# abstract
1991 by Taylor  &  Francis. All rights reserved. Folk responses draw on a repertoire of traditional tales and motifs. The folk responses to the abduction and murder of Mark Kilroy used these established traditions to highlight three areas of concern: the groups that are threatened, the nature of these threats, and the categories of individuals who pose serious threats. The folk and media treatments of the Matamoros murders combine a focus on overt cultural difference with the current social anxieties regarding cults, satanism, and other alternatives to traditional Judaeo-Christian religions. In the case of the folk and popular treatment of the Matamoros cult murders, a number of social anxieties were articulated in terms of a "satanic scare." Regional media reports, though erratic in their terminology, pointed the finger of accusation in a specific direction. In the course of the press coverage of the Matamoros murders, a pattern emerged: a move from the most general label, through more specific but nonracially focused labels, to race-and culture-specific tags.

# editorList[]
Richardson, J. T., Best, J., & Bromley, D. G.