Attracting thousands of visitors to the region, some of whom purchased real estate, the colony soon ceased to be regarded as heretical. Jones was a churchgoer from an early age. Ti passed away a decade before . Cult members have injected their own children with cyanide, engaged in gunfights against police, and released sarin gas on the public all in the wide-eyed servitude of a single man. Others slowly faded away, pushed out by Californias rising cost of living, or made obsolete by the fact that many of the things that made them appealing were absorbed into the mainstream: Fortune 500 CEOs now regularly attend Burning Man and crystals and Himalayan salt lamps can be purchased at Target. To cite this article in an academic-style article or paper, use: Maup van de Kerkhof, "Six of the Most (In)Famous Cult Leaders", History Cooperative, December 26, 2022, https://historycooperative.org/six-of-the-most-famous-cult-leaders/. He called himself Je Vam Marc Sus Pire and named one of his sons Jeva, a portmanteau of Jesus and vampire. The cult broke up when two nieces returned with relatives to retrieve their children. Charles Milles Manson's booking photo for San Quentin State Prison, California One of the most notorious cults sprouted in San Francisco. The following year, the SLA famously kidnapped Patty Hearst, who soon joined the group. she came to know the theosophist William Quan Judge, over whom she soon acquired an extraordinary influence. First appearing on the West Coast in San Francisco, it did not reach Los Angeles until after the Worlds Fair in 1915. As the leader of the cult, he can be traced back to ample cases of child pornography, child abuse, and much more. When she was forty, she moved to New York, where, through her interest in spiritualism. Following an anonymous tip, police enter a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, an exclusive suburb of San Diego, California, and discover 39 victims of a mass . James Warren Jones was an American religious leader whose name has now become synonymous with the phrase "Don't drink the Kool-Aid.". He felt stomach pains and was allegedly hustled out while being told that something had gone wrong. 10. Indeed, Joness tragic goal was to eventually commit a mass murder-suicide. L. Ron Hubbard in Los Angeles, California, 1950. Their theology was highly militant, and their monthly publication Battle Cry: Aggressive Christianity was replete with images of warfare against demonic forces. Many have criticized both organizations as cults. The Temple has an auditorium with 5000 seats; a $75,000 broadcasting station; the classrooms of a university which once graduated 500 young evangelists a year; and, as Morrow Mayo pointed out, a brass band bigger and louder than Sousas, an organ worthy of any movie cathedral, a female choir bigger and more beautiful than the Metropolitan chorus, and a costume wardrobe comparable to Ziegfelds., Mrs. McPherson founded a magazine, The Bridal Call, and established 240 lighthouses, or local churches, affiliated with Angelus Temple. The number of food and body cults in Southern California has never been reckoned. Also, he had a very liberating view on sexuality and multiple wives, which would become problematic about his cult. One story states that the youngest members of the cult learned to have sex, which was deemed Gods way of expressing his love. On meeting in Southern California, strangers are supposed to inquire, tirst, Where are you fromt" and second, How do you feel? Invalidism and transiency have certainly been important factors stimulating cultism in the region. Wikimedia Commons. As leader of The Manson Family, Charles influenced the murders of nine people in California, including the murder of actress Sharon Tate and four others in her home. 7. Cult leaders have psychosis or narcissistic personalities that drive them to preach a message and convince others to follow, according to therapist Rachel Bernstein. Source: HBO Max. But some of Californias fringe spiritual groups are still out there little pockets of commune dwellers, transcendental meditators and UFO worshippers dotted around the state. California has produced a number of Leaders who have made it big. Old ties have been loosened, old allegiances weakened. It led to Rajneesh preaching that spiritual experience could not be just one system and that there has to be more. Although she managed to maintain a fairly constant following until her death from an overdose of sleeping powder in 1944, she never recovered from the vicious campaign that had been directed against her in 1926. The conference is the place where all religions of India gather. By Allison Schonter The state of Texas has as well. This frightening tale of mass suicide was carried out by members of the People's Temple, a cult born in the 1950s with the supposed objective of practicing Apostolic Socialism. I have also heard the lectures of Dr. Horton Held, who believes that California is an unusually healthy place in which to live, since so many flowers find it possible to grow in this vicinity. California is known for its unusually large number of cults and dodgy religious movements. Charles Manson's . He called his cult "The Family." Thats a mouth full and a lot to integrate into just one ideology. However, their religious history has made it difficult to promote these wines and has led to tax disputes with county officials. By Erik Hawkins Richard Vieira Told Police About Gerald Cruz's Wheel Of Punishment Now Playing Preview Richard Vieira Told Police About Gerald Cruz's Wheel Of Punishment 1:09 This most certainly is the case with Charles Milles Manson - the most famous, evil cult leader in America. . Watch on. A lengthy standoff would follow, which resulted in the burning of the compound. A core membership of around 100 people survived and settled in Palomarin Ranch near Bolinas in Marin County. Originating in Los Angeles, the cult spread across the nation, with centers in Chicago, New York, West Palm Beach, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Denver, Salt Lake City, Fort Worth, and Dallas; it enrolled 350,000 converts and deposited in the hands of its creators the tidy sum of $3,000,000. (One man had been tortured to death. The women used the cash to build the Santa Susana Knolls community in Simi Valley, which included a dozen cabins and a temple that was sealed off in anticipation of Christs return. Heaven's Gate cult members found dead. He would begin to sexually abuse them at age eight, claiming that Jesus was a womanizer and Gods people are becoming extinct. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. According to her death certificate obtained by the tabloid, she died at a hospital in . Cults are terrifying. One article described the hierarchy in the church as: God. They. Steve discovers the property has a connection with two cults, including one of the most famous cult leaders in American history. Will your building hold up in a major earthquake? Expert advice on how to deal with slow repairs and weird move-out notices. With such a wide rooting, Ashara claimed he could transfer spiritual power to his followers while taking away their sins and bad deeds. Only one day later, the Family committed another series of murders. The New Mathura Vrindaban group is an offshoot of Hare Krishna founded in 1968 by Kirtanananda Swami and Hayagriva Swami. We are starting off with the Japanese cult leader Shoko Ashara, who is responsible for the worst terrorist accident in Japan. The Manson Family Charles Manson may be one of the most well-known cult leaders in American history. In 1977, Jones relocated the People's Temple from San Francisco, California, to Jonestown, Guyana. Berg became known as Moses David, Mo, King David, Father David, Chairman Mo, David Fontaine, Dad, and Grandpa. Charles Manson The Family. Heaven's Gate. Cult leaders must be dynamic, charismatic, and convincing because their goal is to brainwash their members and acquire monetary or power-related advantages. the Reverend Mr. Mills abandoned New Thought, left California, and died the next year in Grand Rapids, a sound Presbyterian. I once attempted to examine these items, but abandoned the effort after a try at the first volume, indexed: Scientific Air Possibilities with the Human, by Zabelle Abdalian, Doctor of Airbodiedness.. Others were dodgier, such as the notion that sex and masturbation were gifts from God and that cult members should masturbate while fantasizing about having sex with Jesus. Escaped convict Donald DeFreeze (aka General Field Marshall Cinque Mtume) led this political cult of Berkeley radicals that was inspired by communist and South American revolutionary theory. IN SUCH an environment it was, of course, foreordained that a messiah would some day emerge. However, this didnt result in the death of the cult, which is still alive to this day. It was located in the middle of the jungle of Guyana, and inhabitants were expected to work long days without a lot of pay. However, by the time the police arrived, Wesson was covered in blood. The Long Beach, California, headquarters of Morningland, an almost 50-year-old spiritual group with a focus on meditation. The Branch Davidian compound was raided by a small group of federal agents from the US Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. Gein has been the inspiration behind countless movies, including Psycho, Silence of the Lambs, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Famous practitioners from Tom Cruise to John Travolta to Beck to Laura Prepon appear to be staying loyal, but scores of followers are leaving the church, and for good reason. Because the teachings were so extravagant, the dangerous message encapsulated in them might have been overlooked by many cult members and dedicated followers. Representative Leo Ryan, together with reporters and concerned relatives of members of the Peoples Temple, traveled to Guyana to investigate the situation. But perhaps the best example of the pervasiveness of cults in pop culture came last week with the premiere of American Horror Story: Cult in which we can expect to see versions of cult. In exchange for these promised luxuries, members were asked to surrender their worldly possessions on joining the secret order. She claimed that all of her victims either raped her or attempted to rape her. It seems like just a random house in a wealthy neighborhood was picked. And how does someone know if the faith they are following is harmful? When visitors approached the colony, a bugler hidden behind the Egyptian gales sounded the note of their arrival. Working hard on the case, the newspapers soon proved that the kidnaping story, which she had told on her return, was highly fictitious, In sensational stories, they proceeded to trace her movements from the time she disappeared, through a love cottage interlude at Carmel with a former radio operator of the Temple, to her reappearance in Mexico. While devotees worked at a local tomato-packing shed, their paychecks were collected by Blackburn and her husband. One of the first couples to settle at Point Loma, Dr. and Mrs. George F. Mohn, lived for some years in the Homestead before Mrs. Mohn first suspected that the Purple Mother was exerting a powerful influence on her husband. Purchasing a fifteen-acre tract in what is now the center of Hollywood, he established Krotona, the place of promise., At its heyday, Krotona boasted an Occult Temple, a psychic lotus pond, a vegetarian cafeteria, several smalt tabernacles, a large metaphysical library, and a Greek theater. Marcus Delon Wesson (born August 22, 1946) is an American criminal convicted of nine counts of first-degree murder and 14 sex crimes, including the rape and molestation of his underage daughters. There she began to attract attention by scattering religious tracts from an airplane and holding revival meetings in a boxing arena. Bodies of the People's Temple cult followers after the mass suicide in Jonestown. Due to the precision of the way in which organs were removed from three of his victims, it's believed he may have had surgical knowledge. The Origin of Hotdogs, The History of Boracay Island in The Philippines. However, Jones wasnt satisfied and ordered the other Temple members to assassinate the group. Cult leader David Koresh led the Branch Davidians in a deadly 51-day standoff against the FBI and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Under his leadership, the Los Angeles Fellowship was a flourishing institution from 1904 to 1911, with over a thousand members, a large organizational apparatus, and its own orchestra, schools, and magazine. The cult that Ashara was the leader of was named Aum Shinrikyo. They give up their jobs, family ties, and money all to belong to an organization that promises eternal salvation. Despite banning homosexuality in the community until 1994, Burton sexually preyed on young male members of his flock. He led the mass suicide of over 900 followers on November 18, 1978, before dying of a gunshot. Some of the most notorious California cults include Heavens Gate, the Peoples Temple of David Koresh, and the infamous Manson Family. They also built a brick oven to bake a disciple named Florence Turner. He also claimed that a socialist Egyptian leader would become world dictator in 1986, that Armageddon would be fought in the late 1980s, and that Jesus would return in 1993. Los Angeles is the home of the Philosophical Research Society, Incorporated, of Manly Palmer Hall, Americas Greatest Philosopher; the center of Zoroastrianism in America; the headquarters of the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism. It states: We have pledged our lives to this great cause. Their name was derived from the word symbiosis, which referred to a union of classes and races in this case. Last seen in a bathing suit on the beach near Ocean Park, she had apparently drowned in the Pacific. Rabbi Capers C. Funnye - rabbi of Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in Chicago, Ill. Rev. Buxom middle-aged usherettes, clad in flowing evening gowns, with handsome corsages of orchids and gardenias, bustled around at the morning services in a tabernacle that literally steamed with perfume. In the fire, no officers were hurt, but 80 members (including David Koresh) himself died. Although I heard her speak many times, I never heard her attack any individual or any group, and I am thoroughly convinced that her followers always felt that they had received full value in exchange for their liberal donations. His loss of vision and claim of being able to read minds gained him a lot of followers. Children. Ashara was formerly known as Chizuo Matsumoto but changed his name to be more in line with his self-image as Japans only fully enlightened master. Hugging was discouraged as a cause of energy transfer, and sexual relations were strictly monitored. Dr. Lee R. Steiner, in her study of quacks and fakirs, has pointed out that, when difficulty besets the quack, he usually flees to Los Angeles, not so much because it is a haven, but because it is the largest metropolitan center west of Chicago. The book also promised to reveal lost measurements leading to all of the worlds gold and oil deposits, which were apparently stolen from Noah by his son Ham. Family cult leader Anne Hamilton-Byrne dead at 98. Supposedly, they were in contact with the angels Gabriel and Michael, who told the women to shut themselves off from the world for three years and write a book called The Great Sixth Seal explaining the worlds mysteries. During her walk, Amy discovers that the owner is unknowingly attracting the dead and . We need to preserve Gods children. He has claimed to be an angel in human form who communicates with 44 other angels, including Benjamin Franklin and Jesus Christ. The Cult. Ojai is, today, the center of all esoteric influences in the region. In a lesser measure, the cultic aberrations of Southern California are an accidental by-product of its geographical location. However, Baldwin referred to himself as a spiritual pimp and took sexual liberties with female members of his flock while denigrating the males. Why would anyone want to do that? On May 18, 1926, Sister Aimee disappeared. They purchased property in Californias Yuba County to establish a winery. Former members have claimed that Bostwick stole his ideas from the Dianetics of Scientology after a falling-out with L. Ron Hubbard. In November 1973, they murdered Oakland school superintendent Marcus Foster, who supported a controversial student identification system. Manson was an ex-convict who was unemployed and in 1967 started a commune called the Manson-family. He also committed necrophilia and cannibalism. The cult even had its own psychedelic rock band, Ya Ho Wha 13, which released nine records. Meanwhile, cult members worked long hours in cult-owned hotels, ranches, and shops for minimal pay. After some time, the original residents of the place became frustrated with the cult members. After settling down in a safe house in Concord, their culture was characterized by political indoctrination, military drills, and free sex. The group departed for Lake Tahoe and was never heard from again. Later the charges against her were dropped. Burton is known as the Teacher and has strict rules of behavior, including bans on swimming, joking, and smoking. At one time, Warrington rented a hall on Hollywood Boulevard where courses were given in Esperanto, the Esoteric Interpretation of Music and Drama, and the Human Aura. Self-professed guru and alleged bank robber Jim Baker (aka Father Yod and Ya Ho Wha) used his popular health food restaurant as a vector for spreading his cult. Jones himself died of a self-inflicted gunshot. In the early thirties, there were over a thousand practicing nudists in Los Angeles, and three large nudist camps: Fraternity Elysia; the Land of Moo, over the entrance to which appeared the saucy slogan, In All the World, No St rip LikeThis; and, in the hills of Calabasas, a mysterious retreat called Shangri-la. Some identify him with the rising number of tulkus (living Buddhas), who are granted certification for their enlightenment by bribing religious officials. Listen to the trailer for. Baker was an ex-Marine and jujitsu expert who moved to LA to audition for the role of Tarzan. (The sources are documented in an interesting volume: Psychic Dictatorship in America by Gerald B. Bryan, published in Los Angeles in 1940. Bergs theology and style were largely derived from apocalyptic Adventist preaching tradition, influenced by his grandfathers involvement in the separatist Disciples of Christ church. The center existed from 2014 to 2017 but was forced to close as the result of rising rent. Steve and Amy travel to Chatsworth, California, to help a terrified woman who believes her house is trying to kill her. One of the most high-profile former cult members is actor Joaquin Phoenix, whose family traveled with the cult around South America. Deconsecrated in 1992, the building was supposed to be turned into condos when it was purchased and remodeled by the United International World Buddhism Association. Due to their charisma and ability to convince others, cult leaders have become some of the more famous, or infamous, characters in history. 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