Satanic Panic = Control

WHAT THE HELL WAS THE SATANIC PANIC?

The Satanic Panic was one of the most unhinged moral freakouts in modern history—an era of pure, unfiltered hysteria where truth meant nothing, and fear was gospel.

It began in the 1980s, when America—already deep in a toxic cocktail of Christian nationalism, Reagan-era repression, and televangelist fear porn—decided that Satan was hiding in your record collection, your daycare center, your neighbor’s basement, and probably your cereal box.

WHO STARTED IT?

Evangelical grifters, daytime talk show hosts, corrupt cops, suburban moms hopped up on fear and Bible verses, and self-proclaimed “survivors” who “recovered” memories of ritual abuse through bad therapy and worse intentions. They pointed fingers at anyone who looked different, questioned authority, or wore too much black eyeliner.

HOW DID IT SPREAD?

Through bad media, worse policing, and a society desperate to explain away its own rot. Geraldo Rivera ran specials warning of secret Satanic cults. 60 Minutes aired “exposés.” Cops were trained to look for pentagrams and Dungeons & Dragons dice. Innocent people were dragged through courtrooms based on nothing but lies, fear, and fake “Satanic symbols” pulled from clip art books.

WHY DID IT HAPPEN?

Because society has always needed a scapegoat. When you’re too cowardly to face real problems—racism, abuse, inequality—you manufacture monsters. And they made Satan the scapegoat for everything they didn’t want to understand: queerness, witchcraft, sex positivity, outsider art, loud women, kids who listened to metal, and people who dared to think for themselves.

WHERE DID IT HIT?

Everywhere. From small-town daycares to the courtrooms of California and Texas, to Oprah’s stage and the shelves of your local library. People went to prison for years. Lives were destroyed. All because fear sold more than facts.

SATANIC PANIC: THE ORIGINAL WEAPON OF CONTROL

Long before the 1980s turned Satan into a scapegoat for daycare hysteria and metal music, the idea of “evil among us” was already being used as a tool to silence, shame, and slaughter. The Satanic Panic isn’t new. It’s ancient. It’s systemic. And it’s always been about power—who has it, who’s threatened by it, and who they’re willing to destroy to keep it.

🔥 JESUS WAS LYNCHED FOR BEING A HERETIC

Let’s start there: Rome didn’t crucify Jesus for preaching peace—they crucified him for being a rebellious voice who disrupted the religious status quo. The priests called him possessed, blasphemous, dangerous. Sound familiar? Labeling someone as evil, a devil, or a threat to God has always been the easiest way to justify torture, execution, and public fear.

🔥 THE MIDDLE AGES: WHERE THINKING = WITCHCRAFT

During the Inquisition, millions of people—mostly women—were accused of consorting with demons, attending “Sabbats,” or simply knowing how to heal with herbs. No evidence needed. Just whisper “witch” and the church brought the fire.

Midwives? Witches.

Unmarried women? Witches.

Anyone who didn’t kneel and obey? Witches.

They were tortured until they confessed to things that didn’t exist. Then they were hanged, burned, drowned. Their knowledge was feared. Their bodies were punished. Their spirits were broken.

🔥 SALEM: PANIC IN PILGRIM CLOTHING

The 1690s brought us Salem—a town so deep in religious terror that a few teenage girls pretending to be cursed sparked a chain of executions. People were accused of “dancing with the Devil” and casting spells because of dreams, rumors, or just existing outside the Puritan mold.

It wasn’t about Satan.

It was about control, patriarchy, and keeping people terrified enough to comply.

🔥 MODERN-DAY WITCH HUNTS

Fast forward to the 1980s Satanic Panic in America. The demons now wore leather, played Dungeons & Dragons, or dared to run a daycare. The same script was running: accuse, isolate, destroy. Innocent people—mostly women, teachers, queer kids, and creatives—were labeled as Satanic cultists, dragged into court, imprisoned, or socially executed.

The language changed.

The fear stayed the same.

And the ones who benefit from the panic? Always the same: the church, the state, the patriarchy.

WHY WE CALL OURSELVES SATANIC PANIC

Because we reclaim what was meant to shame. We flip the script. We name ourselves after their fear and wear it like armor. We’re not afraid of the word “Satan” because we know the truth:

They called it Satanic every time someone dared to think, heal, lead, speak out, or live freely.

We are what they tried to burn.

We are the panic come to life.

And we’re just getting started.