The Sussex Devils: A true story of the 1980s Satanic panic

Description

'Heartbreaking and breathtaking.' - Clive Barker, author of Hellraiser In 2012 Marc Heal stumbled across a yellowed newspaper cutting about Derry Knight: a man who claimed that he belonged to a secret Satanic group operating at the highest levels of British society. Helped by John Baker, vicar of the Sussex village of Newick, Knight had falsely raised large sums from wealthy gentry on the pretext of destroying powerful items of Satanic regalia. Heal threw away the cutting but it made him deeply uneasy. Why could he remember nothing about the Knight affair even though he had grown up at its epicentre? Why did he know so much about the people in the story and yet recalled so little about it? Finally, he faced up to the reason for the blank: the trial had taken place in the weeks immediately after the defining trauma of his life. In December 1985 an elder from his parents' evangelical Christian church attempted an exorcism on him believing he was possessed by demons. Based on extensive interviews with all the surviving witnesses this book explores the truth behind Derry Knight and the devastating effects that evangelical Christianity had on one young man.

Marc Heal is a musician and TV producer. His rock band Cubanate achieved some notoriety during the 1990s when his confrontational style earned him headlines and death threats. He toured extensively across Europe and the US with acts such as Gary Numan, The Sisters of Mercy and Front 242. He has released seven albums under various guises. His music has appeared on best selling games like Gran Turismo, Wing Commander and Command and Conquer, and on film and TV such as Mortal Kombat and The Sopranos. After many years in London he currently lives in Singapore.

"Heartbreaking and breathtaking." --Clive Barker, filmmaker and author, Hellraiser "Heartbreaking and breathtaking." Clive Barker, filmmaker and author, Hellraiser"