Satanism Today - An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore and Popular ...

Rosemary’s Baby 229
United States that the social workers had attended.
After being “indoctrinated” to look for so-called
“Satanic indicators,” they had apparently reviewed
their cases and discovered the telltale marks of the
Prince of Darkness. They then interviewed children
using faulty interrogation methods that
unwittingly implanted what would later be
referred to as “false memories,” resulting in false
confessions and accusations.
Following the report of a governmentcommissioned
study concluding that Satanic
ritual abuse was nonexistent, the health minister,
Virginia Bottomley, stated that all UK social
workers would be retrained to follow proper child
interview methods. She also noted that authorities
would discontinue the “outrageous” practice of
raiding homes at dawn for the purpose of taking
children from their parents.
See also Satanic Ritual Abuse; United Kingdom,
Ritual Abuse in
For Further Reading:
Chapman, Andrew. “Six Years On, Rochdale’s Last
Victims Can Go Home.” The Mail. London,
England. December 29, 1996.
Howard, Michael. “The Ritual Abuse Scandal in
Britain: 1991 Reviewed and Summarized.” The
Cauldron 63 (1992).
La Fontaine, J. S. Extent and Nature of Organized
Ritual Abuse. Department of Health report,
May. London, UK: Her Majesty’s Printing
Office, 1994.
Robinson, Bruce A.“Rochdale, UK, Ritual Abuse Case.”
http://www.religioustolerance.org/ra_roch.htm
“‘Satan Case’ Parents in Clear, Say Police.” Rochdale
Daily Mail. September 14, 1990.
Rosemary’s Baby
After The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby (1968) was the
most successful movie with a Satanic theme of all
time. The overall plot is that, with the connivance
of her ambitious husband and a group of neighboring
Satanists, Rosemary, played by Mia Farrow,
is impregnated by the Devil for the purpose of
giving birth to a Satanic messiah. Rosemary,
however, does not become aware of her role as the
infernal equivalent of the Virgin Mary until the
very end of the story. The film’s dramatic tension
derives from her gradual discovery of the
Satanists’ diabolical machinations.
Rosemary’s Baby (1968) (Kobol Collection/Paramount)
Rosemary’s Baby came out shortly after the birth
of the Church of Satan. Anton LaVey, founder of
the Church of Satan, claimed that he was not only a
technical advisor for the film, but also did a cameo
appearance as the Devil. Critics have disputed this
claim. Noting that membership in the Church of
Satan rose sharply following the release of this
movie, LaVey reportedly asserted that Rosemary’s
Baby “was the best ad for Satanism ever screened.”
There was, however, a decided downside to
films featuring Satanic conspiracies. In particular,
the idea of a hidden diabolical conspiracy fed into
the ritual abuse scare of the 1980s and 1990s. As
Andrew Tudor, the author of Monsters and Mad
Scientists, observes, the period of the late 1960s
and early 1970s “is dominated by a growing
concern with Satanic cults and conspiracies.” Thus
while the publication of Michelle Remembers in
1980 may have been—as many analysts have
asserted—the threshold event precipitating the
so-called “Satanic panic,” Hollywood was responsible
for making the general public receptive to the