Podcast Summary: "Introducing: The Devil You Know with Sarah Marshall"

The Turning: River Road – iHeartPodcasts and Rococo Punch
Released: October 20, 2025

Main Theme and Purpose

This episode introduces "The Devil You Know," a new podcast hosted by Sarah Marshall, exploring the complexities and personal stories of the Satanic Panic that swept North America in the 1980s and 90s. By focusing on individual experiences amid the hysteria, Marshall demonstrates how rumor and panic took on a life of their own, impacting the lives of ordinary people. This installment centers on Diane, a pseudonymous photographer, and how her innocent educational work in rural Kentucky collided with mass paranoia and suspicion of satanic activity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: The Satanic Panic (00:08–06:50)

• Podcast host introduces Sarah Marshall’s new show as an exploration of the real human consequences of Satanic Panic, promising stories from both believers and skeptics.
• Sarah Marshall contextualizes the panic:
  • "In the 1980s and 90s, Satan and his followers were accused of brainwashing children, sacrificing babies, and infiltrating North American society on a massive scale. Yet these thousands of alleged Satanists were nowhere to be found." (00:15)
• Mainstream news media’s eager participation in fueling fear, shown through clips and recaps of TV, radio, and newspaper coverage. (07:02)

2. Diane’s Story: Art, Innocence, and Outrage (01:33–06:50, 16:33–29:06)

• Diane (a pseudonym for privacy) recalls her late-1980s experience of working as an artist-in-residence in rural Kentucky, teaching photography to local teens.
• She describes initial warm acceptance:
  • "We had this little after school club of girls who were really interested in photography...their families were really friendly and...inviting me over for dinners." (02:29)
• The tone shifts suddenly when a school art teacher warns her:
  • “The art teacher turned to me, looked at me real seriously, and he said, ‘leave right away.’ So I did.” (03:21)

Escalating Paranoia and Accusations

• Diane becomes the target of wild rumors, as locals begin to suspect her innocent project is a front for satanic ritual and child abduction. (04:05)
• She’s urged to flee town for her safety by both the art teacher and a local acquaintance:
  • “She said people have disappeared or are disappeared, like abducted, and often end up in nearby caves or mines, never to be heard from again.” (22:46)
• Diane's experience mirrors local and national hysteria, with townspeople ready to believe the most outlandish rumors about strangers, blond-haired children, and supposed devil worship.
  • “I didn't know if I'd end up in a jail or if I would end up, you know, thrown in a cave.” (03:21, 24:13)
• The aftermath: After rushing back to Cincinnati, she is inundated with media attention and learns she was the subject of wild stories in both local rumor mills and broader press coverage.

3. The Social Dynamics of Moral Panic (10:17–16:33)

• Mary DeYoung, sociologist, explains the broader mechanisms at work:
  • "In a moral panic, a somewhat regressive movement...is trying to restore old moral lines or old cultural habits." (10:17)
  • Concerns about changing family dynamics, latchkey kids, and threats to the "nuclear family" become reframed as satanic dangers.
• Community anxieties quickly attach themselves to new, unexplained, or unfamiliar elements—like Diane’s photography project or theater groups ordering black fabric for a play—creating fertile ground for hysteria.

4. Media, Experts, and the Self-Perpetuating Machine (13:45–15:21)

• The rise of “experts” in cult crimes and satanic ritual abuse, often self-appointed, led to widespread professional training for police, teachers, and social workers—all encouraging the search for devilish plots everywhere.
• Example: Police and parents keep hundreds of Kentucky children home over rumors of satanists targeting blonde, blue-eyed kids (14:44).

5. Rumor vs. Reality: The Black Dresses and the Movie Set (29:06–35:54)

• A recurring motif emerges: innocuous details become sinister in a climate of fear. The purchase of black fabric—needed for a theater production or a movie set—spawns rumors of satanic cult activity.
• Patrick Balch, a Kentucky native, debunks the rumor with first-hand knowledge:
  • "No, there wasn't no Satanist around. Patrick Swayze definitely was the Satanist and Lemnath wasn't a Satanist. And I seen no evidence of any Satan worship or anything like that." (34:50)
• Patrick's personal childhood encounter with the filming of Next of Kin is contrasted against the irrational rumors that spread during the same period.
• Sarah observes:
  • “Woman scared out of nearby town because Hollywood movie set bought 20 black dresses for a deleted scene. Doesn’t really have the same ring to it as the other headlines, does it?” (35:54)

6. Reflection and Connection to Today (27:05–28:31; 35:54–end)

• Sarah Marshall draws parallels between the Satanic Panic and contemporary conspiracy movements like QAnon, noting that the logic is comical—except for the very real harm it inflicts.
  • “It would be funny if it wasn’t so dangerous and if it didn’t affect so many people’s lives...” (27:05)
• Diane’s story isn’t isolated: Marshall emphasizes that each version of the panic was made up of ordinary people overreacting to something novel or misunderstood. The hydra of panic always finds new ways to resurface.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Sarah Marshall:
  • “The grand sweep of the narrative turns it into something that happened to a country or... a culture. But that also means it happened to individuals, and each of them saw something a little different.” (04:26)
• Diane:
  • “I arrived in the town hopeful and optimistic, ready to, like, work hard and do good work. Yeah. And when I left...I couldn’t drive fast enough. I just couldn’t put the miles between me and that place fast enough.” (03:21)
• Mary DeYoung (on “evil” as a concept):
  • “Evil, the word itself is an extremely powerful word. Throwing it into a sentence really begins to change the whole narrative about the problem that you’re taking a look at.” (13:14)
• Patrick Balch:
  • “If you came in and bought black eyeliner and a black dress, they'd say he's a Satan worshiper, you know.” (34:50)
  • On rumors: “That's hazard for you. I mean, if somebody goes and takes a...everyone else knows what color it is by the time they get out of the bathroom.” (35:03)

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | Highlights | |-----------|--------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:08 | Introduction to the podcast & theme | Overview of “The Devil You Know”; context for Satanic Panic; Marshall’s investigation approach | | 01:33 | Diane’s first-person narrative begins | Diane’s photography project and positive reception in Kentucky | | 03:21 | Event: Diane warned to leave immediately | Turning point; she’s told to flee by the art teacher, then again by a local friend | | 10:17 | Mary DeYoung’s sociological insights | Discussion of moral panic’s roots: changing family, social anxiety | | 14:44 | Example of escalation: 450 kids kept home | Concrete local panic events; professional “expert” panic propagation | | 16:33 | News reports reflect hysteria | Real headlines and rumors sweep Kentucky; everything from satanism to vandalism | | 18:30 | Diane’s teaching methods and community | Her hands-on, creative approach with local teens; positive community engagement before panic hits | | 21:14 | The turning point at the school | Principal publicly calls Diane out; Diane describes fear, confusion, and rapid departure | | 24:13 | Aftermath: Media frenzy | Diane flees; learns of rumors and accusations via press | | 29:51 | Transition to Hazzard, Kentucky | Patrick Balch’s perspective; the effect of the Patrick Swayze film shoot and comparison of rumor to reality | | 34:50 | The “black dresses” rumor debunked | Dress rumor for the film mistaken for satanism; Patrick and Sarah expose the reality behind the myth | | 35:54 | Sarah’s reflection on pattern of panic | Metaphor of the hydra, the enduring nature of moral panics, and preview of this season's deeper personal explorations |

Takeaways

• The Satanic Panic was not a faceless cultural event; it unfolded in extreme and devastating ways for individuals, fueled by structural anxieties and amplified by authority figures and mass media.
• Small, ordinary events—like the purchase of black fabric—could be reframed as evidence of monstrous conspiracies.
• While the details change, the rhythms of rumor-fueled panic echo in modern conspiracy movements.
• Marshall’s series seeks to foreground the first-hand voices of those swept up in the hysteria, both to understand the past and to guard against similar episodes in the future.

Tone and Language

• Reflective, empathetic, sometimes darkly humorous, while underscoring the genuine fear, weirdness, and harm that can arise when societal anxieties are weaponized against the innocent.

This episode of The Devil You Know lays the groundwork for a deeply human, investigative journey into the personal impact of America's strangest panic—a must-listen for those seeking to understand how rumors become reality, and how easily communities can mistake the unfamiliar for unspeakable evil.