occultists. Similarly, Wicca, or white witchcraft, originated in the United
Kingdom, along with several secret, occult fraternal organizations.

I had no interest in occultism but was fascinated by the history and
picturesque beauty of the countryside. Our family enjoyed driving and
hiking from one ancient ruin to the next. Looking back on that period, I
recognize that there were many things there to discover and experience
that would be directly relevant to my later work with ritual abuse
survivors. For example, we frequently visited a beautiful park on the
grounds of the abbey at Bury St. Edmunds, a town not far from the air
base. While the children frolicked, chasing after the resident ducks and
geese, we explored the ruins and wondered what could have driven the
townspeople to rise up against the monks on more than one occasion and
destroy the magnificent abbey, one of the most sacred shrines in all of
England. According to one of the British locals, the monks were known
to escape from the abbey and molest the women of the town. Another
curiosity was the twin Stars of David that embellished the massive and
beautifully crafted abbey gate. Why, in what had been such an anti-
Semitic culture, would a symbol of Judaism ⁶ decorate the gate of the
abbey, which was the sacred burial ground of King Edmund and the site
where the English barons gathered to confirm their resolve to force
Henry II to sign the Magna Carta? Bury St. Edmunds had also been an
infamous site of witch trials in England that became a precedent for the
witch persecutions of Salem, Massachusetts. Not far away was a very
old country church whose interior displayed a medieval wall painting
entitled The Wheel of Fate. This pagan subject matter seemed oddly out
of place in a Christian house of worship. While curious about these
mysteries of history, I did not pursue any tedious research. Instead, my
days were pleasantly filled with family, friends, and work.

The assignment to the Mental Health Clinic at RAF Lakenheath,
England, was a pleasant job for a young captain and psychologist having
just completed an Air Force internship in clinical psychology. With my
career at its beginning, the patients' stories were new and fresh. It was at
Lakenheath that I met "Bill" my first patient reporting ritual abuse,
although at the time I didn't recognize the significance of his story.

His intake form identified him as Sergeant "William Hoffer", but he
invited me to call him "Bill." Dressed in his blue Air Force summer
uniform, he appeared haggard and distressed. He mumbled that it was
embarrassing for him to come to the mental health clinic because as a
"private person," he was not accustomed to discussing his personal
problems with anyone. Yet, something had happened that was so
disturbing that he felt compelled to talk about it. While he spoke, Bill
frequently paused and hesitated, wrung his hands, and demonstrated

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