Today's Conspiracy Theories Echo The Satanic Panic

In 1983, the owners and employees of the McMartin Preschool in Manhattan Beach, California, were accused of ritual child abuse and molestation, leading to one of the longest running criminal trials in U.S. history. This landmark case marked the beginning of a widespread moral panic that lasted well over a decade, permeating pop culture and upending personal lives. Today that social phenomenon is infamously known as the "satanic panic."