American Tabloid Media and the Satanic Panic, 1970-2000

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This book examines the “satanic panic” of the 1980s as an essential part of the growing relationship between tabloid media and American conservative politics in the 1980s. It argues that widespread fears of Satanism in a range of cultural institutions was indispensable to the development and success of both infotainment, or tabloid content on television, and the rise of the New Right, a conservative political movement that was heavily guided by a growing coalition of influential televangelists, or evangelical preachers on television. It takes as its particular focus the hundreds of accusations that devil-worshippers were operating America’s white middle-class suburban daycare centers. Dozens of communities around the country became embroiled in trials against center owners, the most publicized of which was the McMartin Preschool trial in Manhattan Beach, California. It remains the longest and most expensive criminal trial in the nation’s history.
Sarah Hughes is an independent scholar who received her PhD from Temple University, USA.



This book examines the “satanic panic” of the 1980s as an essential part of the growing relationship between tabloid media and American conservative politics in the 1980s. It argues that widespread fears of Satanism in a range of cultural institutions was indispensable to the development and success of both infotainment, or tabloid content on television, and the rise of the New Right, a conservative political movement that was heavily guided by a growing coalition of influential televangelists, or evangelical preachers on television. It takes as its particular focus the hundreds of accusations that devil-worshippers were operating America’s white middle-class suburban daycare centers. Dozens of communities around the country became embroiled in trials against center owners, the most publicized of which was the McMartin Preschool trial in Manhattan Beach, California. It remains the longest and most expensive criminal trial in the nation’s history.
Focuses on the accusations of satanic ritual abuse in America’s white middle-class suburban daycare centers Examines the influential relationship between the satanic panic, conservative politics, and the mass media Argues that the panic fuelled the expansion of both tabloid media and conservative ideology

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Sarah A. Hughes

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“The Satanic Panic is nevertheless a topic of interest to those working on new and alternative religiosity … . There is thus certainly scope for further research on SRA, and Hughes’ monograph may be useful for future scholars pursuing this topic … .” (Ethan Doyle White, Nova Religio, Vol. 26 (4), May, 2023)
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