#witch panics

[born-in-neverland03]

"The little known fact about my ability... I can't steal your magic unless you blast me with it."

When the gay panic is so bad that you accidentally reveal your biggest secret that saved you so much power in the last centuries because you see Lilia Calderu aka Patti Lupone

[creature-wizard]

I keep thinking about the post talking about how scammers will try and tell you how they're going to prove they're the real thing, where the "proof" they will offer you is actually meaningless because it doesn't actually mean what they claim this means, and how this is essentially the way witch hunters operate.

Your early modern witch hunters would always be able to "find" witches because they had easily-filled criteria for what constituted evidence of witchcraft - things like bad weather, strange symptoms and seemingly incurable ailments, night terrors, etc.

Of course, they had no evidence that there was a causal link between any of these things and witchcraft. They just said it was evidence of witchcraft, and a lot of people just assumed they knew what they were talking about.

And so it is with claims that hypnosis and various trance states can help people remember past lives and repressed memories. People with actual doctorates claim that hypnosis can help you uncover repressed memory, even though its ability to do this has never been demonstrated. In fact, the more you start looking into cases where hypnosis was used to help people remember something, the more you find that people can "remember" nearly anything - including, very famously, alien abductions.

In Ritual Abuse and Mind Control: The Manipulation of Attachment Needs (essentially pro-Satanic Panic literature, for those who haven't read it), Valerie Sinason acknowledged the people who seemingly remembered alien abductions, then proceeded to try special pleading for people who "remembered" satanic ritual abuse. Sinason's defense was that SRA was more plausible than alien abductions, therefore we should believe it's actually happening.

Of course, "more plausible" does not equal "actually happening." Just because it's more plausible that I have the skeleton of Elvis Presley in my basement than an alien skeleton, doesn't mean I have the skeleton of Elvis Presley in my basement. And when your methodology for obtaining your so-called evidence is this deeply flawed, you might as well just say "it's true because I want it to be true" and then try to locate all the cultists in your town with dowsing rods.

Indeed, when other people start setting higher standards for evidence, SRA proponents' ability to find witches (or cult programmers, as we're calling them today) vanish. All they can do is try to guilt trip people for allegedly betraying survivors and claim that the critics are part of a malicious conspiracy.

I've both studied and personally been involved in controlling and manipulative groups long enough to recognize this song and dance for what it is - it's fundamentally an assertion that you're betraying the good guys and letting the bad guys win. It's always an act of desperation.

Many Christians pull this when someone tries to leave the faith. It often goes like this: Jesus loves you so much, how could you deny him like this? Also everyone who refuses to become Christian has been deceived by the Devil, and some of them are even working for him on purpose!

Many neopagans do it whenever someone questions or disagrees with whatever dogma their personal group has. It often goes like this: You're betraying the gods (whom you owe your loyalty because they're the gods), and you're letting our Christian oppressors win.

Many peddlers of woo and conspiracy theories do it like this: You're being closed minded (and therefore you're being rude to nice open-minded people like them). You're also just brainwashed by the people who don't want the truth getting out, and you're basically doing their bidding.

Anyway, since I think most of us here can agree that the witch hunts were unjustified and that thousands of innocent people lost their lives, I want you to picture someone saying:

"When you say the Devil's Sabbath wasn't real and the witch hunts targeted innocent women, you're invalidating and erasing the pain of everyone who suffered from the torments of witches. I agree that some innocent people were burned, but there were absolutely real witches working with the Devil to cast evil spells."

As you can see, this rhetoric can be used to defend and justify any bullshit-driven atrocity. Let's try this with another conspiracy theory I think most of us can agree is bullshit - reptilian aliens:

"When you say the Reptilians aren't real and they're based on antisemitic tropes, you're invalidating and erasing the pain of everyone who suffered at their hands. I agree that some innocent people have been accused of being Reptilians, but there are absolutely real Reptilians out there torturing people and killing them to drink their blood."

So in conclusion, we must always think critically about what people present as evidence, and not let them guilt trip us into lowering our standards. Remember:

Efficacy of the evidence-gathering methods must be demonstrated. The methods must be shown to be reliable, unlikely to produce false results.

Causal links must be established. Assertions that X causes Y must be backed up with empirical evidence.

Other explanations must be ruled out. Do not assume the most sensational explanation without ruling out more common ones. As the saying in medicine goes, if you see hoofprints, think horses, not zebras. Do not consider zebras until horses (and any other common equines) can be ruled out.

[junesbaby2]

New Rio/Greenwitch concept art has been released 💚

[breelandwalker]

PODCAST RECS - Debunking and Fact-Checking for Witches & Witchcraft Spaces

A collection of podcast episodes fact-checking, debunking, or just providing some clarity on modern myths, misinformation, and conspiracy theories that are frequent flyers in witchcraft and pagan spaces, both theories mistakenly touted by community members and some of the utter drivel spouted by non-witches that still affects us today. Check out these shows on your favorite podcast app!

(Updates to be made whenever I find new content. There will be some crossover with my Witches In History Podcast Recs post and some of the content will be heavy. Blanket trigger warning for violence, abuse, bigotry, sexism, antisemitism, and mistreatment of women, queer people, and children.)

[Last Updated: April 16 2025]

This post is broken into three basic sections:

Historical Misinformation

Modern Myths and the People Who Create Them

Conspiracy Theories and Moral Panics

List of Cited Podcasts, in alphabetical order

American Hysteria

BS-Free Witchcraft

Dig: A History Podcast

Hex Positive

Historical Blindness

History Uncovered

Morbid

Occultae Veritatis

Our Curious Past

Our Fake History

Ridiculous History

Stuff You Missed In History Class

The History of Witchcraft

Unobscured

You’re Wrong About…

Recent Additions:

American Hysteria, S5 E97 - The Paranormal Entertainment Industry with Sapphire Sandalo and Jim Perry A discussion about the paranormal entertainment industry as it exists today and dream of breaking away from the Christian-influenced "ghost bros" formula to tell a broader range of more nuanced stories.

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 74 - Homeopathy Is Bullshit Host Trae Dorn dives into the history of homeopathy, what it is, why it's bad, and how it wormed its' way into modern witchcraft and paganism.

Hex Positive, Ep. 049 - Satanic Panic? In MY Witchcraft Community? (with Trae Dorn) Bree NicGarran and Trae Dorn of BS-Free Witchcraft sit down to discuss the stubborn traces of Satanic Panic rhetoric that still linger in the modern witchcraft movement….and have somehow become an accepted part of the lore.

History Uncovered, Ep. 131 - The Satanic Panic: Inside The 1980s Hysteria Over All Things Demonic Beginning in the early 1980s, wild theories about ritual abuse, widespread occultism, and devil worship dominated news headlines and created a moral panic that led to unfounded accusations and even wrongful imprisonments.

Historical Misinformation

General History of Witchcraft

Historical Blindness - A Rediscovery of Witches, Pt 1 & 2 Oct 13, 2020 & Oct. 27, 2020 A discussion of the early modern witch craze and the myths, misconceptions, and theories about witches spread by academics. Topics of discussion include the works of Margaret Murray and Charles Leland, the founding of Wicca, the emergence of the midwife-witch myth, and folk healers as targets of witchcraft accusations. Sarah Handley-Cousins of “Dig: A History Podcast” supplies guest material for both episodes.

Hex Positive, Ep. 36 - Margaret Effing Murray with Trae Dorn July 1, 2023 Margaret Murray was a celebrated author, historian, folklorist, Egyptologist, archaeologist, anthropologist, first-wave feminist, and the first woman to be appointed to the position of lecturer in archaeology in the UK. So why so we get so annoyed whenever her name is mentioned in conversations about witchcraft? Well, it all has to do with a book Margaret wrote back in 1921...which just so happened to go on to have a profound influence on the roots of the modern witchcraft movement.

Nerd & Tie senpai and host of BS-Free Witchcraft Trae Dorn joins Bree NicGarran in the virtual studio to discuss the thoroughly-discredited witch-cult hypothesis, Murray's various writings and accomplishments, and why modern paganism might not have caught on so strongly without her.

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep 03: The History of Wicca October 06, 2018 On this episode, Trae digs deep into the history of Wicca, and tries to give the most accurate history of the religion as they can. I mean, yeah, we know this is a general Witchcraft podcast, but Wicca is the most widely practiced form of Witchcraft in the US, UK, Canada and Australia… so how it got started is kind of important for the modern Witchcraft movement. (And trust me, there aren’t any pulled punches here.)

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 28: The Burning Times May 30, 2020 On this installment of the podcast, we tackle probably one of the more controversial topics in the modern witchcraft movement: The Burning Times. What were the actual “Burning Times,” where do we get that phrase from, and what really happened? Also, how has this phrase been used in modern witchcraft? It’s a heavy one, folks.

Dig: A History Podcast - Both Man and Witch: Uncovering the Invisible History of Male Witches Sept 13, 2020 Since at least the 1970s, academic histories of witches and witchcraft have enjoyed a rare level of visibility in popular culture. Feminist, literary, and historical scholarship about witches has shaped popular culture to such a degree that the discipline has become more about unlearning everything we thought we knew about witches. Though historians have continued to investigate and re-interpret witch history, the general public remains fixated on the compelling, feminist narrative of the vulnerable women hanged and burned at the stake for upsetting the patriarchy. While this part of the story can be true, especially in certain contexts, it’s only part of the story, and frankly, not even the most interesting part. Today, we tackle male witches in early modern Eurasia and North America!

Dig: A History Podcast - Doctor, Healer, Midwife, Witch: How the the Women’s Health Movement Created the Myth of the Midwife-Witch Sept 6, 2020 In 1973, two professors active in the women’s health movement wrote a pamphlet for women to read in the consciousness-raising reading groups. The pamphlet, inspired by Our Bodies, Ourselves, looked to history to explain how women had been marginalized in their own healthcare. Women used to be an important part of the medical profession as midwives, they argued — but the midwives were forced out of practice because they were so often considered witches and persecuted by the patriarchy in the form of the Catholic Church. The idea that midwives were regularly accused of witchcraft seemed so obvious that it quickly became taken as fact. There was only one problem: it wasn’t true. In this episode, we follow the convoluted origin story of the myth of the midwife-witch.

Dig: A History Podcast - Cheesecloth, Spiritualism, and State Secrets: Helen Duncan’s Famous Witchcraft Trial July 3, 2022 Helen Duncan was charged under the 1735 Witchcraft Act, but her case was no eighteenth-century sensation: she was arrested, charged, and ultimately imprisoned in 1944. Of course, in 1944, Britain was at war, fighting fascism by day on the continent and hiding in air raid shelters by night at home. The spectacle of a Spiritualist medium on trial for witchcraft seemed out of place. What possessed the Home Secretary to allow this trial to make headlines all across the UK in 1944? That’s what we’re here to find out.

The Conspirators, Ep. 63 - The Last Witch Trial Nov. 26, 2017 England’s official laws regarding the prosecution of witches dates back to the 1600s. Those very same laws would also remain on the books until well into the 20th century. In 1944, a psychic medium named Helen Duncan would gain notoriety by becoming the last woman to be tried under England’s witchcraft laws.

The History of Witchcraft Podcast, hosted by Samuel Hume Witches didn’t exist, and yet thousands of people were executed for the crime of witchcraft. Why? The belief in magic and witchcraft has existed in every recorded human culture; this podcast looks at how people explained the inexplicable, turned random acts of nature into conscious acts of mortal or supernatural beings, and how desperate communities took revenge against the suspected perpetrators.

Unobscured, Season One - The Salem Witch Trials Welcome to Salem, Massachusetts. It’s 1692. And all hell is about to break loose.

Unobscured is a deep-dive history podcast from the labs of How Stuff Works, featuring the writing and narrative talents of Aaron Mahnke, horror novelist and the mind behind Lore and Cabinet of Curiosities.

As with his other series, Mahnke approaches the events in Salem armed with a mountain of research. Interviews with prominent historians add depth and documentation to each episode. And it’s not just the trials you’ll learn about; it’s the stories of the people, places, attitudes, and conflicts that led to the deaths of more than twenty innocent people.

Each week, a new aspect of the story is explored, gradually weaving events and personalities together in chronological order to create a perspective of the trials that is both expansive and intimate. From Bridget Bishop to Cotton Mather, from Andover to Salem Town, Mahkne digs deep to uncover the truth behind the most notorious witch trials in American history.

Think you know the story of Salem? Think again.

Witchcraft and Other Magical Practices

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 43 - “Lilith” Jan. 29, 2022 Host Trae Dorn discusses the ongoing debate over whether or not it’s okay for non-Jewish witches to incorporate Lilith into their practices. Is Lilith closed? Is it cultural appropriation? There’s so much misinformation in New Age and poorly written witchcraft books on Lilith, it’s hard for some witches to get a clear picture. It’s common to run into folks on social media talking about Lilith as a “Goddess,” which she very much isn’t. Let’s dive into the origins of the folklore surrounding this figure, and we’ll let you decide whether or not it’s okay to work with Lilith. But, uh, spoiler – we don’t think you should.

Historical Blindness, Ep. 106 - Lilith, the Phantom Maiden November 22, 2022 Host Nathaniel Lloyd explores the evolution of the figure of Lilith, from Mesopotamian demon, to the first woman created by God, and back to a succubus mother of demons. It’s a tale of syncretism, superstition, forgery, and a dubious interpretation of scriptures.

Hex Positive, Ep. 19 - The Trouble with Tarot August 1, 2021 Tarot and tarot-reading have been a part of the modern witchcraft movement since the 1960s. But where did these cards and their meanings come from? Are they secretly Ancient Egyptian mystical texts? Do they have their origins among the Romani people? Are they a sacred closed practice that should not be used by outsiders? Nope, nope, and nope.

This month, we delve into the actual history of tarot cards, discover their origins on the gaming tables of Italy and France, meet the people who developed their imagery and symbolism into the deck we know today, and debunk some of the nonsense that’s been going around lately concerning their use. The Witchstorian is putting on her research specs for this one!

Stuff You Missed in History Class - A Brief History of Tarot Cards Oct. 26, 2020 How did a card game gain a reputation for being connected to mysticism? Tarot’s history takes a significant turn in the 18th century, but much of that shift in perception is based on one author’s suppositions and theories.

Hex Positive, Ep. 23 - The Name of the Game November 1, 2021 Bree delves into the history, myths, and urban legends surrounding Ouija boards. Along the way, we’ll uncover their origins in the spiritualist movement, discover the pop culture phenomenon that labeled them portals to hell, and try to separate fact from internet fiction with regard to what these talking boards can actually do.

Our Curious Past, Ep. 20 - The Curious History of the Ouija Board August 18, 2023 Host Peter Laws explores the history of the “talking board,” which was wildly popular in the early 1900s, until something happened that would tarnish its’ reputation for good. 

Ridiculous History - Brooms and Witchcraft, Pt. 1 & 2 Oct. 13-15, 2020 Most people are familiar with the stereotypical image of a witch: a haggard, often older individual with a peaked hat, black robes, a demonic familiar and, oddly enough, a penchant for cruising around on broomsticks. But where did that last weirdly specific trop of flying on a broomstick actually come from?  Could the stereotype of witches on broomsticks actually be a drug reference? Join Ben, Noel, and Casey as they continue digging through the history and folklore of witchcraft - and how it affected pop culture in the modern day.

Historical Blindness, Ep. 116 - The Key to the Secrets of King Solomon  May 02, 2023 Host Nathaniel Lloyd continues his occasional series on the history and mythology of magic. In this installment, he looks at the development of the story that the biblical King Solomon was actually a flying-carpet-riding, magic-ring-wielding wizard and alchemist who bound demons to do his will. The origins and content of the legendary Key of Solomon are also discussed.

Hex Positive, Ep. 049 - Satanic Panic? In MY Witchcraft Community? (with Trae Dorn) October 7, 2024 Bree NicGarran and Trae Dorn of BS-Free Witchcraft sit down to discuss the stubborn traces of Satanic Panic rhetoric that still linger in the modern witchcraft movement....and have somehow become an accepted part of the lore.

Holidays

Hex Positive, Ep. 28 - The Easter-Ostara Debacle April 1, 2022 Host Bree NicGarran puts on her Witchstorian hat once more to delve into the origins of both Easter  and Ostara and to finally answer the age-old question: which came first  – the bunny or the egg?

Historical Blindness, Ep. 28 - A Very Historically Blind Christmas Dec. 18, 2018 An exploration of the origins of Christmas traditions, with special guest Brian Earl of the Christmas Past podcast. (There is also some mention of Christmas witches!) Further installments of this series explore additional Christmas traditions and iconography which have been falsely claimed to have pagan origins as well as the myths surrounding the history of Christmas itself. (Eps. 47, 63, 84, 132, & 163 in December of subsequent years)

(An Easter-focused episode of Historical Blindness is coming out soon!)

New Age Nonsense

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 55 - Lucky Girl Syndrome and the Law of Attraction January 28, 2023 Trae takes a look at one of New Age spirituality’s most toxic philosophies - The Law of Attraction. The history of the idea is discussed, where it came from, and how this dangerous combination of prosperity gospel, purity culture, and victim-blaming has come back in a major way to a whole new generation as “Lucky Girl Syndrome.” 

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep. 74 - Homeopathy Is Bullshit August 31, 2024 Homeopathy is harmful in addition to being complete and total bull. Host Trae Dorn dives into the history of homeopathy, what it is, and why it's bad.

Dig: A History Podcast - Plastic Shamans and Spiritual Hucksters: A History of Peddling and Protecting Native American Spirituality July 24, 2022 In the late 20th century, white Americans flocked to New Age spirituality, collecting crystals, hugging trees, and finding their places in the great Medicine Wheel. Many didn’t realize - or didn’t care - that much of this spirituality was based on the spiritual faiths and practices of Native American tribes. Frustrated with what they called “spiritual hucksterism,” members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) began protesting - and have never stopped. Who were these “plastic shamans,” and how did the spiritual services they sold become so popular?

Historical Blindness, Ep. 145 - All Is Number: Pythagoras and Numerology May 28, 2024 In this installment of the ongoing Encyclopedia Grimoria series, host Nathaniel Lloyd talks about a cult leader who is remembered as a great mathematician, whose real lasting contribution to the world is the nonsensical divination "magic" known as numerology.

Modern Myths and the People Who Create Them

Ed and Lorraine Warren

You’re Wrong About…Ed and Lorraine Warren w. Jamie Loftus Nov 8 2021 Special Guest Jamie Loftus tells Sarah about Ed and Lorraine Warren (of The Conjuring and Annabelle fame). Topics of interest include Connecticut as a locus of scary happenings, New England uncles, and psychic communication with a tearstained Bigfoot.

Dig: A History Podcast - The Demonologist and the Clairvoyant: Ed and Lorraine Warren, Paranormal Investigation, and Exorcism in the Modern World Oct 3 2021 In the 1970s, Lorraine and Ed Warren had a spotlight of paranormal obsession shining on them. In the last decade, their work as paranormal investigators–ghost hunters–has been the premise for a blockbuster horror franchise totaling at least seven films so far, and more planned in the near future. So… what the heck? Is this for real? Yes, friends, today we’re talking about demonology, psychic connections to the dead, and the patriarchy. Just a typical day with your historians at Dig.

History Uncovered, Ep. 92 - The Enfield Haunting That Inspired "The Conjuring 2" Oct 25 2023 The Enfield Haunting began with a bang. Literally. From 1977 to 1979, an unassuming North London home was the site of near-constant paranormal activity, from knocking sounds and moving objects to disembodied voices and the terrifying alleged possession of one young daughter of the Hodgson family. But how much truth was there to these happenings? And since the Warrens got involved briefly and subsequently touted themselves as experts on the case (and made money from talking about it), how much of what we think we know reflects the actual events?

Hex Positive, Ep. 042 - Extended Warren Tea with Jenn the Ouija Girl and Lorelei Rivers Jan 01 2024 Discussions about the careers and rhetoric of the Warrens make the rounds regularly in conversations about the paranormal among members of the witchcraft community. But who were the Warrens? Why do they inspire such ire even as the Conjuring franchise gains steam? How much of what we think we know about the supernatural comes from them? And why is it important to recognize - and refute - their rhetoric when we encounter it? Bree NicGarran sits down with Jenn the Ouija Girl and Lorelei Rivers to spill ALL the tea.

"Paranormal" Literature & Media

You’re Wrong About…Winter Book Club - The Amityville Horror, Pts. 1-3 Dec 20 2021 - Feb 6 2022 Sarah tells guest host Jamie Loftus about the Amityville Horror, how it’s a Christmas story, and buying murder furniture might not be such a great idea. Further highlights include Jodie the Demon Pig, poor insulation and terrible parenting as evidence of a haunting, lots and lots of sunk cost fallacy, and how the book kind of debunks itself.

MORBID, Ep. 610 - The Amityville Horror Conspiracy October 17 2024 The supposed experience of the Lutz family at 112 Ocean Avenue served as the basis for the iconic haunted house story, “The Amityville Horror,” and the countless films adapted from or inspired by the original novel. However, unlike most other stories of paranormal experiences, “The Amityville Horror” became a phenomenon that influenced everything from Ronald DeFeo’s criminal defense during his murder trial to the American public’s belief in the supernatural. Yet for all their talk of it being a genuine story of demonic activity, in the years since the publication of the popular novel, a large body of evidence from skeptical evaluations to court records and interview transcripts suggest that America’s most notorious haunted house might not have been quite so haunted after all.

American Hysteria, Ep. 125 - I Was A Teenage Poltergeist October 14 2024 Sarah Marshall, host of “You’re Wrong About…,” transports us to the old world of British Hysteria to reveal the mysterious story of the Enfield Poltergeist and joins host Chelsea Weber Smith at the seance table to discuss the great unknown and the ghosts they know.

You’re Wrong About… - Michelle Remembers, Pt. 1-5 March 26, 2020 - April 30, 2020 Intrepid hosts Sarah and Mike delve into one of the foundational texts of the Satanic Panic - “Michelle Remembers.” A young woman spends a year undergoing hypnosis therapy, which uncovers repressed memories of shocking and horrifying abuse at the hands of a Satanic cult. The book became a foundational text for both mental health professionals and law enforcement attempting to grapple with an alleged nationwide network of insidiously invisible child-abducting cults. The only problem is…none of what Michelle remembered ever actually happened.

You’re Wrong About…. - The Satan Seller, Pt. 1-5 June 28, 2021 - August 9, 2021 Sarah and Mike return to Camp You’re Wrong About for another Satanic Panic story hour. This time, the summer book club explores Mike Warnke’s 1972 “memoir” about joining a demonic cult, rising through the ranks of Satan’s favorite lackeys, his sudden downfall and redemption, and the California hedonism that made him do it. This is followed by a discussion of the Cornerstone Magazine exposé that brought the facts to light and thoroughly discredited Warnke’s story.

American Hysteria, Eps. 64-66 - Chick Tracts, Pts. 1-3 March 20 - April 03, 2023 In his own lifetime, Jack Chick was one of most prolific and widely-read comic artists in history. His company, Chick Tracts, published hundreds of millions of copies of pocket-sized bible comics, filled with lurid illustrations of cackling demons, wicked witches, and sinister cults, all hell-bent on corrupting any hapless mortal they could get their hands on. These tracts were meant to be left where they might be found by a sinner in need of salvation, with a scared-straight morality-play approach to Christianity that contributed in no small part to the period in the late 20th century we now call the Satanic Panic. (There’s also a follow-up two-part episode about one of Chick’s “occult experts,” who claimed to be, among other things, a real-life vampire.)

History Uncovered, Ep. 95 - Roland Doe, The Boy Who Inspired "The Exorcist" November 15, 2023 In 1949, priests performed an exorcism on a boy referred to as "Roland Doe," aka Ronald Hunkeler, in a chilling ordeal that became the real-life inspiration for William Peter Blatty's 1971 book, "The Exorcist," and the movie adaptation released in 1973. But what really happened during this alleged exorcism and was there any proof of the claims of alleged demonic paranormal activity surrounding the events?

You're Wrong About... - The Exorcist (with Marlena Williams) December 27, 2023 Marlena Williams, author of "Night Mother: A Personal and Cultural History of the Exorcist," joins host Sarah Marshall to discuss the little possession movie that changed America forever. Was the set cursed by Satan himself, or plain old 70s misogyny? What makes a country going through a cultural upheaval embrace stories about the Devil? And - the most critical question of all - do Ouija boards really cause possession?

Frightful, Bonus Episode - Is the Paranormal Like A New Religion? June 25 2024 Since the early 2000s, paranormal content has exploded in popular culture. It seems we can't get enough of ghosts (and hunting for them). What could be behind this enthusiasm for spooky things? Host Peter Laws shares a theory - that the paranormal is a clever way for us to be religious...without being religious. (This is less a debunking than a discussion of a personal hypothesis, but it deals with the pervasiveness of cultural religious themes, the influence of social media on modern mythmaking, and the sense of community surrounding paranormal belief.)

American Hysteria, S5 E97 - The Paranormal Entertainment Industry with Sapphire Sandalo and Jim Perry January 22, 2024 Host Chelsea Weber-Smith is joined by paranormal correspondent Jim Perry of the podcast "Euphomet" and Sapphire Sandalo of the podcast "Stories With Sapphire" (plus various paranormal TV shows) to talk about paranormal entertainment. Topics discussed include the different kinds of projects in the sphere, behind-the-scenes stories from classic reality ghost shows, the the dream of diversifying the genre away from the formulaic industry of ghost bros and Christian-influenced endings in order to tell a broader range of stories.

Conspiracy Theories and Moral Panics

Ancient "Mysteries"

Historical Blindness, Pyramidiocy, Eps. 146-151 June-July 2024 Host Nathaniel Lloyd delves into the great pyramids and the various myths and misconceptions surrounding them, some of which, despite vast amounts of historical evidence to the contrary, endure to this very day. Further related segments on this topic may be found on the show's Patreon, including a highly interesting July 2024 minisode regarding "Books of the Dead," which examines claims about H.P. Lovecraft's "Necronomicon" and its' supposed relation to the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus.

History Uncovered, Ep. 117 - The Real History Behind the Mythic City of Atlantis June 12, 2024 First mentioned by Plato in Timaeus and Critias, the lost city of Atlantis later became a widely debated topic among historians. But is Atlantis real? (Spoiler: No. No it is not.)

Hucksters, Secret Societies, and Antisemitism

Historical Blindness, Ep. 14 - Bloody Libel December 12, 2017 An exploration of one of the most destructive myths in history - the blood libel, or the false accusation that Jews of the Middle Ages and beyond ritually murdered Christian children, a lie that host Nathaniel Lloyd traces back to its’ roots in medieval England and the murder of one Young William of Norwich.

Historical Blindness, Eps. 56-57 - The Illuminati Illuminated September 15-29, 2020 A contemplation of the modern conservative conspiracy theory of a “deep state” leads host Nathaniel Lloyd back to the dawn of the modern conspiracy theory, the Enlightenment, when the ultimate conservative conspiracy theory was born as an explanation for the French Revolution: The Illuminati!

Historical Blindness, Eps. 38-40 - Nazi Occultism, Parts 1-3 July 2-30, 2019 An exploration of the dark roots of Nazi occult philosophies, from a neo-paganism preoccupied with the Nordic Pantheon, to a folksy back-to-the-land movement that evolved into a nationalist sentiment, to an ideology of racial supremacy all tied up with contemporary myths and pseudoscience. (The host is careful to note with clarity and vehemence at the start of each episode that this series IN NO WAY approves of, promotes, or supports this ideology and Nazism is roundly condemned at every turn. It’s not an easy listen, but understanding how and why this bigotry continues to be a problem in pagan spaces and how to recognize it is very important.) TL;DR - Fuck Nazis. No tolerance for genocidal fuckwads.

DIG: A History Podcast - Werewolves, Vampires, and the Aryans of Ancient Atlantis: The Occultic Roots of the Nazi Party Oct 17, 2021 Modern movie plotlines which portray Nazi obsessions with occultism might be exaggerated for dramatic effect, but they aren't made up out of wholecloth. The NSDAP, or the National Socialist Worker's Party, was a party ideologically enabled by occultist theories about the Aryan race and vampiric Jews, on old folk tales about secret vigilante courts and nationalist werewolves, and on pseudoscientific ideas about ice moons. In this episode, the hosts explore the occult ideas, racial mythology, and 'supernatural imaginary' that helped to create the Nazi Party.

Our Fake History, Eps. 66-68: Who Was the Mother of the Occult? May-June 2018 An exploration of the life and works of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, self-described sage, medium, guru, author, and one of the founders of Theosophy.

The Satanic Panic

American Hysteria - Satanic Panic, pt 1 & 2 Dec. 10 2018 - Jan. 07, 2019 This two-part episode covers perhaps the most mystifying moral panic in US history, the 1980s and early 90s ‘Satanic Panic.’ For this episode, Chelsey covers the rise of organized Satanism beginning in the late 60s, as well as the adversarial countercultures of the hippies and the metalheads, and their apparent Satanic crimes that would be hailed as proof of their evil, as well as proof that teens, as well as children, were in serious moral peril. Satan was allegedly hypnotizing the youth with secret messages in backwards rock songs, teaching them occult magic in Saturday morning cartoons, and causing suicides through a popular role-playing games, all while helping religion blur into politics for good.

For part two, Chelsey will cover what came next, a serious investigation into an imagined network of Satanic cults ritually abusing children in daycare centers all over the country. Chelsey will try to understand this shocking decade in history, why it really happened, and the cultural issues it was really about.

History Uncovered, Ep. 131 - The Satanic Panic: Inside The 1980s Hysteria Over All Things Demonic January 08, 2025 Beginning in the early 1980s, wild theories about ritual abuse, widespread occultism, and devil worship dominated news headlines and created a moral panic that led to unfounded accusations and even wrongful imprisonments.

BS-Free Witchcraft, Ep 10 - The Satanic Panic April 27, 2019 The Satanic Panic of the 70s, 80s, and 90s shaped the Modern Witchcraft Movement in a lot of unexpected ways. Its effects still ripple through a lot of our sources, so in this installment of the podcast we’re digging into this extremely weird part of American history. It’s a bit of a doozy, after all.

BS-Free Witchcraft - Ep. 32: A New Satanic Panic? February 27, 2021 A couple of years ago, we did an episode on the history of the Satanic Panic of the latter half of the twentieth century, but recent events have led us to ask - could it be happening again? It’s very possible that we are at the start of a new wave of satanic panic, and QAnon is just the latest symptom of a larger problem.

Occultae Veritatis, Case #014: Satanic Panic of Martensville Jan. 28, 2018 Today the hosts cover one of the various Satanic ritual abuse scandals that happened close to them. Is it full of hot air and false allegations? Yes. Yes it is. 

Occultae Veritatis, Case #097A & B: Dungeons, Dragons, and the Satanic Panic Dec. 07, 2019 - Dec. 15, 2019 Dungeons & Dragons, introduced in 1974, attracted millions of players, along with accusations by some religious figures that the game fostered demon worship and a belief in witchcraft and magic.

[Last Updated: April 16 2025]

[hexpositive]

"Satanic Panic? In MY Witchcraft Community?"

It's more likely than you think!

Tune in this Spooky Season to hear two weary millennial witches wax maniacal about moral panics, community paranoia, and the sneaky ways that remnants of Satanic Panic rhetoric show up in witchcraft spaces.

🎃 Hex Positive returns October 7th 🎃

[witchingwithscissors]

No one asked…

but I’m thinking about how Agatha Harkness saw Rio Vidal for the first time in 1690s Salem and immediately fell to pieces.

We’re talking colonial Massachusetts.

✨Puritan hellscape✨

Everyone’s named Mercy or Deliverance or Goody Something and they think dancing is heresy and color is a sin.

1690s townsperson or something be like: A pox on her palette! God made beige, and she mocketh Him with plum and peacock, THE SLOVENLY WITCH!

Agatha’s been raised under starched linen and shame, laced into stays so tight she can’t even breathe properly, living under the icy glare of a coven that calls itself enlightened while still fearing her and don’t even get me started on her—

TOO LATE

Agatha’s mother didn’t want her.

She didn’t just think it. She said it. Wished her child had never been born—right to their face.

So Agatha doesn’t feel like she belongs anywhere. She just survives. She endures because no one ever taught her how to be wanted.

But then Rio Vidal shows up.

Pause.

Rio Vidal/Lady Death is played by a Puerto Rican actress, so yeah—buckle up, babe, we’re going there. I don’t read the comics, and if she’s different there, that’s cute for her. But I’m not talking about comic book Rio. I’m spiraling over Agatha All Along Rio. That’s the one ruining my life.

This witch.

Cool? Cool.

Okay, so according to the internet, Agatha was put on trial for practicing dark magic in 1693—which would’ve made her around 18 at the time.

So let’s say that’s roughly when they met.

In SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, USA.

That’s not just historically inaccurate, it’s cosmically disruptive. Puerto Rican migration to the US didn’t really begin until the late 1800s, and even then it was mostly to big, populated places like New York—not dusty, Puritan, white-knuckled colonial Massachusetts.

What I’m saying is, there should NOT have been a tan-skinned woman with long dark hair and green dresses, speaking Spanish like spun sugar and thunderclaps, strolling through a damn witch trial town in 1690-whatever.

People like Rio weren’t seen. Weren’t recorded. Weren’t supposed to be there. But there she was. In the middle of Salem.

Glowing? Maybe.

Smirking? Most likely.

Real? Undeniably.

And Agatha saw her. REALLY saw her.

And I know she just disintegrated.

She opened her mouth intending to say something charming and mysterious and instead blurted out, “Do you like herbs?” while glowing like a cursed lantern and trying not to float off the ground.

Because Agatha knew.

Maybe not consciously. But somewhere deep in her bones she recognized Rio for what she was.

Death.

The end of the line.

A cosmic being who walked the Earth quietly, unseen, only felt at the edge of breath.

Most people look through her. She’s not supposed to be noticed. She blends in because she HAS to.

But Agatha noticed.

Agatha stared at those big brown eyes and full lips.

Agatha FLIRTED. Or at least tried to.

She brushed Rio’s hand and had the audacity to say, “Oh. That’s new.”

Because it WAS.

No one touches Death like that.

No one calls Death pretty. Or beautiful. Or kind.

No one yells ‘¡VÁMONOS!’ at a group of slow-ass villagers and then winks like it’s foreplay. Rio probably just stood there, a little stunned that Agatha’s pronunciation had improved, then smiled to herself and touched the bruise on her neck where Agatha bit her the night before.

And it wasn’t just lust.

Rio taught her things like Spanish. Ancient stories. Spells that hadn’t been spoken in centuries. The quiet rules of the universe whispered under wool blankets while Agatha traced symbols on her stomach just to make her giggle. And Rio laughed. For the first time in eons.

Or maybe… ever?

Death, laughing. Because of a witch.

They were weird.

Chaotic.

Probably too much at times.

Agatha carved secret sigils into candlesticks, quiet spells to make Rio stay a little longer. Rio hummed forgotten lullabies and brought her tea without being asked, like it was instinct. They loved each other—softly, stubbornly—two misfits clinging to something that felt like home.

Every Mary and Abigail in the village became background noise.

Every word from her mother became weightless.

Agatha wanted Rio.

And Rio—who had always kept herself separate, who had never been touched without fear—STAYED.

She knew there would be consequences. That loving a human would change her. Cost her. But Agatha made her wonder. Made her believe… maybe even Death wasn’t meant to walk alone.

And so she gave her everything she could. Love. Respect. A child. A home. A future.

✨A CHOICE✨

Anyway. Sorry. I blacked out. What were we talking about?

[emoregressioncore]

panic! at the disco in valentines <3

1/2/3/4 in emo quad valentines series

like or reblog if you use them plz

print pdf link

stickers/magnets (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

[fall-0ut-g1rl]

EVER SINCE WE MET, I ONLY SHOOT UP WITH YOUR PERFUME. ITS THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES ME FEEL AS GOOD AS YOU DO

[amara-gaelthorne]

🔥 Debunking Mazes and Monsters: The Film That Pathologized Imagination

In the thick of the 1980s moral panic, when fear reigned louder than facts, Mazes and Monsters arrived as a made-for-TV movie masquerading as cautionary tale. Based on a “true story” that was already thoroughly distorted by the media, the film did not aim to understand role-playing games, imagination, or escapism—it aimed to criminalize them.

This wasn’t an honest attempt to explore mental health. It was propaganda designed to incite fear.

The premise is simple and incendiary: a group of college students playing a Dungeons & Dragons-style game (thinly veiled as "Mazes and Monsters") spiral into psychological breakdowns, with protagonist Robbie (played by Tom Hanks) descending into delusion and believing he is his character. He abandons reality. He gets lost in fantasy. He loses his mind. The message is clear: indulge in fantasy, and you’ll lose your grip on the real world.

This film didn’t just miss the mark—it aimed at the wrong target.

🎭 Pathologizing the Imaginative Mind

Fantasy, creativity, and roleplay are not dangers—they’re lifelines. They’re coping mechanisms, community builders, storycraft tools, and often forms of safe emotional processing. But Mazes and Monsters cast them as red flags. It portrayed role-playing as a threat to mental stability rather than what it truly is: a powerful extension of it.

As someone with a background in criminal psychology and defense, I see how this kind of narrative does actual harm. It seeds distrust toward neurodivergent individuals, introverts, creatives, and anyone using fantasy as a healthy outlet. It frames creativity as pathology. That is not only incorrect—it’s dangerous.

📜 A Product of Its Panic

We must remember the cultural moment from which this movie was born: the Satanic Panic. Fear-mongering news outlets, religious groups, and self-appointed “experts” were demonizing everything from heavy metal to D&D, claiming they led to occult practices, insanity, or worse. Mazes and Monsters is a cinematic artifact of this delusion—a fever-dream of moral anxiety wrapped in network drama packaging.

But unlike mere fiction, this film has real-world consequences. It contributed to decades of stigma against gamers, fantasy writers, LARPers, and creative youth. It gave worried parents a scapegoat, and anxious institutions a reason to ban, restrict, or shame harmless activities.

🔥 Why I Scorch It

Because this film criminalized fantasy. Because it painted mental illness as melodrama. Because it vilified escape, imagination, and self-expression. Because it added fuel to a cultural fire that burned countless kids at the stake of public opinion.

I scorch it because people like me—those who grew up roleplaying, dreaming, storytelling, building rich inner lives—were told for decades that we were sick, unstable, or dangerous. I scorch it because it continues to linger, subtly infecting how fantasy is viewed in public discourse.

This isn’t just about a movie. This is about every teen who was told to throw away their dice or their sketchbook or their fantasy novel. It’s about reclaiming what Mazes and Monsters tried to take: the right to imagine without shame.

🔚 In Closing

Fantasy is not the enemy. Delusion is not caused by dice. And no, a game won’t make you forget who you are— but bad media will try to tell others you have.

Let this be a formal rejection of Mazes and Monsters and every cultural echo of it. Let us tell better stories—about fantasy, about coping, about creativity, about mental health. Stories that honor the power of play, instead of fearing it.

And to Mazes and Monsters? You’re not welcome in my pit.

[creature-wizard]

Broadly speaking, the narrative that Christianity stole and twisted all of these pagan traditions is itself a spin on the Christian narrative that the Devil worshipers out in the woods are twisting and mocking Christian traditions, which is what medieval and early modern Christian conspiracy theorists came up with because that's how they reckoned an evil religion would work.

[ksketches15]

🌸Wicked Fanart!!!🌿

[hexpositive]

Hex Positive, Ep. 049 - Satanic Panic? In MY Witchcraft Community? (with Trae Dorn)

Now available on the Nerd & Tie Podcast Network and your favorite podcatcher!

(It’s more likely than you think….)

Welcome back, witches! We’re diving back into things with another classic collaboration between your friendly neighborhood Witchstorian and everyone’s favorite curmudgeon and host of BS-Free Witchcraft, Trae Dorn. Feeling the weight of our years just a LITTLE bit, we sit down to discuss the stubborn traces of Satanic Panic rhetoric that still linger in the modern witchcraft movement. Not in external gossip or talking-head suppositions, but in the internal discussions that witches maintain in live spaces and especially on social media. Tune in to hear a couple of weary elder millennials ramble about alleged devil worship, community paranoia, and how much it irritates us when people don’t know their own history. 

Remember, witches – you are not immune to propaganda.

Check out the new Upcoming Events page!

Read the Mia Graves series by Trae Dorn!

Visit the Willow Wings Witch Shop on Shopify and check out this month’s featured items. Make sure you also visit the Redbubble page for even more cool merch!

Check my ⁠⁠Wordpress⁠⁠ for full show notes, as well as show notes for past episodes and information on upcoming events. You can find me as @BreeNicGarran on TikTok, Instagram, and WordPress, or as @breelandwalker on tumblr. For more information on how to support the show and get access to early releases and extra content, visit my ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠.

Proud member of the ⁠⁠Nerd and Tie Podcast Network⁠⁠.

MUSIC CREDITS

Intro & Outro – “Spellbound” & “Miri’s Magic Dance” Host-Read Ads – “Danse Macabre – Violin Hook” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

[junesbaby2]

New look at Death and her crown 😍💚

[qoldenskies]

cc!leo is so weird and fun to write because i have to capture the spectrum of him impossibly gentle and caring, goofy and nonchalant to make everyone feel better, and INSANELY invested in the prospect of brutally murdering someone all at the same time and writing ch23 really illuminates that for me lmao. like the characters just kind of take me places that i dont expect and apparently the answer to "what happens when you strip leo of all his layers of facade and make him forced to hurt the most important person in his life through horrifying mind control?" in this extremely specific instance was uhhhh. Bloodthirsty! apparently

he's so funny to me like bro can you CHILL

[lululeighsworld]

Black Butler -Emerald Witch Arc- Episode 7 but it’s only Wolfram Gelzer

[shinobicyrus]

Maybe I'm being too hard on it, but the Buffy episode Gingerbread simultaneously hits so hard and is immensely unsatisfying to watch in the Year Of Our Lord 2025.

The bones of a great story are there: moral panics, witch hunts, zealous parent organizations, cops breaking open kid's lockers and dragging the "witches" away, cops ransacking a library to remove "dangerous" or "inappropriate" books.

It's the kind of story I think really can't (and shouldn't) be told in a Monster of the Week format, because - spoiler warning - the show conjures a physical monster that is responsible for it all and killing it makes the problem just...solved in a very frustrating way. Everything discussed isn't given closure, everything that transpired (save the 'Amy is stuck as a Rat' gag) simply doesn't come up again.

Yes, I know that's a bit uncharitable to horror-comedy teen drama from 1999, but I'm gonna go off anyway.

From the start, the premise is interesting. I won't do a full recap, but the beats are simple: Buffy's mom Joyce - in an attempt to try and understand her daughter better - decides to invite herself along on one of Buffy's patrols in a mom-like fashion. Joyce sees a pair of dead children with a ritual mark on their hands. The ritual mark suggests witches and Joyce starts getting involved with the school and later city hall, where she makes a speech about taking Sunnydale back from "the monsters, the witches, and the Slayers."

The town starts going on the hunt for witches. First occult contraband, then Giles' books are forcibly removed from the library; witchy students are getting attacked at school.

Only it turns out it's not real. The kids never existed, it was all a trick by a demon who convinces Joyce and other parents to burn their daughters at the stake, but then the demon is revealed and killed. All's well that ends well!

Now I was on board at the start. Watching a boy in makeup get accosted by a gang of bullies for being a "witch," books being taken away by the authorities, troubling speeches by "concerned parents;" it's quite affecting in our, say, current situation.

But when we find out "Oh! It's actually Hansel and Gretel!" is where it all falls apart for me, culminating in a frankly lazy quick fix for, let's be real, is crypto-fascism.

The episode doesn't even have a final tie-up of loose ends where Buffy confronts her mom about her obviously still unresolved issues with her being the Slayer. Joyce specifically called out "slayers" in her speech about what's wrong with Sunnydale. She told her own daughter to her face that she doesn't really solve anything as the Slayer; that she's not doing anything to help in a way that matters.

And that's just left completely unaddressed! No follow-up, no closure. Oh it's fine, she said all those hurtful things while under the influence of Hansel and Gretel surely they're not an expression of her true inner feelings at all!

In order to fix this, to give the subject real justice, I think you'd have to A). tweak a few details and B). make it more than a single episode.

They really didn't need to make the kids some figment. Kids have died in Buffy before - and not just high school students. Children have been turned into vampires before and even killed as vampires. It wouldn't even need to be a witch symbol that kicked it all off, it could have just as easily been a demonic symbol used by like...cultists. Buffy has dealt with people working with demons before! She nearly got sacrificed to a snake demon by a college frat full of rich assholes.

In fact, I think it works even better if Joyce was responding to a semi-real problem: humans working for demons. Joyce (and the parents she recruits) would then take that to mean anyone who has contact with the supernatural is corrupted. Parents and cops seeing no difference between evil demonic symbols and like, the white magic Willow and her friends practice would be such an easy leap. It starts with looking for people who cavort with demons, then it's books about demons, then it's witches, then it's just anyone different.

Even if Buffy were to defeat that particular demon and its human toadies that specific episode, the tension would still be there. The problem of Sunnydale taking out years of enduring horrors they don't understand out on vulnerable people on the fringes could have been an overarching problem that would dovetail so nicely with the Mayor, who is the focus on most of that season anyway!

Imagine a longer arc of Joyce's activism getting her more into politics, more into the orbit of the Mayor. A Mayor who is friendly and charming and more than willing to start passing laws to "protect" Sunnydale. Suddenly, a curfew for anyone under 18 makes Buffy's patrols cut short by the cops, or the magic shop is shut down and the Scooby Gang's jobs get harder. They're not just fighting the Mayor now - they're fighting City Hall, they're dodging the cops, they're opposed to Buffy's mom.

Maybe I'm overreaching a bit. Maybe I'm projecting anxieties as I live in a world where moral panics are in full swings, libraries are being purged and defunded by the government, where vulnerable people are being demonized and targeted by parental activists, politicians, news organizations, and hateful vigilantes.

Maybe living through the past couple of years and then watching something I like from my childhood treat the same phenomenon so cavalierly has made me a little bitter.

But hey, there's always fanfiction.