A doctor helped his patient recall childhood torture by a cult. Their story sparked a global ‘Satanic Panic’

The publication of Michelle Remembers, a 1980 memoir co-written by a Canadian therapist and a patient who ‘recovered’ memories of torture by Satanists, sparked international mass hysteria about child abuse and devil worship. A new film looks at the impact of the book on the world – and, importantly, on the families of the doctor and patient who became not only infamous household names but also husband and wife, writes Sheila Flynn