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Laws and Ritual Abuse 147
profile media blitz) and Leiber’s Our Lady of
Darkness, and films such as Rosemary’s Baby
(1968), The Devil’s Rain (1975), The Car, and
many of the later “Devil Cult” films from the
1970s through the 1990s that picked up on
symbolism from LaVey’s writings. A feature length
documentary, Satanis: The Devil’s Mass (1969)
covered the rituals and philosophy of the church,
while LaVey himself was profiled in Nick Bougas’s
1993 video documentary Speak of the Devil.
LaVey’s musicianship is preserved on several
recordings, primarily Strange Music (1994) and
Satan Takes a Holiday (1995), both released by
Amarillo Records. These reflect his penchant for
tunes from the 1930s through the 1950s, which
range from humorous to doom-laden as well as
devil-themed songs. LaVey renders them on a
series of self-programmed synthesizers, imitating
various instrumental groups. They are impressive,
as these are not multitrack recordings but are done
in one take with the sounds of the full instrumental
ensemble created through the simultaneous
use of numerous synthesizers played by LaVey’s
hands and feet, on an organ-style foot pedal
keyboard hooked up via midi.
Two biographies have been written about
LaVey: The Devil’s Avenger (1974) by Burton Wolfe
and Secret Life of a Satanist (1990) by Blanche
Barton. The authenticity of some of the events
chronicled in these works has been disputed in
recent years, particularly by detractors of LaVey
who accuse him of self-promotional exaggeration.
LaVey was a skilled showman, a talent he never
denied. However, the number of incidents detailed
in both biographies that can be authenticated via
photographic and documentary evidence far
outweighs the few items in dispute. The fact
remains that LaVey pursued a course that exposed
him to the heights and depths of humanity, full of
encounters with fascinating people; it climaxed
with his founding of the Church of Satan and led
to notorious celebrity on a worldwide scale. The
church has survived his death, and continues,
through the medium of his writings, to continually
attract new members who see themselves
reflected in the philosophy he called Satanism.
This entry was written by Peter H. Gilmore,
High Priest of the Church of Satan.
See also Church of Satan; Temple of Set
For Further Reading:
Aquino, Michael. The Church of Satan. 4th ed. Selfpublished,
1999.
Baddeley, Gavin. Lucifer Rising: Sin, Devil Worship
and Rock’n’Roll. London: Plexus, 1999.
Barton, Blanche. The Secret Life of a Satanist: The
Authorized Biography of Anton LaVey. Los
Angeles, CA: Feral House, 1990.
LaVey, Anton. The Compleat Witch: or What to do
When Virtue Fails. New York: Dodd and Mead,
1971. Reprinted as The Satanic Witch. Los
Angeles: Feral House, 1989.
———. The Devil’s Notebook. Los Angeles: Feral
House, 1992.
———. The Satanic Bible. New York: Avon, 1969.
———. The Satanic Rituals. New York: Avon, 1972.
Wolfe, Burton H. The Devil’s Avenger: A Biography
of Anton Szandor LaVey. New York: Pyramid
Books, 1974.
Wright, Lawrence. Saints & Sinners. New York:
Alfred A. Knopf, 1993.
Laws and Ritual Abuse
California, Idaho, and Illinois have passed laws
that directly address Satanic ritual abuse—though
the word “Satanic” is most often left out of the
rubric so that the laws do not sound like hangovers
from the Middle Ages. These laws were
composed and passed at the height of the Satanic
ritual abuse panic in the early 1990s. Hundreds of
people were convicted of such abuse.
In 1990, Idaho passed a ritual abuse law. The
intent of Section 18–1506A of the law is stated as:
“To provide a felony offense for specified abuse of
a child as part of a ritual.” It reads:
A person is guilty of a felony when he
commits any of the following acts with, upon,
or in the presence of a child as part of a
ceremony, rite, or any similar observance:
(a) Actually or in simulation, tortures,
mutilates or sacrifices any warm blooded
animal or human being;
(b) Forces ingestion, injection or other
application of any narcotic, drug,
hallucinogen or anesthetic for the purpose
of dulling sensitivity, cognition, recollection
of, or resistance to any criminal activity;
(c) Forces ingestion, or external application, of