Contents ; Introduction: At the Devil's Crossroads ; Per Faxneld and Jesper Aa. Petersen ; The Question of History: Precursors and Currents ; 1. "It is better to believe in the Devil": Conceptions of Satanists and Sympathies for the Devil in Early Modern Sweden ; Mikael Hall ; 2. Sex, Science and Liberty: The Resurrection of Satan in 19th Century (Counter) Culture ; Ruben van Luijk ; 3. Witches, Anarchism and Evolutionism: Stanislaw Przybyszewski's fin-de-siecle Satanism and the Demonic Feminine ; Per Faxneld ; The Black Pope and the Church of Satan ; 4. Categorizing Modern Satanism: An Analysis of Anton LaVey's Early Writings ; Amina O. Lap ; 5. Sources, Sects, and Scripture: The Book of Satan in The Satanic Bible ; Eugene V. Gallagher ; 6. Hidden Persuaders and Invisible Wars: Anton LaVey and Conspiracy Culture ; Asbjorn Dyrendal ; The Legacy of Dr. LaVey: The Satanic Milieu Today ; 7. Conversion to Satanism: Constructing Diabolical Identities ; James R. Lewis ; 8. The Carnival of Dr. LaVey: Articulations of Transgression in Modern Satanism ; Jesper Aa. Petersen ; 9. The Making of Satanic Collective Identities in Poland: From Mechanic to Organic Solidarity ; Rafal Smoczynski ; Post-Satanism, Left-Hand Paths and Beyond: Visiting the Margins ; 10. The Left-Hand Path and Post-Satanism: The Temple of Set and the Evolution of Satanism ; Kennet Granholm ; 11. Luciferian Witchcraft: At the Crossroads between Paganism and Satanism ; Fredrik Gregorius ; 12. Secret Identities in The Sinister Tradition: Political Esotericism and the Convergence of Radical Islam, Satanism and National Socialism in the Order of Nine Angles ; Jacob C. Senholt

"With the possible exception of Petersen s earlier collection, Contemporary Religious Satanism, this is perhaps the strongest introductory volume on the varieties of Satanic institutions. Faxneld and Petersen s introductory essay, while not a traditional historiography, positions the volume nicely in the current academic literature. Altogether The Devil s Party consists of careful scholarship, arguing convincingly for the importance of the study of the Satanic milieu...I have recommended it to a handful of students in the past year and it has, without exception, received positive reviews."--Nova Religio

Selling point: A collection of scholarship on modern Satanism, an underexplored branch of the study of new religious movements Selling point: Essays based on interdisciplinary methodology Selling point: Exploration of topics not previously examined in detail, such as conspiracy theory and Satanism, 19th century predecessors, and Luciferian witchcraft

Per Faxneld is a research fellow at the department of the History of Religions at Stockholm University, Sweden. He has written several peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on Satanism and Western Esotericism, co-edited Förborgade Tecken ("Hidden Signs" H:Ströms, 2010) - a book on Esotericism in literature - and is the author of Mörkrets apostlar ("Apostles of Darkness", Ouroboros, 2006), a study of early Satanism. His research focuses on gender issues in Satanism, and the literary roots of contemporary religious constructions of the Devil as a hero and helper. Jesper Aagaard Petersen is associate professor at the Programme for Teacher Education, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). He has published extensively on modern Satanism, is the editor of Contemporary Religious Satanism: A Critical Anthology (Ashgate, 2009) and the co-editor of Controversial New Religions (Oxford, 2005) and The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of Satanism (Prometheus, 2008). He has a Ph.D. from the Department of Archaeology and Religious Studies at NTNU with the thesis Between Darwin and the Devil: Modern Satanism as Discourse, Milieu, and Self (2011).

Selling point: A collection of scholarship on modern Satanism, an underexplored branch of the study of new religious movements Selling point: Essays based on interdisciplinary methodology Selling point: Exploration of topics not previously examined in detail, such as conspiracy theory and Satanism, 19th century predecessors, and Luciferian witchcraft