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Devil Child
From the back:
This harrowing true account delves into the psyche of a young intelligent, "All American boy", turned sociopathic prodigy. Exploring the events that led to three gruesome murders, which he claims he was driven to commit by Satan.
278 pages
This harrowing true account delves into the psyche of a young intelligent, "All American boy", turned sociopathic prodigy. Exploring the events that led to three gruesome murders, which he claims he was driven to commit by Satan.
278 pages
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
278 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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May 23, 2022This was my first ever true crime book. As someone who enjoy true crime movies, documentaries, etc., I still was apprehensive about trying a book. I was pleasantly surprised. Devil Child is written as though it’s fiction and really keeps you engaged and informed without being info-dumpy!
January 16, 2016
REALLY nteresting story. The authors allow the reader to decide where the blame lies -- with Satan or the kid holding the gun -- but also imply pretty strongly where their sympathies lie. One thing I can state clearly is that this kid has serious, serious issues and it may have been too late to address them on the day of the first killing. Sad. Watch out for the spotty usage, mangled metaphors and unbelievably purple prose in this book.
October 25, 2009
Another book I see now I did forget to register. If I remember correctly I enjoyed reading this book.
Checking amazon I see I gave it 3 stars.
It is about a young American boy who turned sociopathic. Exploring the events that led to 3 gruesome murders, which he claims he was driven to commit by Satan.
Checking amazon I see I gave it 3 stars.
It is about a young American boy who turned sociopathic. Exploring the events that led to 3 gruesome murders, which he claims he was driven to commit by Satan.
February 20, 2012
I found this book at a library booksale and chose to read it for two reasons: 1) As a child of the 80's I have always been fascinated by the "Satanism" craze that swept up America, and 2) the authors mentioned Dungeons & Dragons as one of the killer's influences, so I had to read further.
From the roleplayer's perspective, the mentions of D&D are sparse and not very detailed. It is not until the trial at the end of the book that D&D is spelled out as being connected to Satanism. Another note for RPG and sci-fi/horror fans: the authors write of "The Necronomicon" as if it were real. They clearly did not do enough research. They mention H.P. Lovecraft's work and credit him with bringing the book to modern audiences, but they think the Mad Arab and his book of evil spells are real, rather than an intricate part of Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos.
From a general perspective the book is just okay. The authors fill in dialogue and character motivations to give the book more of a narrative feel, but it works counter to their intent. The book feels sensationalist, which given the "As Seen on Geraldo" blurb on the cover should have been expected. They paint their subject, Sean Sellers, as being a bright, easy-going, well-adjusted young man who was turned by Satan into killing three people. They do not give much credence to any rational explanations (ie, psychological) until the end of the book as the defense presents them, and they are all but glossed over. They mention how Sean was upset that, during an appearance on Oprah, nobody wanted to discuss his conversion to Christianity, but the authors do not give it any attention either.
In the end, the authors were biased towards their subject. To be fair, that he killed three people was never in dispute, but their minds were already made up that Satan, heavy metal, and Dungeons & Dragons were to blame. This book is a quick read, frustrating at times, but a nice slice of Americana for those looking for a peek into the great Satan scare that was rampant during the 1980's.
From the roleplayer's perspective, the mentions of D&D are sparse and not very detailed. It is not until the trial at the end of the book that D&D is spelled out as being connected to Satanism. Another note for RPG and sci-fi/horror fans: the authors write of "The Necronomicon" as if it were real. They clearly did not do enough research. They mention H.P. Lovecraft's work and credit him with bringing the book to modern audiences, but they think the Mad Arab and his book of evil spells are real, rather than an intricate part of Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos.
From a general perspective the book is just okay. The authors fill in dialogue and character motivations to give the book more of a narrative feel, but it works counter to their intent. The book feels sensationalist, which given the "As Seen on Geraldo" blurb on the cover should have been expected. They paint their subject, Sean Sellers, as being a bright, easy-going, well-adjusted young man who was turned by Satan into killing three people. They do not give much credence to any rational explanations (ie, psychological) until the end of the book as the defense presents them, and they are all but glossed over. They mention how Sean was upset that, during an appearance on Oprah, nobody wanted to discuss his conversion to Christianity, but the authors do not give it any attention either.
In the end, the authors were biased towards their subject. To be fair, that he killed three people was never in dispute, but their minds were already made up that Satan, heavy metal, and Dungeons & Dragons were to blame. This book is a quick read, frustrating at times, but a nice slice of Americana for those looking for a peek into the great Satan scare that was rampant during the 1980's.
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May 2, 2008I'm just getting started on it so I'll keep you posted on how it's going.
August 10, 2014
This is a true crime story that I read in the late '80s. I've been searching for the title of this book for a long time so I can add it to my Goodreads Collection. This one is worth a re-read!!!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews