The strengths of Raising the Devil lie in its meticulous research (in many cases, uncovering a wealth of obscure materials), close attention to detail, and broad view of the subject.... An insightful contribution to a vital topic that refuses to give up and die.
~American Studies International
An interesting analysis of satanic folklore and organized antisatanism in the US and UK.
~Choice
Highly valuable to scholars interested in the Satanic panics, in rumour panics in general, in the ways in which institutions draw on folklore for their own purposes, or in belief.
~Culture & Tradition
A fascinating study that should become a classic.
~Daniel Wojcik, University of Oregon
A fascinating study. It also has a message that, if heeded, will remove a potent source of grief and fear.
~Folklore
If you read one book on the latter-day Satan revival, this is the one you want.
~Fortean Times
Very few scholars have attempted what Bill Ellis does in this book: the careful, methodical study of a legend complex and its interaction with the surrounding context—social, historical, and global.... A story that is nothing short of fascinating.
~Journal of American Folklore
Very few scholars have attempted what Bill Ellis does in the book: a careful, methodical study of a legend complex and its interaction with the surrounding context—social, historical, and global.
~Journal of American Folklore Research
Never again shall I see 'Satan and all his works' in the same light. Such is the effect of reading a good book.
~Lexington Herald-Leader
Highly recommended as a lucid and well-documented account of a subject that is not always given thoughtful treatment.
~Library Journal
Shows how ancient bogeyman beliefs became aligned with politics and the criminal justice system to produce witch-hunts like the infamous McMartin Preschool case.
~Mother Jones
Takes an important and newsworthy topic and provides a very different slant upon it. The diversity of his approaches will make it important to several different fields.
~Philip Jenkins, Penn State University
