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

324 Appendix II: 1992 FBI Study of Satanic Ritual Abuse
America. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of
Justice, 1990.
Prattanis, A. Hidden Messages, Wellness Letter.
Berkeley, California: University of California,
January 1991, pages #1–2.
Rosenberg, D.A. “Web of Deceit: A Literature
Review of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy,”
Child Abuse and Neglect #2, 1987, pages
#547–563.
Rush, E. The Best Kept Secret: Sexual Abuse of
Children. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1980.
Smith, M., and Pazder, L. Michelle Remembers.New
York: Congdon and Lattis, 1980.
Siegal, B. A Death in White Bear Lake.New York:
Bantam, 1990.
“Stranger-Abduction Homicides of Children,”
Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Washington, D.C.: U. S.
Department of Justice, 1989.
Stratford. L. Satan’s Underground. Eugene, Oregon:
Harvest House, 1988.
Terr, L. Too Scared to Cry. New York: Harper & Row,
1990.
Timnik, L. “The Times Poll,” Los Angeles Times,
August 25–26, 1985.
Virginia Crime Commission Task Force, Final
Report of the Task Force Studying Ritual Crime.
Richmond, Virginia.
Suggested Reading
Cooper, John Charles. The Black Mask: Satanism in
America Today. Old Tappen, N.J.: Fleming H.
Revell Company, 1990. Probably the best of the
large number of books available primarily in
Christian bookstores and written from the
Christian perspective. This one, however, is
written without the hysteria and sensationalism
of most. Recommended for investigators who
want information from this perspective.
Hicks, Robert D. In Pursuit of Satan: The Police and
the Occult. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books,
1991. Undoubtedly the best book written to
date on the topic of Satanism and the occult
from the law enforcement perspective. Robert
D. Hicks is a former police officer who is
currently employed as a criminal justice analyst
for the state of Virginia. Must reading for any
criminal justice professional involved in this
issue. Unfortunately, in the chapter on “Satanic
Abuse of Children,” the author appears to have
been overly influenced by extreme skeptics with
minimal or questionable credentials in this area.
The book is easy to read, logical, and highly
recommended.
Richardson, James T., Best, Joel, and Bromley, David
G. eds. The Satanism Scare. NY: Aldine de
Gruyter, 1991. The best book now available on
the current controversy over Satanism written
from the academic perspective, The editors and
many of the chapter authors are college
professors and have written an objective, wellresearched
book. One of the great strengths of
this book is the fact that the editors address a
variety of the controversial issues from a variety
of disciplines (i.e., sociology, history, folklore,
anthropology, criminal justice). Because of its
academic perspective it is sometimes harder to
read but is well worth the effort. The chapter on
“Law Enforcement and the Satanic Crime
Connection” contains the results of a survey of
“Cult Cops” and is must reading for law
enforcement officers. The chapter on “Satanism
and Child Molestation: Constructing the Ritual
Abuse Scare” was written, however, by a freelance
journalist who seems to take the position
that these cases involve little or no real child
abuse.
Terr, Lenore. Too Scared to Cry: Psychic Trauma in
Childhood. New York: Harper and Row, 1990.
An excellent book written by a psychiatrist that
provides important insights into the nature and
recallability of early psychic trauma. For me, Dr.
Terr’s research and findings in the infamous
Chowchilla kidnapping case shed considerable
light on the “ritual” abuse controversy.