Thriller lovers, history buffs, and Victoria residents get to learn a scary yet true story. Our provincial capital was once at the center of a frightening social phenomenon known as Satanic Panic. This eye-opening documentary takes viewers back to the 1980s.
Documentary about Satanic cult conspiracy
Back when psychiatrist Larry Pazder recounted the horrific story of a woman named Michelle Proby. Proby claimed she was abused by a Satanic cult in Victoria, BC as a child. The claims were based on repressed memories that Pazder extracted from Proby during years of therapy.
The story spread to the rest of Canada and North America. It triggered an era of hysteria over Satanic Ritual Abuse. Innocent people found themselves facing decades in prison for crimes they didn’t commit.
In the US, dozens of people received convictions for Satanic Ritual Abuse. Their convictions stood on the grounds of flimsy evidence or completely false testimony. Some even received execution, such as the three boys later known as the West Memphis Three in 1994.
Many others had to leave their jobs, homes, and children as they went through the longest trial in US history. Other cases prompted social workers to seize children from their families. Psychiatrists, politicians, and even the media got caught up in the frenzy.
Several states established task forces to investigate the alleged cults. A national organization called Cult Awareness Advocates helped victims of Satanic Ritual Abuse. The FBI wrote a formal report that discredited the claims.
Before that, hundreds of innocent people saw themselves incarcerated, and many more died. In Victoria, a young writer and journalist took an interest in the story and began doing research on it. He learned the tale of devil-worshippers stealing children to abuse them in rituals.
He discovered the tale was a myth passed down through generations of storytellers. Horlor then wrote a book and started speaking out about the truth of what happened. As Horlor spoke out, he began to get phone calls from all over the world, with people telling him that they had been involved in Satanic ritual abuse themselves or knew someone who had.
He soon found himself consulting on dozens of these cases. The claims tended to fall into several categories, but the most common involved adults who lived successful and functional lives seeking treatment for anxiety or depression only to discover through therapy elaborate memories of satanic ritual abuse.
The Real Story Behind the Victoria Satanic Cult Conspiracy is riveting. The documentary examines the claims in depth. Steve J. Adams and Sean Horlor directed the film. It will screen this Friday, August 11th.
