Witch-hunter Rimer gets to meet the real Satan now

Recent news has the nets a-twitter about the death of an infamous witch-hunter:

"Rimer became interested in this field in the late 1980s at the height of the Satanic Panic phenomenon. Banking on his credentials as a police officer, Rimer held seminars for law enforcement on criminal activity allegedly associated with Goth and vampire culture, heavy metal music, role-playing games, Wicca, Afro-Atlantic religions, and Satanism. These groups, he argued, represented a palpable and growing danger."

"America has a long history of moral panics regarding the religious Other and it does not appear this pattern will end any time soon. However, Rimer's passing is an important milestone in the history of America's fear and fascination surrounding cults and Satanism. He will be dearly missed by his friends and family--and perhaps by some of his 'enemies' as well."

• Category: Bookmarks
• Tags:1980s, culture, history, hysteria, moral panic, religion, satanic panic, satanism, wicca