Satanic Ritual Abuse and False Memories

Professors Jean La Fontaine and Chris French examine satanic panics, rumours of child murder and false memories in the UK.

In the 1990s Britain and America were shaken by allegations that Satanic cults were conducting horrific abuse on babies, children and teenagers, and that young women were “brood mares” for babies that were then killed in Satanic rituals.

Professor Emeritus Jean La Fontaine of LSE wrote Speak of the Devil: Tales ofSatanic Abuse in Contemporary England, which appeared to bring an end to the moral panic that had dominated the media – but which has sprung up again this year in north London.

Professor Chris French of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit, Goldsmiths College, is a world expert on false memories – how and why people can be made to believe they have had entirely fictional experiences, including ritual sexual abuse.

Together they examine how such spurious stories are promulgated by a sensation-hungry media, and how sensible professionals, from social workers to police officers, can be taken in by them.

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