The novel’s title is both a play on a common phrase and an allusion to the phenomenon of collective panic. A moral panic involves a fear that something or someone (be it an organization, a form of media, or an “evil” person) threatens the safety and well-being of a society. This fear is often irrational or unfounded, but the resulting panic spreads throughout the larger society. Psychology Today notes that “Since its inception, the moral panic concept has been applied to a wide range of social problems including but not limited to youth gangs, school violence, child abuse, Satanism, youth wilding, flag burning, illegal immigration and the Iraq war” (Bonn, Scott A. “Moral Panic: Who Benefits from Public Fear?” Psychology Today, 2015).

The novel’s references to Satan and a satanic cult echo the Satanic Panic that occurred in the US in the 1980s. Throughout the panic, over 12,000 unsubstantiated claims of physical or sexual abuse perpetrated by members of satanic cults were made. Among the allegations that received national attention were those against the McMartin Preschool in Manhattan Beach, California—school administrators and teachers were accused of hundreds of incidents of sexual abuse.