Cults that kill
Subtitle: probing the underworld of occult crime
By: Larry Kahaner.
Publisher: Warner Books
Published: 1988
Place of publication: New York, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 280
Subjects: Murder -- United States -- Case studies.; Occult crime -- United States -- Case studies.; Satanism -- Case studies.; Human sacrifice -- United States -- Case studies.; Santeria.
Description: Based on interviews with investigating police officers, medical and psychiatric experts, practitioners of white and black arts, and cult victims, this book presents information of the beliefs and practices of various cults in America and offers evidence of associated crimes, including ritualistic child sexual abuse, child sacrifice, homicide, animal mutilations, and vandalism. Police investigative reports and interviews with investigating officers are reproduced in the book to document the association of cult symbols and beliefs with various crimes throughout the Nation. Chapters cover the historic roots of Satanism and the various forms of Satanism and witchcraft currently practiced. Various occult rituals are described, and physical evidence of the contemporary practice of these rituals is provided. Links are drawn between occult practices and drugs and pornography. A chapter addresses the testimony of children who describe ritualistic child sexual abuse, child sacrifice, animal mutilations, and other cult crimes. Adults also recount childhood memories of such ritualistic crimes within their families. Knowledgeable law enforcement officers theorize that occult beliefs and practices are used to bind and motivate networks of international criminal activity and to reinforce and justify the acting out of bizarre and violent fantasies.
Notes: Bibliography: p. 269-271.
Includes index.