Satanic Panic sounds like a harmless rhyme—before you Google it. Although, if you wish to look it up, Reddit is (always!) the superior source of information. Satanic Panic was a widespread mass panic—and it might have started with child murder.
Did the West Memphis Panic Have Anything to Do with it?
For once, the timelines do match. The West Memphis Three were convicted in 1994. The gist of it? Three teenagers were arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced for the brutal murders of three little boys in 1993. One of these teens was sentenced to death, the others to life imprisonment and hard labor. You might think the punishment befits the crime—but that’s because you wrongly believe Damien Echols or his two buddies had anything to do with the 1993 murder at all.
Arkansas prosecutors, jury, and judges proved themselves to be packed to the brim with bias with this one. Despite a lack of evidence, the three teenagers were sentenced because they came off as “Satanists.”
The most they did was dress like Marilyn Manson and listen to death metal. Imagine going to death row over Opeth.
Justice at Last
As in the Ron Williamson case, justice for Damien and his friends came from a society that calls itself the “Innocence Project.” These people—Barry Sheck, in particular—have saved countless wrongly convicted death row inmates from the gallows by proving how DNA evidence dismisses their case. And so they did for the West Memphis Three. Sadly for Damien and his friends, their prime years—18 of them—were wasted in prison before they could be released.
But, coming back to the original question: What did Satanic Panic have to do with the West Memphis Three?
Everything.
How Paranoia Works
Not only does paranoia make people panic for no reason, but it also destroys the lives of others—such as the West Memphis Three. Confessions made in the West Memphis Trial prove just how biased and opposed to a fair trial the judge and jury were, just because they thought these boys were a threat. Why? Because they wore kohl and had tattoos—and listened to loud music.
It was a mass media scare gone wrong—and gave us many lifelong lessons in its wake.
You see, in the 80s and the 90s, there was mass hysteria being created around the idea of “Satanists.” The general consensus was that these Satanists roam around us, that they are out to destroy the fabric of civilized society and other such bizarre beliefs. “Satanic ritual abuse” was a term that was thrown around a lot, and slowly but gradually, panic became the way of life.
The timing was perfect for it: It was as if the stars had all aligned in the right order for this to happen.
How it Happened
Earlier, in 1972, Anton LaVey had published a book called “Satanic Rituals.” This book presented to the world the idea that satanic rituals were an everyday occurrence and quite normal in America. The Jonestown Massacre, in 1978, then showed the natural ramifications of a violent death cult. And then came the 80s with all those serial killers—many of whom performed ritualistic kills, such as the Zodiac, the BTK, Bundy, Dahmer, the Night Stalker, Gacy, and the Hillside Stranglers.
The stage was set, the conditions met—all it took was a spark. That came with the 1993 murders of three little boys in West Memphis.
The Real Villains
It goes without saying that there are real monsters out there—but it isn’t goth teenagers who contribute to noise pollution. It’s what’s out there—the sinister forces that encourage and propagate things like Satanic Panic benefit from infighting among humans. Find out more about the extraterrestrial corruption of human institutions, or join the forum for discussions today.