Satan Wants You

Arthur Lyons
1988

So-called satanic cults in the U.S. are investigated in this survey by Lyons (The Second Coming: Satanism in America) who shows that many claims regarding Satanist conspiracies do not hold up to scrutiny. He documents the historical roots of devil worship in "black Masses," sexual orgies and other rites and practices. He views contemporary charges of Satanism against such flamboyant groups as the Church of Satan, founded by self-proclaimed Satanic high priest LaVey, as evolving from media hype and hysteria. A theologian quoted here notes "very little of what is currently being called Satanism is actually religious phenomena, let alone a religious movement." From his study of supposed satanic cults and their widely differing orientations, Lyons demonstrates only that people have emotional and psychological needs that provoke strange behaviors.