University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1978 Witchcraft in Missoula: A case study of the rumor process Margaret Gilliam Lynam The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Lynam, Margaret Gilliam, "Witchcraft in Missoula: A case study of the rumor process" (1978). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5484. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5484 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WITCHCRAFT IN MISSOULA: A CASE STUDY OF THE RUMOR PROCESS By Margaret Gilliam Lynam B.A. University of Montana, 1975 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1978 ■ 7$ Date UMI Number: EP40948 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI EP40948 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Lynam, Margaret Gilliam, M.A.,. Spring 1978 Sociology Witchcraft in Missoula: A Case Study of the Rumor Process (187 pp.) Director: Robert W. Bale! This research was a case study of rumors about witchcraft which circulated in Missoula, Montana. The study was designed to provide quantitative evidence pertaining to several untested assumptions found in the literature on rumor about the correlates of rumor belief and transmission. It was also designed to expand upon the findings of some preliminary research undertaken with respect to, the Missoula rumors. The study examined the conditions surrounding the emergence of the rumors in the spring of 1974 and their survival. Two hypotheses were tested relating to the effects of religious belief and immersion in the rumor network on rumor belief and transmission. The relationship between rumor belief and transmission was also explored, and one hypothesis concerning the effect of "inside" knowledge on rumor transmission was tested. The study also explored some of the changes in the rumors as they evolved over time. The study was based upon quantitative data obtained from questionnaires administered to local high school and college students and to non-college adults. Contingency . table analysis with appropriate measures of association was used to test the hypotheses. Interview and other qualitative data were used as descriptive examples of the relationships. It was found that immersion in the rumor network was the best predictor of both rumor belief and transmission. In addition, those who believed the rumors were more likely to pass them on to others than were those who did not believe them, but it was also found that many non­ believers transmitted the rumors. The study also revealed that people who had "inside" knowledge relating to the rumors were more likely to transmit them than were those who had no such knowledge. The effect of religious belief on rumor belief and transmission was shown to be very weak and inconsistent. In addition to the findings about the correlates of rumor belief and transmission, the study demonstrates the feasibility of using survey techniques in the study of rumor. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express special thanks to my advisor, Robert Balch. Without his endless patience and consist­ ently constructive criticism, this thesis might never have been completed. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......... ......... ....... iii LIST OF TABLES ................ :. vii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION.............................. 1 The History of the Rumor ......... 1 The Research Problem ........... 4 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. ................... 6 The Emergence of a Rumor: Conditions and Processes........... 6 The Rumor's Period of Prominence: Plausibility and Circulation ....... 13 The Outcome of the Rumor Process: Decline or Transformation.................. 22 Omissions in the Study of Rumor. ..... 24 Witchcraft in Missoula: Some Preliminary Observations . 26 III. QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES. .......... 32 Emergence of i the Rumors. .......... 32 Prominence of the Rumors ......... 33 Outcome of the Rumor Process ....... 35 IV. EMERGENCE OF THE RUMORS ................ 42 Results............. 42 The social setting: importance and ambiguity ........... 43 Dimensions of the witchcraft rumor. 50 Why witchcraft? The survival of the rumors ................ 60 Summary. ........... 67 iv Chapter V. PROMINENCE OF THE RUMORS. .......... 70 Introduction ....................... 70 Christian Fundamentalism and Belief in the Rumors . ................. 73 M eth o d ....................... 73 Results . ............ ............... 76 Fundamentalism and occultism........ 81 Immersion in the Rumor Network and Belief in the Rumors .................... 85 Method. ........... ......... 85 Results .................. 87 Rumor Belief and Transmission.......... 91 Rumor Transmission and "Inside" Knowledge................................. 94 Method. .............................. 94 Results ....................... 96 Other Correlates of Rumor Transmission . 97 Christian fundamentalism and rumor transmission.................. 98 Transmission and occult predispositions ............ 101 Immersion in the rumor network and rumor transmission. ......... 105 Summary....................... 113 VII. OUTCOME OF THE RUMOR PROCESS.................. • 118 The Development of the Secondary Rumors... 118 Rumors and Popular Belief ............... 120 The sensitizing effect of rumors. 121 The significance of Pattee Canyon . ..123 VIII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . 127 Summary of Results ....................... 127 Emergence of the murder rumors. 127 Prominence of the murder rumors .... 129 Outcome of the rumor process. 131 Concluding Remarks ............. 132 Strengths of the study. ........ 132 Weaknesses of the study .............. 133 Suggestions for further research. 134 APPENDIX A: THE QUESTIONNAIRE ....... i .. 137 APPENDIX B: SUPPORTING TABLES - EMERGENCE ..... 158 v APPENDIX C: SUPPORTING TABLES - PROMINENCE .... 162 APPENDIX D: EXTENT OF PARTICIPATION IN THE RUMOR NETWORK. ............ 174 BIBLIOGRAPHY. ...... ........... 186 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Distribution of Knowledge About the Murders ................ 45 2. Respondents' Feelings About the Murders . 46 3. Respondents' Faith in Police Reports. 48 4. Respondents' Primary Feeling About the M u r d e r ................................ 48 5. Number Of Friends Talking About the . Murders ....................... 49 6. Percent Hearing Rumors by Selected Measures of Importance and Ambiguity. 53 7. Source of the Rumor for Those Who Reported Having Heard It. ........ 54 8. Number of People Who Told Respondent That Witchcraft Was Involved in the Murders. 55 9. Distribution of Participation in the Rumor Network .......................... 56 10. Extent of Respondents' Participation. 57 11. Belief in the Rumor .......................... 58 12. Respondents' Stated Reasons to Believe the Murder Rumor. ....................... 59 13. Content of Stories Heard From Non-Missoulians . ........... 65 14. Distribution of the Murder Rumor Among Sentinel Students as Compared to Other Sub-Samples and the Total Sample. ..... 68 vii Table Page 15. Percent Believing Murder Rumors by Measures of Christian Fundamentalism. 77 16. Percent Believing Murder Rumors by Measures of Belief in Occult Phenomena. .. 83 17. Percent Believing Murder Rumors by Measures of Occult Familiarity.............. 84 18. Percent Believing in the Murder Rumors by Number Who Told Respondent That Witchcraft was Involved in the Murders. 88 19. Percent Believing in the Murder Rumors by Number of Friends Who Believed the Rumors . 89 20. Percent Believing in the Murder Rumors by Number of Sources of the Rumor. ...... 90 21. Percent Transmitting the Rumors by Belief in the Murder Rumors ........ 92 22. Percent Transmitting the Rumors According to the Extent of Transmission by Belief in the Rumors ............................ .. 93 23. Percent Transmitting the Rumors by Measures of "Inside" Knowledge .............. 96 24. Percent Transmitting the Rumors by Measures of Christian Fundamentalism . .............. 99 25. Percent Transmitting the Rumors by Measures of Belief in Occult Phenomena ....... 102 26. Percent Transmitting the Rumors by Measures of Occult Familiarity . ............ 104 27. Percent Transmitting the Rumors by Number of People Who Told Respondent Witchcraft Was Involved in the Murders, Controlled on Belief ......................... 107 28. Percent Transmitting the Rumors by Number of Friends Who Believed the Rumors, Controlled on Respondent's Belief . i.09 viii Table Page 29. Percent Transmitting