The Devil in the Details

In this episode, the Satanic Skeptic investigates a cold case from 1972 involving the unexplained death of a New Jersey girl, Jeannette DePalma, and how and why her death became sensationalized in the media as a Satanic sacrifice.

On this episode, Autumn Sword, the Satanic Skeptic, argues that groomer accusations against LGBTQ+ people represent what author Robert D. Hicks called "civil blasphemy" and draws a direct parallel between the way such accusations are being weaponized to criminally prosecute people in the name of protecting children, and law enforcement's crusade against satanic cults during the Sata...

On this episode, the Satanic Skeptic shines an infernal light on the controversy rocking the skeptic community- the question of whether biological sex and gender are binaries. As a scientific skeptic, and a trans woman, someone who has seen so-called critical thinkers make jokes of trans athletes, spread misinformation and pseudoscience, fan the flames of fear and anxiety, and call for the crimina...

Happy Halloween! On this episode, the Satanic Skeptic shares the spooky tale of one's man journey from "Satanic High Priest" to a born again Christian! Yeah, right. This episode is full of more tantalizing sweets than a trick-or-treat bucket, so pour yourself something nice, grab a handful of candy, and listen to how evangelical Christians continue to misrepresent Satanism to scare...

On this episode, the Satanic Skeptic examines claims from a Father Chad Ripperger that 25% of the population is diabolically obsessed and that the number is on the rise! What would have to be the case in order for this to be true, and why exactly does Fr. Ripperger think the Devil is getting stronger?

On this episode, Satanic Skeptic JD Sword commemorates the passing of Church of Satan Magisters Henry Manning and Neil Smith while celebrating the passing of Bennett Braun, a psychiatrist whose work with Dissociative Identity Disorder and belief in Satanic Ritual Abuse conspiracies helped fuel the Satanic Panic while ruining his patient's lives.

Netflix's latest documentary, The Devil on Trial , tells the story of David Glatzel who infamous con artists-er, I mean, demonologists- Ed and Lorraine Warren convinced the Glatzel family was possessed. When a young man named Arne Johnson convinces the demon to take him instead, the Warrens claim the evil drove Johnson to commit murder. The ensuing court case and media blitz would be known as...

On this episode, the Satanic Skeptic discusses laws criminalizing fortune telling and how exactly they might be unconstitutional, as well as giving his own opinions as to whether these laws really protect the public from fraud.

On this episode, the Satanic Skeptic explores Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey's history as a paranormal investigator as well as his familiarity with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry- the organization which the Satanic Skeptic writes for! Drawing on a long out-of-print essay featured in the Cloven Hoof as well as other archived Church of Satan material, this episode shows just how much...

Did the actors and assistants who worked for or were in relationships with rockstar Marilyn Manson, and allege that he sexually abused them, really repress the memories of their abuse? The Satanic Skeptic discusses the history and controversy of repressed memories and proposes several alternative explanations as to what might've happened.

On this episode, the Satanic Skeptic reviews an FBI report into a community known as "the Finders" accused of being a CIA-fronted satanic cult involved in child abuse and ritual sacrifice. Are the rumors true? Hell no!

On this episode, the Satanic Skeptic covers a report, released last year, commissioned by the Minister of Justice for the Netherlands investigating claims of "organized sadistic abuse." The conclusion? Listen to find out!

On the first episode of the new year, the Satanic Skeptic, JD Sword, examines a long-standing urban legend of a "demonic cat" said to stalk the halls of the United States Capitol building.

On this episode, the Satanic Skeptic examines a case of alleged Satanic Ritual Abuse that went viral after video interviews between police and children as well as a list of 175 alleged cultists, was leaked online. Ultimately, the children recanted their testimony, confessed their mother and her boyfriend had made it all up and coached them on what to say, and rather than face questioning by police...

On this episode, the Satanic Skeptic examines several plausible candidates for the "true events" which author and showrunner Daria Polatin may have drawn on for inspiration in writing Netflix's latest limited series, "The Devil in Ohio." We're talking a kooky occultnik, a high-profile murder, and a Keystone Cop, all bringing the mass psychogenic illness of the Satanic...

On this episode, the Satanic Skeptic investigates a Devil worshipping Neo Nazi group calling themselves the Order of Nine Angles and their ties to the Alt-Right. While a minority among the extremist fringe, the Order of Nine Angles have been linked to several attempted terrorist attacks and actual homicides. Just how dangerous are they?

On this episode, the Satanic Skeptic revisits an article he wrote for Skeptical Inquirer back in 2021, investigating a video in the tabloid, The Sun, allegedly showing a ghost manipulating a lamp in the haunted former home of both Katharine Hepburn and Boris Karloff!  https://www.the-sun.com/news/1655849/poltergeist-ghost-shakes-lamp-katharine-hepburn-video/

Incensed by an article titled "The Devil Went Down to Texas" in which Director of Content and editor-in-chief at the Foundation for Economic Education, Dan Sanchez, writes that "To Massacre Children is Literally Satanic," The Satanic Skeptic addresses the popular narrative of school shooters as "outcasts" and social rejects and argues why, in fact, massacring children...

In 1983, ethnobotanist Wade Davis published The Serpent and the Rainbow- an account of his journeying to Haiti in search of a fabled zombi powder used by Vodou bokors to induce a state of somnambulism. Davis claimed to have obtained samples of the powder, and hypothesized that one of the main ingredients was a deadly neurotoxin known as tetrodotoxin, setting off a firestorm of academic controversy...

On this episode, the Satanic Skeptic examines the safety and efficacy of abortifacients- herbs taken to induce miscarriage- as well as a "Woman's DIY Guide" to herbal abortions circulating on social media. While the use and interest of abortifacients is nothing new, the recent threat of the United States Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 ruling of Roe v. Wade has the potential to c...

On this episode, the Satanic Skeptic, JD Sword, examines the musical myth that the Catholic Church banned what's known as the tritone during the Middle Ages for being Diabolus in Musica. Is there any truth to this myth and what relationship does the tritone have to rock and heavy metal music?

On this mini episode, the Satanic Skeptic reviews the 2019 book, The Genealogical Adam and Eve, after reading a January 2, 2022 Fox News article "Christians point to genetics breakthroughs to show Adam and Eve are not incompatible with evolution." Life finds a way, but the Satanic Skeptic finds this book unconvincing

On this episode, the Satanic Skeptic examines ritual magic, specifically, whether or not there is reason to believe ritual magic works by way of human will influencing the physical world, or, does ritual magic work on the individual as self-transformative psychodrama?

On this episode, the Satanic Skeptic examines The Satanic Temple, a political activist group who also claim to be Satanists- but are they really? We'll be discussing some of their more well-known publicity stunts such as the Baphomet Statue and their After School Satan program, whether or not their strategy is actually effective, and finally, whether or not they are a religion at all and, if...

On this mini-episode, the Satanic Skeptic reviews a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, "National Religiosity Eases the Psychological Burden of Poverty." Is religiosity, the degree of religious belief, likely a major factor that makes poor people feel better? Is that true of both developing and developed (first world) nations? As Satanists, why should we c...