This book plunged the world into a terrifying obsession with satanic cults in the 1980s
7 shocking facts about Michelle Remembers, a book that ignited the Satanic Panic
What if one book had the power to plunge the world into a terrifying obsession with satanic cults? Michelle Remembers, a 1980 memoir by a young Canadian woman and her psychiatrist, Dr. Lawrence Pazder, did just that. Marketed as the true story of Michelle Smith's experiences in a satanic cult in Victoria in the 1950s, this bestseller helped spark a global panic that sent law enforcement and mental health professionals on a scrambling to find secret Satanists hiding in our midst. It's also the subject of a new CBC feature documentary, Satan Wants You.
Here are seven things you should know about Michelle Remembers, its authors and why it's now viewed as "patient zero" for the Satanic Panic of the '80s and '90s.
False memories were recovered using controversial techniques
Treatment began after Michelle was hospitalized after a miscarriage and had a troubling dream about spiders pouring from her arm. They amassed a staggering 600 hours of therapy over an intense 14-month period, employing highly suggestive techniques to coax Michelle into recovering her long-lost childhood memories.
This controversial work laid the foundation for Michelle Remembers and became the sinister blueprint for the thousands of satanic ritual abuse cases that followed. Other therapists began employing Dr. Pazder's techniques, using the book as a checklist to determine if their patients were also victims of abuse by satanic cults. In the years that followed, copycat cases appeared all across North America and then spread to the U.K., Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil.
The book opens with a murder that is covered up by a car crash
Michelle's recollections begin with her mother forcing her to participate in alleged rituals at their suburban home, including witnessing and participating in the murder of a woman during a satanic orgy. The high priest of the cult and Michelle's mother then stage a car crash to hide the murder — a story that is said to demonstrate the sexual depravity and bloodthirsty nature of Satan's followers.
The memories also reveal the cult's willingness to cover up its crimes and its uncanny ability to escape detection from law enforcement, which is a hallmark of satanic cult conspiracies. The lack of physical evidence of crime is often considered proof of how powerful satanic cults are.
The book makes horrifying allegations of ritual satanic abuse
A major turning point in the book comes when Michelle recalls a childhood memory of being buried alive in the local cemetery and then forced to kill kittens in a rebirth ceremony that ends with her mother giving Michelle away to Satan. This ritual is a central element of Michelle's story.
Dr. Pazder saw it as evidence that the type of abuse she experienced as a child was both satanic and ritualistic. His theory about satanic ritual abuse would become widely accepted by law enforcement and mental health professionals after an American Psychiatric Association conference in 1981, setting the stage for the global Satanic Panic that followed.
The Catholic Church performed an exorcism and helped promote the book
As Michelle's memories grow increasingly more violent and supernatural, Dr. Pazder, a devout Catholic family man, seeks assistance from the Catholic Church. When it becomes clear that one of her memories involves a woman possessed by the devil, a local priest in Victoria performs the rite of exorcism for Michelle.
This event set the stage for additional involvement by the Catholic Church in the writing and promotion of the book. Michelle's claims were escalated to Remi De Roo, a local Catholic bishop, who began an investigation.
An alleged divine visitation led to a visit to the Vatican
Fearing for her immortal soul, Michelle converts to Catholicism. After her baptism at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Victoria, Michelle and Dr. Pazder discover a wooden bench with satanic symbols in the church and burn it in the parking lot. When they develop the photos Dr. Pazder took from that evening, the Virgin Mary appears to be standing in the shadows beyond the fire, holding the baby Jesus in her arms.
After this divine visitation, Bishop De Roo took Michelle and Dr. Pazder to the Vatican to meet with the Pope, who opened an official investigation into Michelle's story. The involvement of the Vatican gave the book credibility in the eyes of millions of people around the world.
Michelle was subjected to 81 days of torture and saw Satan at a ceremony
Michelle alleges that the cult subjected her to 81 days of torture; she was placed in a cage with snakes, starved and dehydrated and witnessed the horrific slaughter of animals, fetuses and countless newborn babies. She claims Satan himself appeared during a massive ceremony called the Feast of the Beast, where the Satanists attempted to summon Satan to earth through ritualistic dancing and chanting.
Watch | Michelle claimed that Satan appeared to her and spoke in rhymes.
The Virgin Mary appeared — with a plan to save Michelle
At the end of the book, Michelle says the Virgin Mary appeared to her with a plan to defeat Satan. Michelle succeeds with the help of Jesus and the archangel Michael in her battle with Satan, and the Virgin Mary takes away Michelle's scars and memories of the abuse so Michelle can live a normal life.
Michelle's experiences as a survivor of satanic ritual abuse and Dr. Pazder's experience recovering her memories made them experts on this subject matter. After their book became a bestseller, they went on speaking tours and participated in seminars where law enforcement, mental health professionals and social workers were instructed on how to investigate satanic ritual abuse. Dr. Pazder and Michelle also consulted on criminal cases where innocent people were accused and sometimes convicted of crimes they had never committed.
While Michelle Remembers tells chilling accounts of alleged satanic ritual abuse, experts discredited and debunked the book after it became clear there was no physical evidence to support Michelle's recollections.
As absurd as this book sounds today, countless lives were ruined and millions of dollars were wasted on investigating and prosecuting shadows.
Watch Satan Wants You now streaming on CBC Gem.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
