Reviews

Satanic Panic: Pop-Cultural Paranoia in the 1980s by Leslie Hatton, Gil Nault, Kier-la Janisse, Liisa Ladouceur, Gavin Baddeley, Paul Corupe, Forrest Jackson, Kurt Halfyard, David Flint, David Canfield, Adrian Mack, Joshua Graham, David Bertrand, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Wm. Conley, Alison Lang, Samm Deighan, John Schooley, Kevin L. Ferguson, Adam Parfrey, Alison Nastasi, Ralph Elawani, Stacy Rusnak

madewellreads's review

dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

Billed as an 'optical book,' the images provide context in understanding the complexity of the 1980s Satanic Panic. Each story of the 'pop cultural paranoia' unfolds with a different perspective through first-person essays, often blending the historical and political with the personal. The essays offer fresh perspectives; I've read all one can on the McMartin trial but one essay focuses entirely on the HBO film dramatizing the events. Though some pieces were written better than others, they all paint a holistic picture necessary to grasp the Satanic Panic phenomenon. 

johndeere666's review

dark informative fast-paced

candystripelegs's review

5.0

This was such a fun read and trip down memory lane. I would take some things with a grain of salt, and there's one or two essays I thought that should have been more tightly edited, but otherwise this is a fun, visual book that doesn't lose sight of how serious the Satanic Panic could be, but also reveled in how silly it could be.