The Devil You Know with Sarah Marshall

Episode 6: I’m Just a Teenage Cultist, Baby
CBC | November 24, 2025

Overview

This episode of The Devil You Know explores how the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 90s evolved into moral hysteria targeting teenagers—culminating in the real-life fallout for youth wrongly accused of diabolical conspiracies. Through the story of Dr. Justin Sledge, who as a Mississippi high schooler in 1997 was swept up in a tragic school shooting and subsequently accused of being part of a satanic cult, host Sarah Marshall interrogates how cultural fears and scapegoating can destroy innocent lives. The episode dissects the underlying dynamics of these panics, their lasting impact on communities, and the enduring urge to blame “outsiders” in the face of unspeakable tragedy.

Key Discussion Points

1. Childhood Nostalgia and Changing Freedoms (00:48–02:20)

• Justin Sledge shares memories of growing up in 1980s–90s Mississippi, enjoying the freedom to roam, play, and explore without constant adult oversight.
• Sarah Marshall reflects on generational nostalgia for a freer childhood but points out how the same era bred anxieties that eventually curtailed those freedoms.
  • “To feel nostalgic for that while forgetting that the reason we stopped allowing kids to do that was because we created the panic that took that childhood away.” (06:12)

2. The Burgeoning Satanic Panic and its Teenaged Focus (03:16–05:56)

• As horrific crimes draw national attention, communities seek explanations—often turning suspicion toward "outsiders," especially teenagers involved in alternative cultures or activities.
• Anti-drug PSAs, cartoons, and school warnings set the stage for paranoia about corruptive outside forces, with Satan positioned as the ultimate villain.

3. Teens as Both Victims and Suspects (06:12–11:12)

• Marshall explores how teens were cast as both vulnerable and menacing—a shift from protecting children to suspecting their inherent deviance.
• School psychologists and media warn of faddish rebellion morphing into potential occult threats, amplifying the climate of suspicion.

4. Profiling the “Teen Satanist” (11:12–16:10)

• Justin was a “dorky, edgy” kid: interested in philosophy, Judaism, Dungeons & Dragons, and alternative music—strikes one, two, and three for the era’s Satanic stereotype.
  • “I suppose the way I chose to do it was becoming Jewish, which is a strange form of rebellion.” (11:37, Sledge)
  • His association with Dungeons & Dragons and grunge music (“Nine Inch Nails or whatever”) further marked him in the eyes of authorities.

5. The Pearl, Mississippi School Shooting (16:10–17:21)

• In 1997, Justin finds himself at ground zero for a tragedy: classmate Luke Woodham murders his mother before shooting nine people at Pearl High School.
  • “He had killed his mother that morning…He wounded seven people and killed two students, Lydia Du and Christina Menefee.” (16:58, Marshall)

6. Hysteria, Grief, and the Search for Scapegoats (18:54–23:16)

• In the immediate aftermath, rumors swirl about mafia or satanic cult involvement. Grieving communities and fearful authorities cast a wide net—quickly landing on teens already marked as outsiders.
• Justin’s actions—passing on Woodham’s writings to media and making a controversial speech at a vigil—further alienate him and make him a suspect.
  • “He gave these documents to me and told me to pass them on to Grant. I passed them on to the media, which was also, I think, unwise.” (18:54, Sledge)
  • Reflecting on his vigil speech: “I regret a lot of that. I regret a great deal of that, honestly.” (20:46, Sledge)

7. Young Lives Upended by Moral Panic (24:05–27:48)

• Justin and five others are arrested and charged (conspiracy to commit murder—potentially 20 years in prison). Suspicion, bullying, and surreal accusations about “the Kroth”—a supposed Satanic group—take hold.
• His difference (intellectual curiosity, alternative interests, speaking out) becomes damning in an environment primed to fear what it doesn’t understand.
  • “My lawyers were like, what the fuck is the Kroth?” (27:17, Sledge)

8. Confirmation Bias, the “Kroth,” and the Collapse of Evidence (29:55–36:53)

• Community and police pursue ever more spurious “evidence”: animal bones, clouds shaped like skulls, internet rumors.
• Investigation focuses on circumstantial evidence, groupthink, and imaginative leaps rather than facts.
  • “There were certainly people…combing the forests looking for evidence of Satanists…confirmation bias is a hell of a thing.” (34:38, Sledge)
  • The “Kroth” is ultimately revealed to be nothing more than the setting of a Star Wars-themed role-playing game, dreamed up in Colorado (45:47–46:04).

9. Coping with Long-Term Fallout (39:35–41:23)

• Even after charges are dropped, Justin and his family suffer ostracism and trauma: “No school would take me. So I had to ultimately go through a kind of correspondence program. Then I kind of drifted for a while…Real despair set in in the years that followed. Real despair, suicidal despair.” (39:35)

10. From Scapegoat to Scholar: Reclaiming the Narrative (41:23–43:35)

• Justin (now Dr. Justin Sledge) channels his experience into scholarship, becoming an expert in Western esotericism. He assists concerned parents and law enforcement with questions about occult symbols—arguing for reason, not panic, when interpreting youth culture.
  • “I would far rather a detective working on a strange case with a bunch of weird symbols shoot me an email…than it to be a bunch of pseudo experts running around.” (42:29, Sledge)

11. The Broader Lesson (43:35–44:41)

• Marshall stresses that monsters loom when we refuse to examine root causes—becoming scapegoats for collective anxieties. True understanding and empathy pierce the darkness, exposing hysteria for what it is: a way to avoid harder truths about society and ourselves.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “The Satanic panic very nearly destroyed my life.” (16:10, Justin Sledge)
• “Every teen is a deviant teen when you get right down to it. Because what is being a teenager but experimenting and pushing boundaries, figuring out who you are by figuring out what you’re not?” (11:12, Sarah Marshall)
• On confirmation bias:
  “We’re all guilty of confirmation bias. And it’s very difficult in a small town. Once there’s social momentum and there’s a trusted institution like the police saying to the entire community that a conspiracy of satanists has done this crime…The mind runs wild.” (34:38, Justin Sledge)
• On lingering trauma and recovery:
  “People shot at her house when I was in jail. They called them all kinds of names you can imagine in a small town…Real despair, suicidal despair.” (39:35, Justin Sledge)
• On the origins of “The Kroth”:
  “The Kroth Internet website is the gateway to the imaginary planet Kroth which hosts the game Dungeons and Dragons, the role playing game.” (45:47, Justin Sledge, quoting a news report)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:48–2:20: Childhood freedom and nostalgia
• 06:12: How 1980s panic erased childhood freedoms
• 16:10–17:21: The Pearl High School shooting and Justin’s involvement
• 18:54–22:45: Justin’s media involvement and aftermath
• 24:43–25:56: Justin’s suspension and subsequent arrest
• 27:17–28:52: Discovery of the "Kroth" and moral panic escalation
• 34:38: Confirmation bias and the search for Satanic evidence
• 39:35: Personal and familial consequences for Justin
• 41:23–42:29: Justin’s transformation into a scholar of esotericism
• 43:35: Marshall’s reflections on monsters in the darkness and the real lessons of the Satanic Panic
• 45:19–46:04: The true origin of the “Kroth”—a harmless internet RPG setting

Tone

Sarah Marshall narrates with a blend of dark humor, empathy, and historical insight. Guest voices—particularly Justin Sledge—add raw candor and intellectual reflection, vividly illustrating the personal devastation caused by communal fear and scapegoating.

Conclusion

This episode captures the social mechanics of the Satanic Panic as it morphed into suspicion of teenagers—how moral outrage, fear of the other, and confirmation bias led authorities and communities to ruin innocent lives. Through the lens of Justin Sledge’s ordeal, Sarah Marshall issues a call to confront our monsters not with panic, but with understanding, honesty, and compassion.

For listeners interested in the intersections of crime, mass hysteria, youth culture, and lived experience, this episode provides a compelling and cautionary case study of the costs—personal and societal—of uncritical belief in moral panics.