Kier-La Janisse Books

Cinema is full of neurotic personalities, but few things are more transfixing than a woman losing her mind onscreen. Unlike her male counterpart, the female neurotic lives a shamed existence, making these films rare places where her destructive emotions get to play. House of Psychotic Women is an examination of these characters through a daringly autobiographical lens. Anecdotes and memories interweave with film history, criticism, trivia and confrontational imagery to create a personal history and a celebration of female madness, onscreen and off.

In the 1980s, fears of a widespread evil conspiracy led to the cultural phenomenon known as the Satanic Panic, where warnings about Satan's influence permeated society. This hysteria portrayed a world filled with devils hiding behind media, igniting a legacy of Satan-fighting VHS tapes, audio cassettes, and literature. The book offers a detailed examination of this controversial culture war, tracing its roots from the 1980 memoir "Michelle Remembers" to the conclusion of the McMartin Satanic Ritual Abuse Trial in 1990. Featuring new essays and interviews from 20 writers, it explores how the fear of a Satanic conspiracy was both highlighted and spread through various pop culture channels, including heavy metal music, Dungeons & Dragons, Christian comics, direct-to-VHS scare films, pulp paperbacks, Saturday morning cartoons, TV talk shows, and home computers. The book also includes case studies on Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth and the Long Island acid king killer Ricky Kasso. By examining the roles of con artists, pranksters, moralists, and martyrs, it reveals the untold story of how the Satanic Panic unfolded on the pop culture frontlines and the serious repercussions it had for many involved.