Remembering Satan

A Tragic Case of Recovered Memory

By: Lawrence Wright

Narrated by: Danny Campbell

In 1988, Ericka and Julie Ingram began making a series of accusations of sexual abuse against their father, Paul Ingram, who was a respected deputy sheriff in Olympia, Washington. At first the accusations were confined to molestations in their childhood, but they grew to include torture and rape as recently as the month before. At a time when reported incidents of "recovered memories" had become widespread, these accusations were not unusual. What captured national attention in this case is that, under questioning, Ingram appeared to remember participating in bizarre satanic rites involving his whole family and other members of the sheriff's department.

Remembering Satan is a lucid, measured, yet absolutely riveting inquest into a case that destroyed a family, engulfed a small town, and captivated an America obsessed by rumors of a satanic underground. It follows the increasingly bizarre accusations and confessions, as well as the claims and counterclaims of police, FBI investigators, and mental-health professionals. Remembering Satan gives us what is at once a psychological detective story and a domestic tragedy about what happens when modern science is subsumed by our most archaic fears.

©1994 Lawrence Wright (P)2020 Tantor

Not a fun read, but an important one

At first I was like "eugh, disgusting, atrocious!" then I was like "huuuuh??" and then i was like 😔

Dreadful

Excellent review of such an awful case. To what depths will human depravity reach? Is there even a limit? Highly recommend if you are curious, as to what happened in this family..

Very interesting!

I was repulse and astonished by this case. This book provided a deep insight into the Ingram case.

Craziest thing I’ve ever read

I first encountered this book through Carl Sagan’s *The Demon-Haunted World*. I was struck by how readily people embraced the stories of sexual abuse and other extreme allegations. It wasn’t surprising because I thought such claims were undeserving of attention, but rather because many of these accusations turned out to be false, often completely implausible. This has devastating consequences for actual survivors of sexual abuse. It’s heartbreaking to think of the lives shattered—both the families affected by these unfounded accusations and the individuals who, with good intentions, led highly suggestible people to believe they had committed acts they hadn’t. The entire situation is deeply troubling.

probably an important story, but disturbing

The writing wascwell-done , but narration was a bit mechanical.The subject left me disturbed and somewhat uninterested.