"Occult Cop"

Randy Emon^*

ABSTRACT: There has been great media attention given to allegations of occult- or satanically-inspired crimes.  As a law enforcement officer who has investigated thousands of crimes and who has interviewed many alleged satanic cult survivors, I originally wanted to believe the survivor accounts.  For several years I was in a cult of occult researchers who failed to examine thoroughly the physical evidence.  However, after six years of study I was forced to change my position.  Although physical evidence has been produced in connection with other types of occult-inspired crimes, there is no empirical corroboration for the existence of multi generational satanic cults.  These allegations appear to come as a result of intrusive and suggestive therapy techniques with therapists who believe in ritual satanic abuse.  From a fundamentalist Christian perspective, the widespread false belief in the satanic cult conspiracy can be understood in terms of Satan, the Father of Lies.
  

How should responsible, rational American citizens react toward the rise of fears of satanically-inspired crimes?  Should we insulate our children from listening to every form of heavy metal music?  Do we prohibit our children from watching occult-inspired movies?  And, if we have a neighbor who openly advocates satanism, do we put our homes up for sale?  With television programs, books, and news articles portraying satanic crime running rampant across the United States and abroad, a tremendous anxiety is generated about the alleged presence of satanic criminals everywhere, including our preschools.  There are even reports of satanists active in high level government offices.

Several years ago, in the Los Angeles area, a rash of freeway shootings lasted for more than six months.  This "new" crime gained a tremendous amount of media attention and prompted the California legislature to add several hundred additional officers to the staff of the state Highway Patrol.  In the community where I am currently employed as a police officer, I can recall a number of incidents over the past 15 years when gang members shot at other moving cars, yet these incidents never attracted mass media attention.

However. when the news media began to publicize this "new" wave of freeway violence, the public learned a new way to assault one another.  This crime then appeared to increase in frequency.  Though media reports, it was common knowledge that few suspects had been apprehended.  Coincidentally, several other states experienced similar incidents of freeway violence.  Now that media coverage has significantly subsided, there are only occasional references to a freeway shooting on the news.  Could the media have contributed to actually increasing the rash of freeway shootings?

After the arrest of Richard Ramirez for 13 occult-motivated murders in California, there were several years of media coverage of satanism and ritual child abuse.  The McMartin Preschool case and several other highly publicized cases involving occult allegations were extensively covered.  In 1988, the "Geraldo Show" aired one of the last sensationalized versions of satanism.  Several guests on the show claimed that they were witnesses to, or were the actual "breeders" — women who gave birth to children who were to be used in satanic ritual sacrifice of children.

About a year before the show aired, I personally interviewed one of those "breeders" who appeared.  She told me that she had had no specific memory of her satanic childhood activities until she went to a therapist for marriage counseling.  Through the therapy that followed, she began to remember "pieces" of her horrid childhood.  It was through this counseling that she was also diagnosed as having multiple personality disorder (MPD).  She recalled during therapy that her parents were satanic perpetrators and decided to bring a lawsuit against them for damaging her psychologically.  In her court deposition she spoke to the attorneys through several of her child personalities describing "their" morbid childhood satanic experiences.  To avoid a trial, the parents of this "breeder" paid an out-of-court settlement of about $50,000.

I have collected hundreds of news articles from publications across the nation regarding satanic/occult crimes.  Not long after the 1988 Geraldo show aired, the media coverage about satanic-type crime seemed to peak.  Then in April, 1989, Mark Kilroy was murdered in Matamoros, Mexico, and there was another period of intense news coverage.  I have had an increased number of inquiries directed to me whenever an occult-type crime was promoted over the media.¹

In March, 1991 two Southern California sisters brought a civil lawsuit against their mother for alleged childhood ritual molestation.  I sat through opening arguments for the defense and the plaintiffs as I was going to be the first witness for the plaintiffs.  But while I listened to the defense attorney explain that the sisters had undergone regression hypnotherapy to assist in memory recall, I began to question the underlying truth of this case.  After several weeks of trial, the jury deliberated and found in favor of the plaintiffs but no monetary damages were awarded.²

Over the past six years, I have interviewed a number of ritual abuse "survivors," many of whom also claimed to have been breeders.  One common link between them was that each had emotional problems and sought counseling from a secular or Christian therapist.   After lengthy counseling, each person was eventually diagnosed as a breeder, a survivor, or a ritual abuse victim.  Most were also diagnosed as having MPD.  During my interviews, I asked each alleged survivor for any physical evidence supporting the allegations, but not one could provide anything tangible.
  

Satanic Cult Survivors and Alien Abductions

After analyzing the interviews with the alleged survivors and breeders diagnosed with MPD, I observed a common pattern of symptoms and behavior.  In December, 1987, Omni Magazine conducted an investigation into the alien abduction phenomena.³  When I saw this, I immediately noted remarkable similarities between alien abduction stories and the accounts given by the self-proclaimed satanic cults survivors:⁴

Some experts believe that the news media along with movies and books depicting aliens or satanic cults have influenced these respective groups.¹²  Subjective certainty is produced by social influence and conformity to expectations.

When considering the satanic cult survivor accounts, the important questions are when, where, why and how did the survivors remember their involvement in ritual abuse?  As noted above, almost all ritual abuse survivors interviewed developed emotional problems, sought counseling, and later remembered their abuse through therapeutically-assisted methods.  Therefore, if there is a strong therapeutic relationship between the patient and therapist, the therapist could transfer his therapeutic expectations to the patient.¹³  For instance, did the therapist have any preconceived ideas relative to ritual abuse, breeders or survivors?  Did the therapist ask leading questions in order to make the patient believe he or she was ritually abused?  Did the therapist use drug-induced states or hypnosis to assist in memory recall?  What type of courses had the therapist taken on MPD and ritual abuse?  Who were the instructors of the in-service training courses?¹⁴
  

My Experiences with Occult Crimes

I have been a police officer in a suburban city outside Los Angeles, California, for nearly two decades.  I have investigated thousands of crimes covering the total spectrum of police involvement.  As a command officer, one of my main tasks is to supervise investigations and review written reports from police officers.  Investigating occult-related crimes became a personal interest in 1985.

When I began in this field, four general categories of satanists were noted: the dabbler, the religious satanist, the pseudo-satanist, and the generational satanist.¹⁵  For the next six and a half years, I gathered a significant amount of physical evidence, including photographs, to substantiate the existence of each category except the generational satanist, which included the breeders and cult survivors.¹⁶  I saw a number of crimes across the United States influenced by occult involvement — Richard Ramirez, Ricky Kasso, Sean Sellers, Thomas St. Joseph to name a few.¹⁷

In the beginning, I accepted the word of other professionals investigating occult crimes as definitive.  But although I read numerous accounts of baby sacrifices I was unable to substantiate any of them.¹⁸  Ken Lanning, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has also been unable to substantiate an epidemic of ritual, satanic child abuse.¹⁹  In the beginning, I felt some animosity toward Mr. Lanning because he was not concurring with the generally-accepted law enforcement position regarding this "epidemic."  After all, weren't the children and survivors across the nation reporting similar stories and didn't this mean the stories must be true?  I waited for evidence to surface regarding a national link to ritual/satanic child molesters or murderers, but none came.

Despite the overwhelming lack of physical evidence of the satanic cult survivor stories, as a law enforcement officer, I wanted to believe these accounts.  For several years I unwittingly allowed myself to become enmeshed into a cult of occult researchers who, because of their personal beliefs, motives and goals, failed to examine thoroughly and rationally the hard physical evidence.  Many well-intentioned Christians also fostered a continued belief in a national satanic conspiracy affecting every level of society.²⁰

In my interviews, I spoke with many individuals claiming the same conspiracy, but no one could provide any concrete evidence.  Nevertheless, I fell into the trap and shared these stories as truthful and reliable.  But after six years of study I was forced to evaluate all the available evidence and change my position.

When an officer investigates a suspected drunk driver, one of the most important tasks is to obtain a specimen from the driver's blood, breath, or urine to determine the blood alcohol content.  Without this, it is sometimes quite difficult to obtain a conviction.  A jury relies on physical evidence and the manner in which it was obtained.  If an officer is unable to gather a sample to be scientifically analyzed, other evidence must be sought.  Were there any open containers of alcoholic beverages in the person's vehicle?  Was a videotape made of the driver's field sobriety test?  Were other reliable witnesses available?  Were there any store receipts to confirm the recent purchase of an alcoholic beverage?

If the officer is unable to produce this type of evidence, the courts will rely significantly on the officer's testimony as to his observations of the person's physical condition, i.e. clothing, attitude, gaze nystagmus, odor of alcoholic beverage on the breath, etc.  Of greater importance is the method of documentation the officer used to aid his memory upon offering testimony later in a court of law.  Combining all of these data before a jury in order to allow them to determine the person's guilt or innocence is an extremely important task of every police officer.

In any investigation, physical evidence such as a gun, knife, fingerprints or blood can link a person to a specific crime.  It is the responsibility of the investigator to gather as much evidence as possible in order to effectively conclude his investigation.  There are times when enough evidence cannot be gathered in a particular case, such as a homicide, and the suspect must be freed.  The investigator may conclude that his suspect is, in fact, a killer but knows it cannot be proven in a court of law.  So what does the investigator do?  He continues to investigate the incident until enough evidence is available for prosecution or until all leads have been exhausted.

There is ample physical and testimonial evidence to prove the existence of Mafia-related crimes in the United States and abroad.²¹  There is physical evidence to prove the existence of recent police death squad activity in Brazil which involves the corpses of over 400 children.²²  There is evidence of occult-influenced crimes occurring in the United States.  Many of these crimes are committed by teenage children.²³  There is evidence of eclectic-influenced criminal groups such as was found in Matamoros, Mexico.²⁴  And, there is evidence of child pornography and sex rings in existence internationally.²⁵  Yet, when we take the stories of countless satanic cult survivors and the alien abduction stories, sprinkled with the endorsements of the "experts" to buttress their credibility, who have as yet been unable to provide any concrete data, there seems to be a willingness to accept as fact the testimony of those "eyewitnesses," supported by their specially "trained" constituency, without any physical evidence.²⁶  Such readiness to accept and believe highly improbable accounts with no supporting data is a remarkable social phenomenon in itself.  Human history, unfortunately, has many instances of similar credulity.
  

Treatment for Alleged Satanic Cult Survivors

The common denominator of almost all satanic cult survivors is the fact that each sought a psychotherapist for counseling and subsequently was diagnosed with multiple personality disorder.  It is generally the case when MPD is identified, hypnosis or similar memory recall techniques have been or are used in treatment.  The therapist must lead the patient's various personalities to trust the "core" personality so that through integration of all the personalities, the patient can be made whole.  Even Christian psychotherapists now use this technique.²⁷

In September, 1989, I was contacted by a 30-year-old woman who said her daughter had been sexually molested by her former husband.  The woman believed that there was more to the incident but could not be certain.  In August, 1991, this same woman contacted me again to describe a satanic cult with which she said her husband had been involved during their marriage.  She claimed to have been drugged and forced to witness a murder by the cult.  She said that about six months prior to this latest report, she decided to seek therapy for some emotional trauma as a result of her broken marriage.  The therapist suggested that she go through a regressive visualization technique in order to assist in remembering her past.  She then began to remember "pieces" of her satanic past where she was drugged and forced to participate in rituals.  For several weeks she contacted me, each time providing just a few more pieces of the puzzle, including names of participants involved in the crimes.  Not long after providing me with some specific details, this woman again contacted me and without any explanation asked me to stop pursuing her claims.

The history of this woman is consistent with other alleged satanic cult survivors.  George Ganaway, Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine is also Director for the Ridgeview Center for Dissociative Disorders.  He states:

The experimental hypnosis literature is replete with studies clearly demonstrating that it is not possible to distinguish accurate from inaccurate details of hypnotically retrieved memories without independent verification.  Hypnosis tends to increase "recall" of both.  Furthermore, virtually every study that has examined the subjects' confidence in the veracity of their memories has demonstrated that hypnosis increases confidence in the veracity of both correct and incorrect recalled material.²⁸

Visualization can be similarly classified.  Ganaway notes that (therapeutically regressed) patients can move in and out of hypnotic trance states no matter what the therapist's intent may be regarding the use of hypnotic techniques.²⁹

Undergoing hypnotic regression or visualization is a vivid experience for an MPD patient.  The patient allegedly remembers morbid details of the satanic past and then wants to share every detail with others as being "absolute proof" of satanic molestation.  Even a polygraph examination is likely to indicate truthfulness because the patient now believes in the historical reality of the memories.  But, is it factual?³⁰  A professional hypnotherapist may regress a patient through past lives where the patient recalls being an Egyptian prince.  And, what if through this regression hypnotherapy, the patient is able to remember specific details about a past life that only an Egyptologist would know?  Does this prove the patient lived in Egypt thousands of years ago?

The method of therapy and memory recall by these patients must be examined.  If the diagnosis of multiple personality disorder with its therapeutic method of integrating personalities can work to make a patient whole, then modem psychiatry is to be commended.³¹

But does multiple personality disorder even exist?  Could it just be a currently-popular diagnosis given in an attempt to explain someone's unusual symptoms due to the lack of knowledge in the psychiatric community?  In point of fact, MPD is highly controversial.  A few therapists are seeing most of the MPD cases, and there is little empirical evidence supporting this diagnosis.  It appears that MPD depends upon social influences for its emergence.  Therefore, we should consider the possibility that a well-intentioned therapist trained to identify MPD might suggest this disorder to a patient who believes this "expert" opinion when in fact MPD may have never existed.³²
  

MPD and the Bible

In America, there are those who believe in the supernatural — Christians, non-Christians, UFO cults, Satanists, Witches, etc.  There are those who believe in a sphere of evil influence and there are those who do not.  While some believe in the existence of a malevolent realm, some require empirical data to demonstrate it.  There are those who believe in the existence of MPD.  There are those who point to the lack of empirical data for this construct.  It is a controversial issue attracting both believers and critics.  It seems to many that there is a sizable group of persons whose beliefs about these areas are influenced by a fundamentalist Christian commitment.  Because the writings of the Apostles and the Prophets are considered to be one of the more accurate records of ancient history and human ideas, it seems a logical step to examine these historical accounts as they pertain to MPD.

By examining MPD in the light of canonical authority, several questions arise regarding the methods of memory recall and the subsequent lurid accounts provided by those patients.  For instance, can a person have more than one personality?  That is, can a person's mind split into different parts, have different thoughts, different likes, and different voices?  Would a person having MPD be cured by simply leading the alter personalities into trusting a core personality?  Might regression therapy be supported scripturally to assist a person's memory recall?

Examples of individuals having personality and behavioral changes are found in scriptural records.  King David, after his adulterous encounter with Bathsheba, who became pregnant, feared exposure and ordered Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, murdered.  Not until the birth and death of their week-old child and confrontation by the prophet, Nathan, did King David repent of his errors and was then fully restored.  In Psalm 51, David wrote, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation," which God had granted.³³  However, the operative element in the restoration to wholeness is the repair of the broken relationship with a gracious God.

Another example is the account of the Demon-possessed man at Gadara.³⁴  In that story, a man is seen as inhabited by demons that control him.  Once the demons were ordered to depart from this man, he was restored and in "his right mind."³⁵  Or consider the extreme mood swings of King Saul from depression to euphoria.³⁶  Here, too, in both instances the restorative element is a personal relationship with a gracious and merciful God.

Apparently, the techniques of leading an MPD patient to trust the core personality for wholeness and healing places the emphasis of freedom and trust onto the therapist or the patient.  There is nothing in this approach that establishes contact with grace or mercy.  It appears the Messiah's response to this problem would likely be, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."³⁷  Or, "if the Son (Jesus) sets you free, you will be free indeed."³⁸  Or lastly, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old had gone, the new has come."³⁹  The call to healing and restoration is the call to enter into an immersion in God's grace and mercy, not to personal resources of the self nor to another human being.  No matter what background one has, no matter what types of crimes one has witnessed or participated, Scriptural accounts show that anyone can be freed from their bondage.  MPD victims across the world should ponder this possibility of spiritual renewal.

If MPD and its symptoms were in fact a real disease entity empirically established by the psychiatric community, might not the account of the man in Gadara appear to be quite similar?  In my experience, Christian pastors, therapists and counselors have uncritically accepted psychiatric disease classifications as real, have drawn comparisons with biblical accounts, and then have blended what they think are effective mental health techniques with their biblically-oriented methods.  Unfortunately, trying to mix these disparate concepts creates confusion and blunts any possible healing from either approach.  If the mental health techniques adopted are neither reliable nor valid but speculative and ill-founded, they may generate harm rather than healing.

The tolerance and accepted use of visualization techniques by a growing number of Christian professionals to recover a patient's repressed memory has apparently become much more appealing than age-regression hypnotherapy.  Many Christian professionals feel the use of hypnosis is improper and regard it as prohibited by the biblical warning against witchcraft, but distinguish relaxation therapy or similar guided imagery or regressive visualization techniques from hypnosis.  They can then assert these methods are valid and acceptable within a biblical framework.

The proponents and teachers of this apparent "biblically" accepted method have gained a tremendous cult-like following.  Yet, many conservatives within Christianity are vehemently opposed to this technique and do not accept the idea that it is different from hypnosis and therefore acceptable.  Although some Christian and non-Christian therapists claim to use neither approach, Ganaway, as previously noted, said patients can move in and out of hypnotic trance states no matter what the therapist's intent.  Their recalled memories are just not reliable, no matter how they are obtained, in the absence of independent verification.

I have spoken personally to at least a hundred counselors, therapists and pastors, about half of whom claim to be Christians.  Almost all believed in hypnotherapeutic/visualization techniques to aid in memory recall and recovery.  Many of these therapists state that when a patient remembers childhood traumas, they always try to get to the root cause by leading the patient through regressive memory therapy where the patient would frequently produce memories of satanic/ritualistic past experiences.  The first survivor book, Michelle Remembers (), was published in 1980.  Many of the tales related by these mental health professionals could be carbon copies from the stories of the main character of that book.

During the therapy sessions, therapists, pastors, and counselors have obtained from their patients names of suspects involved in satanic crimes, dates and locations where they have occurred, and vivid details of those heinous incidents.  They then give me these details and names as part of my investigation of their reports.  Often the names are of highly prominent individuals.  Trying to obtain probative facts from the patient during an investigation is generally fruitless.  To date, of all the names and incidents uncovered through recalled memory techniques and given to me for investigation, not one has proven true.

For the past several years, therapists, counselors, and other professionals across the nation have been comparing accounts from their patients' recalled memories.  They assert that because of the consistency of their stories, a national network of satanists is highly likely.  After all, how would a child in Oregon reveal similar details that another has told in Texas, especially when neither person nor families had any connection?  (Over the past six years, I have interviewed nearly 300 current and former occultists compiling their symptoms of being involved with occult practices.  See Appendix A)

Networks of professionals investigating ritual abuse have also proliferated over the past five years — The Cult Awareness Network, Believe the Children, Cult Crime Impact Network, Texas Ritual Crime Information Network, CuItwatch Response and the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center, to name a few.  This cult of cult monitors has evolved over the past several years.  They frequently share their information.  These groups often consist of volunteers — police officers, probation officers, ministers, doctors, psychiatrists, therapists, educators, actors, and other professionals.  Many of these people have a singular belief — America is rife with satanists and they're going to expose them.

Within the group of cult monitors, there are available "experts" trained to aid anyone trying to flee a satanic cult.  If extensive counseling is needed, their networks have many counselors and therapists available.  If a counselor is unavailable to take a client, then they'll refer him to another that is familiar with ritual abuse.  Many such therapists and counselors are lay persons and have no professional background other than attending a few training seminars held by enthusiasts that are aimed at inculcating belief in their ideas.

It is not unusual for alleged satanic cult survivors to seek out someone they know will believe them, even if their allegations cannot be proved.  I have questioned accounts told by survivors only to later be told by someone else that the survivor did not consider me to be a "believer," and therefore, on the side of the survivors.  For some, this meant I immediately became their enemy.

This brings us back to the primary issue of credibility.  The most important aspect in examining MPD are the diagnostic and therapeutic methods used to aid in memory recall.  When examining forced memory recall through therapeutically-assisted visualization or regression hypnotherapy, the patient begins to remember the past, especially, prior lives.  How would the scribes of the Old and New Testament attempt to explain this?  It is often noted that when one begins to believe in prior lives, an associated belief in reincarnation can be fostered, which the Bible adamantly refutes.⁴⁰

With this understanding, we can again look at the method, consistency, and frequency of the satanic cult survivor stories promulgated by therapists.  If people can be influenced to believe they lived in a prior life, could not people also be influenced to believe they have repressed memories and, through memory recall therapy, remember the past?

Since there are so many "survivor," "breeder," and "abduction" stories and there is a lack of evidence to support their claims, why are they all remembering similar stories?  The satanic cult believers maintain that these incidents have, in fact, occurred, but because the perpetrators of these heinous crimes are so well organized, they are able to eliminate all evidence that links them to their crimes.  This could also be said of alleged alien abductors.

Additionally, through the use of mind-control techniques, they claim that these groups have been able to control the children, preventing the disclosure of these crimes.  They maintain that because some therapeutic experts have special knowledge and expertise to unravel these mysteries, survivors, breeders, abductees and ritual abuse patients are now able to tell their stories.  Although no hard, physical evidence to support these claims exists, these explanations are accepted by the believers who do not waver in their conviction of the reality of satanic cult conspiracies.

Finally, consider these two extraordinary parallel stories.  A British UFOlogist, Jenny Randles, analyzed 28 alien abduction cases and compared them to those studied in America.  She found cultural differences to be widespread.  She notes:

In virtually all American cases, the (alien) entities resemble the one on (the cover of) Whitley Strieber's book, (Communion ()) — small creatures with large head and eyes.  It astonishes no one that (after the publication of Strieber's book) we (in England) recently began to get similar reports as well.  But most often our aliens are more human-like and six or seven feet tall ...  Of the 28 cases, we have only found one scar, and it was fairly suspect; it might have been a birth mark.  And only ten of our subjects reported medical exams.  Not one recalled a gynecological exam or a sperm or ovum sampling.⁴¹

If one didn't know this was an abductee story, it could have been mistaken as an account from a breeder or a survivor.

In April, 1989, a Chicago therapist, Pamela Klein, who specializes in ritual child abuse cases, conducted training seminars in Great Britain to social workers while in the city of Nottingham.  Not long after her training course where she stated, "Satanism will sweep Britain," reported cases of satanic ritual abuse begin to surface.  Children began to describe bodies being cooked in microwave ovens and eaten, tunnels where children were taken to be abused, and people dancing around a circle while children were being abused.

The Nottingham Police thoroughly investigated all allegations.  Detective Superintendent Peter Coles stated they found "not one shred of evidence" to support these claims.  A second subsequent investigation was conducted with the same results.  Great Britain authorities are now pointing fingers at Pamela Klein as being the catalyst of a national panic.  According to Detective Coles, not one report of babies being cooked in microwave ovens surfaced until after Pamela Klein's training class.

Similarly, in the Chicago area, Pamela Klein conducted over 50 interviews with a young girl, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Fittanto.  Their daughter revealed to Pamela Klein vivid details of their parents' involvement in satanic cannibalism, including mutilation.  The judge ruled that Ms. Klein was not a bonafide therapist and that she was responsible for teaching the child to believe the horrendous fantasies.  The father was charged with molestation, but the charges were later dropped.  John Fittanto subsequently filed a million dollar lawsuit against Pamela Klein.⁴²

As a result, questions have now surfaced.  Could there be a surreptitious or ulterior motive behind the use of memory recall techniques by well-trained experts and therapists?  Or, could these professionals be unwitting pawns misled (by some person or force) into believing unsubstantiated stories from the survivors, breeders, and abductees?  And if so, why?  In what possible way would a national or international panic benefit a person or a group?  Or more significantly, what if there really is a supernatural force behind this, one that no one has, as of yet, thoroughly examined.  Many UFOlogists believe alien intelligence is responsible for many of the abductions.  Likewise, ritual abuse experts claim satanists are perpetrating crimes everywhere.  But suppose that both groups are wrong in their hypotheses?  What if the experts in both groups had been intentionally misled?  If so, by who or what and most importantly, why?

Is there anyone who could possibly explain this predicament?  Are there any historical records that could illuminate our awareness to this extant dilemma?  Are there any documented accounts of conspiratorial efforts by a person or group to cause a nation (or nations) to intentionally destroy themselves?

There is found within the pages of one particular historical record, accounts of an entity with a deranged mentality capable of organizing such a monumental task.  This historical document written by the Apostles and Prophets identifies this person by a host of entities.  He is identified as the Slanderer, the Deceiver, Accuser of the Brethren, Father of Lies, Satan, Murderer, etc.⁴³

If this individual (who some have labeled a cosmic homicidal maniac) is truly the one fueling this conspiratorial effort, there seems to be ample evidence it is being accomplished.  Implanting false memories of gory satanic acts occurring in childhood and later allowing people to remember their pasts through a copyrighted (psychiatrically-approved) memory recall therapy is an accomplished feat of magnificent disguise.  By way of causing both patient and therapist to believe these unsubstantiated stories, we can be assured that everywhere we will believe satanists are in our closets, at our jobs, at the grocery store, at our preschools and even in our churches and pulpits.  We will not be able to trust anyone, not even our ministers or parents.

What is even more humiliating is that much of the religious, professional and law enforcement community has fallen prey to this lie (if it is a lie) and has believed that accounts from the many "experts" are supported with oral evidence from the alleged satanic cult survivors.

The ultimate question is this: If we hypothesize that Satan is truly behind this deception, what are the motives?  The Apostles wrote that the world is "The Evil One's" domain,⁴⁴ and that there is an organized group of followers with him.⁴⁵  Satan is not capable of reading our thoughts but can implant thoughts, desires and suggestions into one's minds.⁴⁶  When Satan tempted Jesus, he only wanted one thing — for Jesus to worship him.⁴⁷  If an individual will not willingly worship Satan, then what better tactic than to show how futile it is to come against Satan and his power — even convincing his most hated opponents (the Christian) of the same thing.  With the aid of the news media, millions of people are in constant fear of satanists and alien abductors everywhere.

The Holy Bible cites this most interesting comment from the Messiah concerning this adversary.  He told us that "Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy ..."⁴⁸  It is possible that many of us have been outwitted by this malevolent being — destroyed from the inside, doing it ourselves.

Through the tactic of promoting belief in the apparent false existence of satanists everywhere, much of the public, including professing Christians, has been thrown into a panic by believing that powerful individuals controlled by Satan are in every part of our social strata and that we are totally powerless to fight.  The spurious stories of survivors, breeders, and child abuse victims without corroborative evidence has caused many people to be in constant fear and hysteria.  A very similar panic and phobia can be seen with the alien abduction account.  One must wonder if this mastermind could be responsible for both crises?

There may have been children involved in ritual molestation, but to what extent we may never know.  There have also been many children molested in a non-ritual setting.  I have personally investigated and/or supervised many such investigations.

We need to scrupulously examine the facts surrounding these ritual-type cases.  Reports of occult-influenced incidents are on the rise but sometimes exaggerated by well-intentioned experts.  George Ganaway maintains that independent verification of recalled memories (from MPD patients) is crucial.  Similarly, the method of gathering and preserving evidence coupled with accurate documentation is our most important tool.  The key to occult research is guarded skepticism coupled with a balanced educational and rational approach.

The publicity and attention given to satanic ritual abuse allegations may well result in acting-out behaviors in vulnerable individuals.  In 1990, I addressed a group of junior high students on the dangers of occult involvement and showed a home-made, occultly-marked cardboard altar confiscated from a teenager.  Three weeks later a student in the same class copied this altar from memory and tried performing his own rituals at home.

As professionals, police officers, researchers, counselors and therapists, we need to examine the evidence that has been presented.  Credibility in the survivor stories is questionable and there is no reliability in therapeutically-recalled memories.  The lack of hard evidence is obvious and it is highly probable that therapists, professionals, movies, books and rumor have greatly added to the problem.  I have made errors.  However, coupled with the guidance of some very balanced colleagues and reading outstanding resource materials,  I have been able to take a new approach to the field of occult crime investigation.⁴⁹

Among my records is the full documentation and evidence on what led a 17-year-old boy to attempt suicide.  On his parents' 25th wedding anniversary, he left a taped a suicide message and a note for his parents.  (See Appendix B for a transcription of the taped message).  After he had run away with their rifle, the parents found the following material laid out on their son's desk: A Ouija Board, Suicidal Tendencies and Slayer albums, three pentagrams, and a book entitled, Magic and Witchcraft, a 14-inch wooden, upside-down cross painted black, and a chopped-off tail from a squirrel.  A handwritten note stated, "Just press play and you'll find out what I've been into."

In 1987, I founded the Christian Occult Investigators Network (COIN) to provide balanced and accurate information to the law enforcement and Christian community on occultism.  I now realize that during the intervening years, misinformation was disseminated.  But we can now move ahead by eliminating the fear among ourselves, examine the facts and educate one another relying on facts, physical evidence and the inspired word of God.⁵⁰
  

Conclusions

I began as a believer in this subject of occult crime, reverted to a skeptic, and concluded as a rationalist intent on exercising God's gift of human reasoning.  It is apparent we must thoroughly question the methods of memory recall from alleged satanic cult survivors.  No hard, factual evidence of these accounts has been documented and until concrete data are revealed, I shall remain skeptical.

After more than six years of study, I am convinced I have contributed to this wave of misinformation.  Prudence, logic and rational reasoning should be used to continue exposing crimes, which some commit motivated by the occult, which can be as addictive and deadly as a narcotic.  I have the evidence that the primary victims of occult involvement are teens.

One must consider whether or not the cult of occult cops and the cult of cult-monitoring groups have done more harm than good?

Possibly, whomever or whatever is behind this apparent campaign of misinformation might be irrelevant.  Many today have "The devil made me do it" attitude.  It appears easier for us to just pass the buck and blame Satan than for us to take the responsibility for our own actions.  It is more comfortable to point the finger at a satanic cult conspiracy for causing all of society's (and our own) woes, than it is to acknowledge that each of us has a sinful and evil nature which avoids accepting our responsibilities.

It's time we examine the facts!

Consider this simplified scientific method?  We know the moon exists.  Why?  We've seen it.  We have samples from it.  We have photographs of it and Americans have walked on it.  Maybe we should take a lesson from NASA the next time an account from alleged satanic cult survivor is heard.
  

Endnotes

Appendix A: Symptoms of Occult Activity Involvement

After interviewing over 300 current and former occultists, the symptoms listed below occurred most frequently while participating in any form of occult-type practices.  Caution must be emphasized.  Just because an individual exhibits five or six symptoms, it does not necessarily mean that person is a practicing occultist.  One must analyze the entire situation, i.e. the person's history, emotional condition, medical condition, age, ethnicity, family infrastructure, coupled with an in-depth interview with that individual before making any conclusions.  Extreme caution must be taken in order not to not suggest any symptom to any individual.

Frightening, recurring nightmares

Hearing voices

Insomnia

Apparitions

Suicidal/Murderous thoughts

Attempted Suicide

Extremely secretive demeanor

Time loss, memory gap

Violent behavior

Poltergeist activity

Psychically inclined or Clairvoyant

Depression, withdrawal from society

Drug use

Physical contact with a visible or invisible object/entity, sometimes in a sexual manner

Involuntary muscle spasms not associated with drug use.  Sometimes described as a shaking or vibrating bed or mild earthquakes, not associated with drug use

Change in clothing style (not in all cases)

Change in behavior

Obsession with fantasy role playing games, i.e. Dungeons and Dragons

Possession/obsession with occult-related novels/books

Electrical sensation in one's body described from mild to very acute

Atmospheric temperature changes

Astral projection (feeling of leaving the body)

Possession of occult paraphernalia

Aversion to the Bible or Christian related material; i.e. inability to read due to the words being blurred or letters scrambled; or falling asleep.  [Back]

Appendix B: Transcription of Message

The following is a transcription of an audio-taped message completed in August, 1987, by a 17-year-old boy in Southern California.

You better brace yourself because I have some weird stuff to tell you.  Some of it you might not understand, but last night I talked to Dad.  Being brought up a Christian he had the wrong frame of mind so he couldn't really answer the questions I needed answered.  I guess there aren't many people who could, so I don't feel guilty.

One of the main questions I needed answered that I never got was, "For what purpose was the spirit of the Ouija Board wanting me to kill myself?"  The reason I wanted to ask this is because I developed an odd sort of relationship with the board and I got to the point where I didn't even have to touch the board to get it to work at all.  I had to do, all I had to do was to ask it the questions and every time, I got a logical, brilliant answer.  Sometimes I didn't even have to ask anything, still it would talk to me.

Mom?  You ask me why I'm so unsociable lately?  Well, if you had a friend like this, you wouldn't need any friends.  But anyway, on one night, the board started to tell how heaven and hell don't exist and the way you die, and where you die, determining the intensity of your life after.  The worse the death, the better your next life.  The better the atmosphere of your death, the better the atmosphere of your next life.  See how it works!  There are no books to read, no rules to follow, no battle between good and evil.  Good is in the atmosphere of your death and the evil is in the gruesomeness of your death.  So I figured if everything else the board said was right, then this has to be right.

So then it asked me if I wanted to be with him forever in a totally civilized world with no problems, with only the people that I wanted to talk to there — and I said "Yes."  And he told me to get to where he was I had to commit suicide in a pretty gruesome way; and it would have to be in the mountains or in the sea — so I chose the mountains.  And if you're wondering why your guns are missing Dad, I'm really sorry, but it's the only thing I can think of that was fast, and pretty gross, too.

So I didn't want to hurt you guys at all and I'm sorry I kicked in the door and stuff.  Well, believe it or not, I really do appreciate all the things you guys have given me and put up with for the last fourteen and a half years.  And I'm sorry you guys can't see it from my viewpoint, plus maybe you could be happy for me instead of sad because I really don't like life — you guys know I didn't, I told you that lots of times.  I know I'll be happy and maybe I'll see you in about forty years or so.

The reason I chose this day is because if you guys try to put me back into juvenile hall or something like that tonight, I knew I would kill myself in there; so I promised myself that.  And the only way to do it is to hang yourself.  And hanging yourself is not gruesome; and doing it in jail wouldn't make it any better either.

So you can see why it had to be done today.  I know it's bad timing, it's your anniversary and all, but it's all the time I could do it ...

... But if you ever want to talk to me, and you might think this is weird, too, but you can always use this Ouija Board here and I'll probably be able to talk to you — anyway that's what the board said — that you might think I'm weird believing in what a board says, but everything it has said so far is right.

I really do love you guys a lot — I really do! ...

... Dad, Just keep it going strong and pretty soon, I'll be off your hands — and I'll be proud of you all the time.  And if Christianity works for you guys stick with it, because it didn't work for me; but if it's working for you, then that's good ...

... I better be going.  Have a good life.  [Back]