Still from TV show with presenter describing a “pentacle”
Thousands of allegations of Satanic ritual abuse were made in the 1970s, 1980, and early 1990s in the US. A 1996 investigation of more than 12,000 of these allegations, however, resulted in no cases that were considered factual or corroborated, making the hysteria of the time considered a modern day “witch hunt”.
That these fears of Satanic abuse were eventually found to be baseless, did now slow the hysteria of the time, with both law enforcement videos and television programmes claiming to offer insight into the practices.
In this video (via Nerdcore), a police video purports to illustrate the markings to look for when discovering a person killed in a ritualised Satanic manner, following the evidence found in the murder of a John Doe for which Clifford St. Joseph was convicted. The lack of evidence in this case has caused many to push for a retrial to demonstrate St. Joseph’s innocence, but whoever committed the crime, some form of Satanic-themed ritual was certainly involved.
More amusing is the 1994 television programme (via Dangerous Minds) where someone who claims they were part of a Satanic cult show the signs of what to look for in site of Satanic ritual, with his evidence a park which is used by Satanists and homosexuals… Because they are both obviously deviant traditions in the eyes of the presenter.
