Ep 22 Satanic Panic of 90s! Book Bans, Ouija Boards, and Mansons OH MY!

Today is the day Ashley and Liz take the deep dive. You know us, we’re usually Sparknotes gals… but in order to paint the entire Satanic Panic picture we have to take you back to where it all began…so we did the research! 

What exactly started our parent’s obsession with the occult, ultimately resulting in them banning us from reading Harry Potter? Was it Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, and the Zodiac Killer? Or could it have been razor blades in Halloween candy, ouija boards and the Tylenol murders? 

What we discovered is that it was all of the above with a twist of Satanic Rituals, modern day witch trials, and fundamentalist Christian churches pushing their agendas. The extra fun part? We found out we were living in the EPICENTER of satanic panic in the 80’s: Kern County, California!!

We even get into the most banned books of the 90’s and early 2000’s, and why they were requested to be banned. But don’t worry, it’s not all fire and brimstone. We’ve got a faves and fails involving a bright red Dodge Charger and the new Twisters movie! And a smash or pass with a charismatic villain and some Targaryens.

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Ashley

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References:

https://www.vox.com/culture/22358153/satanic-panic-ritual-abuse-history-conspiracy-theories-explained

https://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/decade2009

https://bannedbooks.library.cmu.edu/j-k-rowling-the-harry-potter-series/

https://www.glamour.com/story/a-complete-breakdown-of-the-jk-rowling-transgender-comments-controversy

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Besties and the Books Podcast!
• 2:49 We’re Reading Harry Potter for the FIRST TIME!
• 10:08 Favs and Fails of the Week
• 24:50 Let’s Talk About The Satanic Panic of the 90s
• 1:12:06 The Problematic J K Rowling
• 1:21:35 Unhinged Smash or Pass