Anne Johnson Davis (died July 29, 2010) was an American author and public speaker who in 2008 published ''Hell Minus One'', a memoir in which she claimed to have been a childhood victim of Satanic ritual abuse (SRA). In the book, Davis further claimed that her allegations of abuse were corroborated through a confession by her mother and stepfather made to Lt. Detective Matt Jacobson of the Utah Attorney General's office.

History

In her memoir, Davis discusses her alleged abuse from the ages of 3 to 17, including sexual abuse,

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

, and being forced to hurt her siblings in the context of satanic rituals, and her departure from her home at age 17. Davis made the allegations public in 1995 under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Rachel Hopkins. At the time an investigation was underway by the Utah Attorney General's office into Satanic ritual abuse (SRA). According to Davis, her memories of abuse began surfacing in 1993. In 2008,

Transcript Bulletin Publishing The ''Tooele Transcript-Bulletin'' is a twice-weekly (Tuesday and Thursday) newspaper serving Tooele County, Utah Tooele County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 58,218. Its coun ...

published Davis' memoir, ''Hell Minus One''.

Confessions

In 1995, under the name Rachel Hopkins, Davis states she was abused after a report was released by the Utah Attorney General's office that downplayed the existence of ritual abuse. As evidence, Davis provided a photo showing herself as a child with bruises, and also claimed her siblings corroborated her story. In addition, Davis provided a confession by her mother and stepfather regarding the abuse to detectives in the Attorney General's Office. Her parents also confessed to two investigators from the office, as well as to the leaders of the church they attended. In her book, Davis states that her parents were

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

by the LDS Church and sold their home to pay for her therapy.

False Memory Syndrome

The

False Memory Syndrome Foundation The False Memory Syndrome Foundation (FMSF) was a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 and dissolved in late 2019. The FMSF was created by Pamela and Peter Freyd, after their adult daughter Jennifer Freyd accused Peter Freyd of sexual abuse ...

has reviewed the book; Davis blamed proponents of

false memory syndrome In psychology, false memory syndrome (FMS) is a condition in which a person's identity and relationships are affected by false memories of psychological trauma, recollections that are factually incorrect yet strongly believed. Peter J. Freyd or ...

for her family not being prosecuted, as well as privacy concerns and the statute of limitations for not pressing charges. Davis also noted that without corroborative evidence (beyond the confessions) she would probably still have to prove she did not suffer from false memory syndrome or dissociative identity disorder. The False Memory Syndrome Foundation concludes its review with the

rhetorical question A rhetorical question is one for which the questioner does not expect a direct answer: in many cases it may be intended to start a discourse, or as a means of displaying or emphasize the speaker's or author's opinion on a topic. A common example ...

"Is Ann Davis’s story an example of a confirmed case of satanic ritual abuse? We leave it to ''FMSF Newsletter'' readers to decide."Davis, 2008, as cited in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Anne Johnson American memoirists American women memoirists Satanic ritual abuse hysteria in the United States Year of birth missing 2010 deaths

History

Confessions

False Memory Syndrome

See also

References