The D evil Rejoiced: V olk , D evils and Moral Panic in White S outh A frica, 1978–1982

The first four years of P . W . B otha's premiership in apartheid S outh A frica were plagued by intra‐party politicking, renewed anti‐apartheid resistance, economic instability, and S atan. Between 1978 and 1982, the heavy political rhetoric of “total onslaught” inflected perceived “moral onslaught” in a virulent moral panic over S atanism in white, and particularly A frikaner, S outh A frica. With attention to its discursive and socio‐political context, this paper seeks to explore the emergence of this distinct satanic moral panic in white S outh A frican history, arguing that it reflects the intense political and moral ambiguity of white society as the edifices of apartheid began to fracture.