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Satan's High Priest
Recounts the story of Joseph Warren, a small-town businessman who led a double life as a satanic cult leader, in a tale based on interviews with his family members and cult survivors. Reprint.
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 5, 2012
I knew going in that the subject matter this book covers was not going to be pleasant, and now that I am finished, I literally have the shakes. I won't go into details about it--if you're interested in the inner workings of a satanic cult, you can read this book yourself--but I can tell you that by reading it I feel like I lost some of what little was left of my own innocence.
This is not the reason this book received only two stars from me. Spencer gathered information from the victims of "Joseph Warren," the Satanic high priest, and wrote the book through his eyes. He, of course, could not verify any of the information because he had died some years before. So the whole book is basically speculation about what went on in his head. This book would have been better if it were first-hand accounts of the surviving victims.
Scene breaks would have made this narrative much easier to understand. Months or years could pass between paragraphs, making it hard to follow.
One thing I find interesting (and this is pure speculation on my part) is that since the narrative lacks any kind of emotion and jumps from scene to scene without clear transitions, it seems like Satan's High Priest was written by one of the traumatized victims herself. It states in the book that one victim in particular grew up to have "muted emotional responses." Also, victims of such trauma are said to dissociate from and compartmentalize their experiences, so by forgetting the traumatizing events, their lives could indeed move from "scene to scene" without a clear transition, because the events during the "transition" would have been repressed.
Does that make sense?
This is not the reason this book received only two stars from me. Spencer gathered information from the victims of "Joseph Warren," the Satanic high priest, and wrote the book through his eyes. He, of course, could not verify any of the information because he had died some years before. So the whole book is basically speculation about what went on in his head. This book would have been better if it were first-hand accounts of the surviving victims.
Scene breaks would have made this narrative much easier to understand. Months or years could pass between paragraphs, making it hard to follow.
One thing I find interesting (and this is pure speculation on my part) is that since the narrative lacks any kind of emotion and jumps from scene to scene without clear transitions, it seems like Satan's High Priest was written by one of the traumatized victims herself. It states in the book that one victim in particular grew up to have "muted emotional responses." Also, victims of such trauma are said to dissociate from and compartmentalize their experiences, so by forgetting the traumatizing events, their lives could indeed move from "scene to scene" without a clear transition, because the events during the "transition" would have been repressed.
Does that make sense?
October 25, 2014
I don't even know where to start with this book.
One of the most irresponsible books I have ever read, this book relies on people's fears and ignorance to push its popularity. Much like Michelle Remembers and The Satan Seller, Satan's High Priest relies on vague facts without any kind of proof to back up its shocking (and often over the top) facts and situations.
Where all well researched books state their sources, Spencer (if this story is true) relies on research from the shakiest of sources. One of them is Warren's daughter's repressed memories, something mental health professionals and court systems have proven to be ineffective and unreliable. Another source Spencer uses is Warren's widow, who stated that the cult did not exist, as well as other cult survivors. Unfortunately Spencer does not provide any actual pieces of evidence beyond hearsay and repressed 'memories'.
Spencer could have created an interesting tale here if she concentrated more on the workings of the cult rather than the spectacle of their work and rituals. The story seems to move from one extreme moment to another, relying on the excessive gore and shocking situations to carry the story rather than good writing and detailed workings of the cult itself.
Books like this one perpetuate the Satanic Panic and does nothing but spread ignorance and fear through those stupid enough to read them and believe the author's statement that the events within are 'true events'. All in all, there is simply nothing reliable to back up Spencer's research and to move this book from the realm of fiction to that of reality. Instead, it just shocks the reader and gives them one more worry in a world that already has far too many.
Do not buy this book.
One of the most irresponsible books I have ever read, this book relies on people's fears and ignorance to push its popularity. Much like Michelle Remembers and The Satan Seller, Satan's High Priest relies on vague facts without any kind of proof to back up its shocking (and often over the top) facts and situations.
Where all well researched books state their sources, Spencer (if this story is true) relies on research from the shakiest of sources. One of them is Warren's daughter's repressed memories, something mental health professionals and court systems have proven to be ineffective and unreliable. Another source Spencer uses is Warren's widow, who stated that the cult did not exist, as well as other cult survivors. Unfortunately Spencer does not provide any actual pieces of evidence beyond hearsay and repressed 'memories'.
Spencer could have created an interesting tale here if she concentrated more on the workings of the cult rather than the spectacle of their work and rituals. The story seems to move from one extreme moment to another, relying on the excessive gore and shocking situations to carry the story rather than good writing and detailed workings of the cult itself.
Books like this one perpetuate the Satanic Panic and does nothing but spread ignorance and fear through those stupid enough to read them and believe the author's statement that the events within are 'true events'. All in all, there is simply nothing reliable to back up Spencer's research and to move this book from the realm of fiction to that of reality. Instead, it just shocks the reader and gives them one more worry in a world that already has far too many.
Do not buy this book.
July 22, 2021
i was going to write a big ass review about this book but goodreads deleted it while i was writing it so here are some bullet points
- this book is not real. this did not happen
- the book is based off testimony from the daughter of “joseph warren” (a pseudonym) from hypnotic regressions, a technique which famously does not work
- this book is essentially pornography for people during the satanic panic. the repeated, graphic discussions of absolutely disgusting acts (that again, did not happen) is only there to titillate the worst kind of moralising hypocrite
- the author has also written another horseshit book full of lies, which i will not read
- the satanic panic ruined many peoples lives while enriching people like the author. the cottage industry that still exists around shit like this has a worse real life impact than the supposed satanists do in real life
- fuck every part of this. do not read this book. go read about the Fells Acres day care trial if you want an example of what this leads to.
- if you want a good book about satanism, go read the satanic bible. if you want a good fiction story about a satanic cult, don’t read this, because it’s fucking awful
- this book is not real. this did not happen
- the book is based off testimony from the daughter of “joseph warren” (a pseudonym) from hypnotic regressions, a technique which famously does not work
- this book is essentially pornography for people during the satanic panic. the repeated, graphic discussions of absolutely disgusting acts (that again, did not happen) is only there to titillate the worst kind of moralising hypocrite
- the author has also written another horseshit book full of lies, which i will not read
- the satanic panic ruined many peoples lives while enriching people like the author. the cottage industry that still exists around shit like this has a worse real life impact than the supposed satanists do in real life
- fuck every part of this. do not read this book. go read about the Fells Acres day care trial if you want an example of what this leads to.
- if you want a good book about satanism, go read the satanic bible. if you want a good fiction story about a satanic cult, don’t read this, because it’s fucking awful
February 11, 2013
This book is based on true events that the author gathered from testimonies of the victoms and other sources. The happening's in this book were the result of a small section of satenists who truley worshiped evil. The book itsself is a good read, but i know for a fact none of the people i know could finish it. This book is graphic beyond belief and i stoped reading it several times, and almost didint read it. The level of detail and thoughness of these rituals were needed however to truley get a tangible idea of the evils involved. I however finish the book, and it was a good read.
Read
February 2, 2008This book was not what i expceted. It was rather vulgar in parts giving deatils of certain happenings thtat are based on true events. How could anyone subject another person or child to those activities is beyond me. An eye opener to what really does go on behind closed doors.
December 29, 2015
Why did I read this book? I bought it almost 20 years ago, when the Satanic cult fever was just starting to fizzle. My macabre 20-year-old goth-wannabe self must have seen the pentagram and pounced. I don't know. I remember starting it several times and being unable to proceed. It starts with a bang, a scene of ritualistic abuse so horrifying it's not incentive to read on. Even with my morbid tastes. Even in my callow youth I think I found the book almost as reprehensible as the monsters who ostensibly carried out generations of ritualized physical, psychological, and sexual abuse on children, animals, and adult randos.
I'm even more perplexed as to why my 40-year-old self finally read it. The Satanic hysteria has long been laid to rest, it's basis debunked; the book is no longer relevant. I put it down many times with no desire to plod on. Spencer promises she has a point, that there is a payoff to her characterization of the title character (and be assured, it is a characterization; her supposed "first-hand" sources are what you would call er, fuzzy...to put it way too politely). What we get is a repeated justification of the book's existence because the High Priest, Joe Warren, had some vague Dissociative Disorder. This psychobabble supposedly sheds light on the subject.
In the end, it was an easy read. I read it for the same reason I read "Twilight". If you're going to call something crap, you'd better get your facts straight. This isn't even going to Half-Price Books. I don't want anyone else to waste their time, energy, or suspension of disbelief. Consider me enlightened.
I'm even more perplexed as to why my 40-year-old self finally read it. The Satanic hysteria has long been laid to rest, it's basis debunked; the book is no longer relevant. I put it down many times with no desire to plod on. Spencer promises she has a point, that there is a payoff to her characterization of the title character (and be assured, it is a characterization; her supposed "first-hand" sources are what you would call er, fuzzy...to put it way too politely). What we get is a repeated justification of the book's existence because the High Priest, Joe Warren, had some vague Dissociative Disorder. This psychobabble supposedly sheds light on the subject.
In the end, it was an easy read. I read it for the same reason I read "Twilight". If you're going to call something crap, you'd better get your facts straight. This isn't even going to Half-Price Books. I don't want anyone else to waste their time, energy, or suspension of disbelief. Consider me enlightened.
October 30, 2020
This book is apparently a true story about the leader of a satanic cult in the mid-twentieth century that sacrificed and molested children in worship of Satan. The author went into almost unbelievable graphic description about the rituals which was hard to read. I attempted to verify if these were true events but it was impossible (as she used pseudonyms) which for me questioned the validity of the story itself. I have mixed feelings about this book, however what made me give it 3 stars rather than 1 or 2 is that it is interesting as a piece of history in regards to being a reflection of the Satanic Panic. The Satanic Panic was the fear of widespread Satan worship and killings devastating communities throughout North America in the 1980s and 1990s (a phenomenon which started in Canada with the memoir "Michelle Remembers" and the Martensville, Saskatchewan case funnily enough) and has since been debunked. This book was published in the midst of that era and can be considered a piece of that mindset.
January 14, 2020
I don't think I'll ever again give a book such a low rating. It's not that it's a bad book. It's how she wrote the book that's sick. It says A True Story. From who? 90 % of the Story is told from the viewpoint of Satan's High Priest. Thus fictional based on Face. What it should have said is Inspired by True Events. What it should have done is underline censored names (renamed) and places and churches used. Suffer the Child was a great book. I read that in 1994. I got this in July 2000 and really didn't want to read it but I did. Made it all the way through and it was a depressing torture. It almost reads like Satanic propaganda. They could easily edit it as such. I hope I never again read a book so disgustingly sick as this book is. Those who have read Suffer the Child I strongly suggest double check that you truly know what this book is. 90 % told by a dead guy who only after he passed the truth started coming out. Reminds me of how fictional Hidalgo the movie was.... But whereas that movie was just fine. This book isn't :( I regret buying this book.
November 26, 2019
A truly disturbing book. The murder/cults/aliens show Last Podcast on the Left flags their most gruesome content as Gold Star territory, and this story repeatedly and regularly goes farther than anything I've heard them touch. There are major issues with the sources Judith Spencer relied on for this narrative, but if anything it's a relief to have reason to doubt it. This story must have been gasoline on the fire of the Satanic Panic. Regardless of its truth or untruth, it tells a horrific story about the most outrageous abuse being inflicted down through a generation, and of a secret society formed around fear, shame, and rage.
What Spencer does masterfully is capture how human true evil can be. The whole book is in painfully down-to-earth language, so it's all too easy to believe. Don't expect the supernatural—people can be so much worse.
What Spencer does masterfully is capture how human true evil can be. The whole book is in painfully down-to-earth language, so it's all too easy to believe. Don't expect the supernatural—people can be so much worse.
February 22, 2019
I plodded through this book. The negativity this produced made me struggle to finish, and I will not be reading this again.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews