Pizzagate 1.0: The Satanic Ritual Abuse Panic of the 1980s

Abstract

Almost everyone with internet access has stumbled upon it: accusations that top politicians and celebrities are involved in not only Satanism, but involved in a pedophile ring out operating out of a DC area pizza place. This may seem like a conspiracy that could only be born in the 21st century, the century of fake news and everyone having an international soap box. But, an incredibly similar conspiracy became mainstream in the 1980s, resulting in the most expensive trial in American history and countless people serving lengthy jail sentences for impossible crimes. Like today, new media, junk science, and the political fringes came together to create a monster. In this case, it wasn’t just politicians engaging in the unspeakable, it could be your neighbor. And it could be happening to your own children. As this topic hasn’t had much academic exploration, I will mainly be using both primary sources like Michelle Remembers and Satan’s Underground to explore how the idea that Satanic pedophile rings were operating in every community became mainstream paranoia. I will explore how this conspiracy resurfaced nearly thirty years later due to a similar environment of culture wars and changing media.