitals, hung juries, and successful appeals. The failure of these high-profile cases generated worldwide media attention, and came to play a central feature in the growing controversies over child abuse, memory and the law. <ref> Brown, D., A. W. Scheflin and D. C. Hammond (1998). "The Contours of the False Memory Debate." in D. Brown, A. W. Scheflin and D. C. Hammond (Ed.) Memory, Trauma Treatment and the Law. New York; London, W. W. Norton and Company: 21-65., Kitzinger, J. (2004). Framing Abuse: Media Influence and Pubic Understanding of Sexual Violence Against Children. London; Ann Arbor, MI, Pluto Press.</ref> Public anxiety that an innocent adult could be subject to prosecution for sexual abuse on the basis of a child’s whim or confabulation was inflamed by the bizarre nature of children’s allegations in ritual abuse cases. Some community groups, such as the [[False Memory Syndrome Foundation]], lobbied the press and policy-makers to contest accounts of organised and ritualistic abuse, whilst clinicians, police and healthcare workers struggled to accommodate cases of satanic ritual abuse within their professional practice <ref> Bibby, P. (1996). "Definitions and recent history." in P. Bibby (Ed.) Organised Abuse: The Current Debate. Aldershot, UK; Brookfield, USA, Arena: 1-8.</ref>.

By the early 1990s, the phrase “satanic ritual abuse” was featuring prominently in media coverage of allegations of ritualistic abuse, however, it was a phrase used less and less frequently by professionals in the field of trauma and abuse. Researchers and clinicians generally prefer terminology such as “ritual abuse” <ref> Hudson, P. (1991). "Ritual Abuse: Discovery, Diagnosis and Treatment." in. Saratoga, CA, R&E Publishers.</ref> or “ritualistic abuse” <ref> Snow, B. and T. Sorenson (1990). "Ritualistic child abuse in a neighborhood setting." Journal of Interpersonal Violence 5(4): 474 – 87.</ref>, “organised abuse” <ref> Bibby, P. (1996). "Definitions and recent history." in P. Bibby (Ed.) Organised Abuse: The Current Debate. Aldershot, UK; Brookfield, USA, Arena: 1-8.</ref>, “sadistic abuse” <ref>Goodwin, J. M. (1994). "Sadistic abuse: definition, recognition and treatment." in V. Sinason (Ed.) Treating Survivors of Satanist Abuse. London and New York, Routledge: 33 – 44</ref>, and “multi-dimensional child sex rings” <ref> Lanning, K. V. (1992). "A Law-Enforcement Perspective on Allegations of Ritual Abuse." in D. Sakheim and S. Divine (Ed.) Out of Darkness: Exploring Satanism and Ritual Abuse New York, Lexington Books: 109 - 46.</ref> which acknowledge the complex morphology of child sexual abuse cases involving multiple perpetrators and victims, and avoids ascribing a motivational framework to perpetrators. The notable exception to this is literature on the subject written by evangelical Christians, which has traditionally stressed the ‘Satanic’ aspects of some sexual abuse cases in order to advance a fundamentalist religious and political agenda.

Similarities between accounts of “satanic ritual abuse” and historical accounts of [[Satanism]] and [[witchcraft]] have been noted by both those who believe that ritualistic abuse is occurring in the modern world and those who believe otherwise. The earliest claims that organized groups systematically and repeatedly [[torture]] and [[kill]] others in the context of [[devil worship]] can be found in the European [[witch-hunt|witch-panics]].  For instance, in [[1334]] there was a trial of 63 presumed [[witch]]es in [[Toulouse]], France, who were accused of [[Satanism|worshipping Satan]], [[cannibalism|eating infant flesh]], engaging in [[group sex|sexual orgies]] with others and with [[Satan]] himself. Eight of them were [[Execution by burning|burned]] and the rest [[prison|imprisoned]]. Earlier witch panics are usually not well documented, especially when there was no [[Witch trial|official trial]]. [[Witch-hunt]]ing in Europe reached a peak in the [[16th century|16th]] and [[17th century|17th]] centuries, when many mass trials against presumed worshipers of Satan took place.<ref>[[Norman Cohn]], ''Europe's Inner Demons'' (revised edition 2000) - an account of the centuries-old legend of secret, inhuman, baby-sacrificing cults.</ref><ref>David Frankfurter (2006) ''Evil incarnate: rumors of demonic conspiracy and ritual abuse in history'', Princeton University Press, pp. 31-52.</ref>

==Modern reports==
{{refimprove|date=April 2007}}
Contemporary reports of SRA began occurring as early as the [[1960s]] (notably, this coincided with depictions of satanic cults in popular fictional media, such as the film [[Rosemary's Baby (film)|Rosemary's Baby]]). Following the publication of books purportedly by survivors or perpetrators, concern over SRA became more prominent, and in the [[1980s]] a "Satanic panic" appeared to descend on some American Christian communities. ".<ref>Frankfurter, pp. 53ff & 65ff</ref> According to the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, an "SRA industry" sprang up in this period, with self-appointed experts taking money to educate law enforcement and private citizens on the alleged threat.

During this period, evidence for SRA primarily took one of two different forms:

* questioning of children who, according to investigators, reported being the victims of SRA.
* "recovered memories" of adults who discover allegedly [[repressed memory|repressed memories]] of Satanic ritual abuse, when they underwent various forms of [[psychotherapy]].

Claims of SRA have included many different elements, but most often include shocking and disgusting behavior, inappropriate and [[Sadism and masochism|violent sexuality]], and the suggestion of imaginative [[cruelty]] <ref>Frankfurter p. 129</ref>:

* Ritual [[sacrifice]] of animals and people of all ages (including carrying out sacrifices in the [[British House of Commons]])
* [[Cannibalism]], including forced cannibalism and cooking babies in [[microwave oven]]s
* [[Torture]], including:
** Keeping people [[naked]] in [[snake]]-filled cages
** Inflicting [[spider]] bites
** [[Urinating]] into the victim's mouth or on their body
** Burying people alive
** [[Crucifixion]]
** [[Electric shock]]
** Chemical
*** Injections
*** Drugs
* Summoning supernatural beings
* [[Sleep deprivation]]
* [[Isolation tank]]s
* [[Black Mass]]es
* Mock marriages
* Forced pregnancies
* Involuntary exposure to [[pornography]]
* [[Brainwashing]]
* [[Kidnapping]]
* [[Rape]] and [[Sexual abuse]], including ritual [[Sexual abuse#Child sexual abuse|sexual abuse of children]]
* [[Murder]] 
* [[Necrophilia]]
* Infiltrating [[politics]], the [[police]], and the [[Lawyer|legal]] and [[Medicine|medical]] profession

A number of people claiming to be experts on SRA appeared on popular television programs in the [[1980s]] and early [[1990s]]. [[Wicca]]n investigators have pointed out that reports of the supposed procedures of Satanic abusers are inconsistent between these individuals and believe that the promoters are either [[lie|lying]] or [[mental illness|mentally ill]]. Others suspect that the promoters of SRA claims are simply very good at appealing to viewers' morbid curiosity; programs detailing SRA have often had large audiences.

In [[1987]], [[Geraldo Rivera]] hosted the first of a series of special reports on his primetime television program discussing alleged epidemics of Satanic ritual abuse.<ref>Frankfurter, p. 189</ref> He stated that: "Estimates are that there are over 1 million Satanists in this country {{interp|...}} The majority of them are linked in a highly organized, very secretive network. From small towns to large cities, they have attracted police and [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] attention to their Satanic ritual [[child abuse]], [[child pornography]] and grisly Satanic murders. The odds are that this is happening in your town."

Following this series of programs, outbreaks of SRA-based hysteria occurred in towns and cities across the [[United States]], particularly concerning allegations of Satanic practices by [[teenager]]s, and accusations of Satanic practices at [[nursery school]]s. Rivera's programs were very important in expanding popular belief in SRA.

===Cases in North America===
====Kern County====
{{main|Kern county child abuse cases}}
In [[Kern County, California]] in [[1982]], two couples were charged with forming a sex ring to abuse their children and during the investigation, some allegations of ritual abuse were made. Ultimately, some 60 children testified regarding sexual abuse.  The case resulted in numerous prison sentences, all of which were overturned on appeal due to the [[Reid technique|suggestive interrogation]] techniques used by the police and lack of physical evidence. However, two couples spent 12 years in prison before being released, one defendant waited 20 years for his release and another defendant remains in a mental hospital for sex offenders.

====Jordan, Minnesota====

In [[1983]], several children living in a trailer park in [[Jordan, Minnesota]], made allegations of sexual abuse against an unrelated man, and later against their parents. The man confessed and then identified a number of the children’s parents as perpetrators. Twenty four adults were charged with child abuse, however, only three went to trial, resulting in two acquittals and one conviction. All other charges were dropped and the [[Federal Bureau of Investigations]] was called in once the children began speaking about the manufacture of [[child pornography]], a well as ritualistic experiences involving animal sacrifice, the eating and drinking of human waste, and the murder of a baby <ref>{{cite book | title = The Battle and the Backlash: The Child Sexual Abuse War | first = David | last = Hechler | year = 1988 | publisher = Lexington Books}}</ref>. 

No criminal charges resulted from the FBI investigation, and in his review of the case, the Attorney General noted that the initial investigation by the local police and county attorney was so poor that it had destroyed the opportunity to fully investigate the children’s allegations <ref>{{cite book | title = Report on Scott County investigations | first = H.| last = Humphrey | year = 1985| publisher = Minnesota Attorney General's Office}}</ref>. A special commission later reviewed the conduct of the county attorney in dismissing charges against the remaining defendants, noting that it was likely that other charges would have been successfully prosecuted (Commission Established by Executive Order No. 85-10 1985). The bizarre allegations of the children, the ambiguities of the investigation and the unsuccessful prosecutions were widely covered by the media. The fact that number of accused parents confessed to sexually abusing their children, received immunity, and underwent treatment for sexual abuse, whilst parental rights for six other children in the case were terminated, was not widely reported .<ref>Faller, K. C. (2004). "Sexual Abuse of Children: Contested Issues and Competing Interests." Criminal Justice Review 29(2): 358-76.</ref> 

====McMartin preschool====
{{Main|McMartin preschool trial}}

In early [[1983]], a number of parents of children attending a preschool in [[Manhattan Beach, California]] in [[1983]] became concerned about their children’s behaviour, and some children underwent psychological assessment and counseling <ref> Summit, R. C. (1994b). "Ritualistic Child Abuse: A report on the seminar presented by Professor Roland Summit for the New South Wales Child Protection Council, Sydney." Seminar Series: Seminar 8. Sydney, NSW Child Protection Council.</ref>. In August [[1983]] one mother reported her concerns about her child to the local police.

The case came to public awareness following the instigation of a Grand Jury in [[1984]]. Attorneys for the defendants launched and paid for an advertising campaign in local newspapers which compared the prosecutions to the [[Salem witch trials]] and claimed that the case was the product of "utter hysteria".<ref>{{cite news | last = Timnik | first = L | date = 1985-09-02 | title = Child Abuse Probe: Only Questions | publisher = [[Los Angeles Times]] | page = A1 }}</ref> The children's disclosures included instances of bizarre abuse, including accounts of ritual activity and animal sacrifice, although these specific disclosures did not constitute additional charges against the defendants.

At trial, the defense attorneys attempted to discredit the investigation by emphasising these bizarre allegations. The defense also called into question the conduct of police interviews with the complainant children. Videotapes adduced at trial showed that the interviews had a strongly investigative and, at times, leading quality. In America at the time, there was no protocol on forensic interviewing techniques with children. There were also no provisions in the courtroom to accommodate young children as vulnerable and intimidated witnesses.<ref>{{cite news | last = Lindsay | first = R | date = 1985-01-27 | title = Boy's responses at sex abuse trial underscore legal conflict | publisher = [[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Forty-one former pupils were presented as witnesses for the prosecution, with physicians testifying that most showed physical evidence of sexual abuse.<ref>{{cite news | last = Lindsay | first = R | date = 1985-02-13 | title = Reporter's Notebook: 6 Months of California Case | publisher = [[The New York Times]] | page = A16}}</ref> Children as young as six underwent vigorous cross-examination for over two weeks.<ref>{{cite news | last = Flynn | first = G | date = 1985-03-01 | title = Parents plead to spare molested kids new pain | publisher = [[The San Diego Union-Tribune]] | pages = 1-4}}</ref>

The first hearing lasted almost two years, resulting in a hung jury. One of the defendants, Raymond Buckey, was tried again, however, his trial also resulted in a hung jury. Media coverage was strongly sympathetic to the defendants and the case was considered by many to be based on false allegations. A subsequent archeological excavation of the preschool site found tunnels and a chamber under the foundations of the preschool in accordance with the children’s disclosures, however, the findings of the excavation came too late to influence trial proceedings <ref> Summit, R. C. (1994). "The Dark Tunnels of McMartin." Journal of Psychohistory 21(4): 397 - 416</ref>. The significance and accuracy of these findings have been contested in psychological journals but have yet to be refuted by an archaeologist.

====West Memphis 3====
{{Main|West Memphis 3}}

In [[1993]], three men were charged for the murder of three children in [[West Memphis, Arkansas]], with one man being [[Capital punishment|sentenced to death]] and the remaining two to life in prison.  During the investigation, allegations of Satanic rituals were made by a playmate of one of the murdered children.

====Other incidents====
Similar incidents have occurred elsewhere in the United States, including the town of [[Edenton, North Carolina]], but also in [[Martensville, Saskatchewan|Martensville, Saskatchewan, Canada]].  The remains of a small infant girl, first dubbed Baby X and later 'Kristina Angelica James,' were discovered near [[Rupert, Idaho]] in the early 1990s, and the body was considered evidence of SRA activity, though no unambiguous evidence linking the girl's death to SRA was ever found.<ref>{{ cite web | url = http://www.maryellenmark.com/text/magazines/la_times/216O.html | last = Siegel | first = Barry | year = 1992 | title = Idaho Gothic | publisher = Los Angeles Times Magazine | accessdate = 2007-08-16}}</ref>

===Cases in Europe===
{{Refimprove|date=August 2007}}
Several "mass child abuse" scares took place in [[Coesfeld]], [[Worms, Germany|Worms]] and [[Nordhorn]], [[Germany]] where violent rituals and underground tunnel networks were alleged; all the accused were later acquitted. Two widely publicized cases of similar mass hysteria occurred in the north of the [[Netherlands]], one in [[Oude Pekela]] in which a clown was the alleged main perpetrator and another in [[Emmer-Erfscheidenveen]] in which the common theme of secret tunnels and basements featured prominently. No trace of evidence was ever found and all the accused were exonerated.

Three widely publicised cases in the [[United Kingdom]] were in [[Rochdale]], [[Orkney]], and  [[Nottingham]]. In the Nottingham case, social services investigations into a Broxtowe Estate family with multigenerational child sexual abuse and neglect became sidetracked into a wild goose chase looking for Satanic cults, with wilder and wilder allegations being investigated. Nottingham council organised an inquiry into the events of this case, which cast so poor a light on the competence of the social services that the council unsuccessfully tried to block distribution of the final report.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.discord.org/~lippard/jetrep.html  | title = The Jet Report | accessdate = 2007-08-16}}</ref>  The authorities in the Orkney investigation were criticised for carrying out dawn raids to 'rescue' suspected victims from their families, without explanation, then taking them by helicopter or boat to the Scottish mainland, only to later have to return them after the accusations turned out to be groundless.

{{Main|Adam (unsolved Thames murder case)}}
In 2004 the naked body of an apparently African male child was found in the [[River Thames]], in [[London]], and allegations have been made that the child was sacrificed in a ritual, either Satanic or [[animist]] in nature, and that many other [[Third World]] children had met like fates having been brought into the [[United Kingdom|UK]] as child asylum-seekers, or displaced distant relatives of people who had recently immigrated. Subsequently reports have been made concerning children of African-immigrant families who have been abused because members believe them to be [[Demonic possession|possessed by devils]] (strictly speaking, in these cases, the abuse is inspired by a version of [[Christianity]], not [[Satanism]], since the victims, not the perpetrators, are believed to be satanically influenced). 

In April of [[2007]], six people were arrested for sexually abusing fifteen children in [[Rignano Flaminio]], [[Italy]].  The suspects were accused of filming the children engaged in sexual acts with 'satanic' overtones.<ref>{{cite news | title = Grandmothers arrested over satanic sex abuse at school | url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article1706340.ece | last = Owen | first = Richard | date = [[April 26]], [[2007]] | accessdate = 2007-08-16 | quote = Three women teachers were among six people arrested yesterday accused of sedating and sexually abusing children as young as 3 at a school near Rome. The teachers — two of whom are grandmothers who had taught at the school and at Sunday school for decades — are said to have part in the repeated abuse of 15 children aged 3 and 5 for a year, filming them in sexual acts with satanic overtones at the teachers’ homes and in a wood.  |publisher = [[TimesOnline]] }}</ref>

===Questioning children===
The key problem in cases of SRA relying on children's testimony is the methodology by which such testimony is obtained. Children are very suggestible and will generally try to please the adult who interacts with them. On the other hand, social workers and therapists working with children believed that children would not openly talk about the abuse they suffered because of shame, or that they might even have repressed the memories of the abuse and that these memories would have to be recovered. In general, investigators worked under the assumption that the abuse had happened and needed to be discovered through aggressive questioning over a prolonged period of time. Investigators also sometimes relied on "diaries" where children were supposed to relate their experiences, or on the interpretation of drawings and of doll play. All these techniques are now regarded as highly problematic as they rely strongly on the interpretation of the investigator and encourage the child to mix fantasy and reality.

The questions asked were typically yes/no questions: "Did person X touch you there?" Even if the child answered no, the next question might be something like "When he touched you, did you like it?" No matter what the child answered to the second question, it was taken as evidence that the abuse had happened.   Negative answers, on the other hand, were interpreted as "[[denial (psychology)|denial]]" (in the [[Sigmund Freud|Freud]]ian sense of a [[defense mechanism]]) and had to be penetrated.  As such, the children's testimony was in reality very much based on the adults' [[world view]]. This type of questioning is based on the [[Reid technique]]. <ref>Frankfurter, p. 57ff</ref>

===Hypnosis and false memories===
Beyond the Satanic ritual abuse scares which were directly based on questioning children, a large number of adults came forward in the [[1980]]s and [[1990]]s and claimed to have recovered memories of severe, often Satanic ritual abuse in their childhood. Later investigators diagnosed many of these adults as mentally ill. While criminal charges were rarely pressed because of the long time that had passed since the alleged abuse, media coverage of these adult testimonies nevertheless contributed to the belief that Satanic abuse was, in fact, a widespread phenomenon.

Many of the women who reported such memories had previously seen therapists specializing in [[Sexual abuse#Child sexual abuse|child sexual abuse]], or read books like ''[[The Courage to Heal]]'' by [[Ellen Bass]] and [[Laura Davis]], which encouraged them to recover their allegedly existing memories of severe abuse in their childhood.  At the time, some child abuse therapists used a technique known as [[recovered memory therapy]] (RMT), which worked from the presumption that the patients were so severely abused that their memories of it were repressed in childhood and could only be recovered by a specialist. This approach has involved [[hypnosis]] and drugs to stimulate the recovery of memories of abuse.

Critics of ''recovered memory therapy'', like [[Richard Ofshe]] and [[Ethan Watters]] (''Making Monsters. False Memories, Psychotherapy, And Sexual Hysteria''), view this practice as fraudulent and dangerous. They base this assertion on several claims:

* [[Psychological trauma|Trauma]]tic experiences which obviously have happened, such as [[war]] time experiences, are not "repressed"&mdash;they are either forgotten or remembered clearly in spite of attempts to suppress them.
* The "memories" recovered in RMT are highly detailed. According to RMT literature, the [[human brain]] stores very vivid memories which can be recalled in detail, like a video tape. This belief contradicts virtually all research on the way [[memories]] work.
* The patient is given very extensive lists of "[[symptom]]s" including [[sleeplessness]], [[headache]]s, the feeling of being different from others etc. If several of these symptoms are found, the therapist suggests to the patient that they were probably sexually abused. If the patient denies this, they are "[[in denial]]" and require more extensive therapy.
* During the questioning, patients are openly encouraged to ignore their own feelings and memories and to assume that the abuse has happened. They then explore together with this therapist, over a prolonged period of many months or even years, how the abuse happened. The possibility that the abuse has not happened at all is usually not considered.<ref>[[Richard Ofshe]] and [[Ethan Watters]] (1996) ''Making Monsters: False Memories, Psychotherapy, And Sexual Hysteria'', University of California Press</ref>

According to these critics, RMT techniques used for "[[reincarnation therapy]]" or "[[alien abduction therapy]]" are comparable  to the techniques used in Satanic ritual abuse therapy. To verify the [[false memory]] hypothesis, researchers like [[Elizabeth Loftus]] have successfully produced false memories of various childhood incidents in test subjects. This is viewed as further evidence that comprehensive false memories can be produced in therapy.

RMT critics also point to the bizarre nature of Satanic ritual abuse stories and claim that, in many cases, such stories are probably untrue. They believe that all or most SRA memories are produced by the therapists through extensive suggestive questioning. Some of them also believe that [[multiple personality disorder]] is primarily or exclusively a product of that therapy or self-suggestion. RMT practitioners generally deny such claims, or hold that they are only true in a minority of cases, and believe that their work is sound when practiced properly. However, critics respond that the failure of mental health professionals to distinguish false memories from real ones abnegates this entire line of therapy.

===Popular culture===
The SRA panic also targeted [[role-playing game]]s, especially [[Dungeons & Dragons]], as a cause of ritual abuse.  [[Science fiction]] writer [[Michael Stackpole]] has written an extensive report about this movement.<ref>[http://members.tripod.com/~limsk/pulling.htm] – The Pulling Report complied by Michael Stackpole</ref>

[[Patricia Pulling]], who claimed that her son killed himself because he played Dungeons & Dragons, had stated that these games are secret instructions for [[suicide]] and Satanic abuse, or a "back door to Satanism." She later obtained a private investigator's license and launched a crusade against roleplaying (although she often appeared to erroneously believe the term was interchangeable with 'Dungeons & Dragons', the dominant game on the market).

One of the best known and most [[parody|parodied]] of [[Jack Chick]]'s tracts, ''[http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0046/0046_01.asp Dark Dungeons]'', echoes this viewpoint.  First published in [[1984]], the tract remains in print [[as of 2006]], although it has been revised (the original version also claimed that the works of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] and Christian [[apologetics|apologist]] [[C.S. Lewis]] were "occult books", because they could be found in occult book stores.)

The television series ''[[The X-Files]]'' often referenced the SRA panic early in its run, when Agent [[Dana Scully]] frequently tried to discredit allegations of SRA in certain episodes.

===Literature===
The earliest modern account of Satanic ritual abuse can be found in [[Sigmund Freud|Freud']]s letters regarding his therapeutic work with a patient named [[Emma Eckstein]]. Eckstein described to Freud experiences similar to the ritual abuse survivors of the last few decades, which included sexual abuse and ritual bloodletting.{{Fact|date=March 2007}} Freud was so disturbed by these disclosures that he theorised "we may have before us a residue of a primaeval sexual cult".{{Fact|date=March 2007}}

A more recent account of ritual Satanic torture was the book ''[[Michelle Remembers]]'', written by [[Michelle Smith (author)|Michelle Smith]] and her psychiatrist (and later husband) [[Lawrence Pazder]] and published in [[1980]]. It was accompanied by features in ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' magazine and the ''[[National Enquirer]]'', as well as numerous appearances on radio and television. Smith claims to have memories of seeing ritual human sacrifice, various forms of torture, and contact with [[supernatural being]]s. She has not produced corroborating evidence of these allegations, and both of Michelle's sisters and her father have denied everything in her book.<ref name="Skepdic">
{{cite web
  | last = Carroll
  | first = Robert Todd 
  | title = Satanic Ritual Abuse
  | publisher = The Skeptic's Dictionary
  | date =  April 6 2006
  | url = http://skepdic.com/satanrit.html
 }}</ref><ref>Frankfurter, pp. 56f & 616f</ref>

This book was followed in [[1987]] by ''Nightmare: uncovering the strange 56 personalities of Nancy Lynn Gooch'' authored in collaboration by Gooch, Emily Peterson and Lucy Freeman; and in [[1989]] by ''Suffer the Child'' by psychologist Judith Spencer, who described a patient with similar memories. Both of these books were [[best-seller]]s.

[[Laurel Rose Willson|Lauren Stratford]]'s [[1988]] ''Satan's Underground'', which detailed her supposed childhood Satanic abuse, was the first book (aside from the [[1965]] novel ''[[Rosemary's Baby]]'') to describe in detail allegations that cultists force young women to serve as "breeders" of babies raised for sacrificial purposes.<ref>Frankfurter, p. 53</ref>

Stratford's account is one of the more thoroughly investigated claims of such abuse. Lauren claimed to have given [[childbirth|birth]] to three children in her teens and early twenties. Yet, none of her friends, relatives, or teachers recalled these births or ever seeing her [[pregnancy|pregnant]]. However, they did recall her engaging in [[self-mutilation]], while Lauren claimed that her [[scar]]s were the product of her torture at the hands of Satanists. The year of her father's death was also inconsistently reported: Stratford claimed it was [[1983]] while the official record and all other testimony pointed to [[1965]] as the correct date. The team of journalists who discovered these inconsistencies published them in ''[[Cornerstone (magazine)|Cornerstone]]'' magazine as [http://www.cornerstonemag.com/features/iss090/sideshow.htm Satan's Sideshow] in [[1990]]. ''Satan's Underground'' was subsequently withdrawn from print by its publishers.

In her book ''[[Ghost Girl (book)|Ghost Girl]]'' ([[1991]]), child psychologist [[Torey Hayden]] writes about a girl named "Jadie" who attended her class for mentally ill children. Jadie repeatedly spoke about participating in events which may have been either satanic ritual abuse, or a series of films about same in which she had taken part. The book's focus is not ritual abuse, but rather the difficulty professionals have in interpreting bizarre or unusual behavior. Authorities never discovered the truth about Jadie's claims, but she was eventually taken away from her parents and placed in a foster home. The book was a source in a case of false accusations of incest and [[ritual murder]] in [[Sweden]] in 1999.

A [[1995]] German book ''Vier Jahre Hölle und Zurück'' (''Four Years of Hell and Back''), by an author using the pseudonym "Lukas", describes purported first-hand experiences of a teenager who inadvertently became a member of a Satanist sect and later escaped.  He wrote that he was subjected to various forms of torture and was forced to commit crimes.

In [[2006]] David Frankfurter, professor of religious studies and history at the University of New Hampshire published ''Evil Incarnate: Rumors of Demonic Conspiracy and Ritual Abuse in History''.  He concludes that "No forensic evidence" on SRA "has ever been found".<ref>Frankfurter, p. 213</ref>

{{Cquote|I close this book by returning to a point in the introduction: that historically verifiable atrocities take place not in the ceremonies of some evil realm or as expressions of some ontological evil force, but rather in the course of ''purging'' evil."<ref>Frankfurter, p. 224</ref>}}

Many other personal accounts of Satanic ritual abuse exist, some of which allege the existence of an SRA conspiracy.  With the rise of the [[Internet]], stories of Satanic abuse, often very graphic and disturbing, can be found online.

==Parallels to reports of alien abduction==
California-based therapist Gwen Dean noted 44 parallels between alleged [[alien abduction]]s and Satanic ritual abuse. Both emerged as widespread phenomena in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and both often use hypnosis to recover lost or suppressed memories. 

Furthermore, the scenarios and narratives offered by abductees and SRA victims feature many similar elements: 
* Both are typically said to begin when the experiencer is in his/her youth.
* Both are said to involve entire families and to occur generationally.
* The alien examination table that is reported as similar to the Satanic altar in those accounts.
* Both phenomena feature a strong focus on genitals, rape, sexuality and breeding.
* Witnesses often report that the events happen when they are in altered states of consciousness.
* Both phenomena feature episodes of "missing time" when the events are said to occur, but of which the victim has no conscious memory.<ref>C.D.B. Bryan (1995) ''Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind: Alien Abduction, UFOs and the Conference at M.I.T.'', pp. 138-139 (Alfred A. Knopf, ISBN 0-679-42975-1).</ref>

⏎
==The question of secret tunnels or dungeons==
Not all SRA accounts mention tunnels or secret rooms, however a significant number do. While these stories are now generally dismissed as the product of over-active childhood imaginations, it should be noted that some evidence of tunnels has appeared in certain documented SRA cases.⏎
⏎
==See also==
* [[Blood libel]]
* [[Bob Larson]]
* [[Chick Publications]]
* [[Day care sexual abuse hysteria]]
* [[False memories]]
* [[Kern county child abuse cases]]
* [[Mike Warnke]]
* [[Phantom Social Workers|Phantom social workers]]
* [[Recovered memory therapy]]
* [[West Memphis 3]]
* [[Witch-hunt #modern usage|Witch-hunt]]
* [[File 18]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [http://www.religioustolerance.org/ra_rep03.htm Kenneth V. Lanning: Investigator's Guide to Allegations of Ritual Child Abuse] (1992 FBI report)
* [http://www.religioustolerance.org/geraldo.htm Geraldo Rivera's Influence on the Satanic Ritual Abuse and Recovered Memory Hoaxes]
* [http://skepdic.com/satanrit.html Entry in Skeptic's Dictionary]
* [http://www.smwane.dk Satanic Media Watch and News Exchange], featuring articles debunking the myth of Satanic Ritual Abuse.

[[Category:Conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:Mind control]]
[[Category:Anti-cult terms and concepts]]
[[Category:Religious persecution]]
[[Category:Satanism]]
[[Category:Crimes involving Satanism or the occult]]
[[Category:Hoaxes]]
[[Category:Mass hysteria]]

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