Download or read book Infamous Cults written by Daniela Airlie and published by Daniela Airlie. This book was released on 2023-10-15 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Come with me and learn about the world’s most ill-famed and chilling cults, their leaders, and their followers. The strange and sinister stories of lesser-known cults will have you asking what triggers the cult followers’ unwavering loyalty to their often cruel leaders. You may know the story of the Manson Family, whose followers committed senseless acts of violence (including the tragic murder of actress Sharon Tate). But, many cult crimes occurred before and after Charles Manson and his followers hit newspaper headlines, and Infamous Cults covers them. I’ll tell the story of a horrific spate of gruesome ritualistic killings that occurred in Matamoros, a Mexican border town, in the mid-80s. These macabre murders were carried out by a cult called Narcosatanicos, a drug smuggling gang who believed their ceremonial sacrifices would make them untouchable. It’s a genuinely gory saga that has inspired horror films based on the story. You’ll learn about the story of a cult leader from Nebraska who encouraged down-on-their-luck farmers to join his commune. Little did his followers know just how sadistic their leader was. Then there’s the story of The Ant Hill Kids, a cult founded on preparing for the world’s end. The leader, a power-hungry man fueled by violence and a need for control, would drag his followers into a hellish nightmare. How many would make it out alive? This anthology of six selected biographies of cult leaders and their followers offers a shocking insight into the madness, manipulation, and murder surrounding them. I also ponder the answer to the question, why do people join cults?

Download or read book Cults written by Max Cutler and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-07-12 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mystery. Manipulation. Murder. Cults are associated with all of these. But what really goes on inside them? More specifically, what goes on inside the minds of cult leaders and the people who join them? Based on the hit podcast Cults, this is essential reading for any true crime fan. Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong, to find a deeper meaning in life, to live everyday with divine purpose. Their existence creates a sense that any one of us, at any time, could step off the cliff’s edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause. Perhaps it’s this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more, or it’s that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick. The premier storytelling podcast studio Parcast has been focusing on unearthing these mechanics—the cult leaders and followers, and the world and culture that gave birth to both. Parcast’s work in analyzing dozens of case studies has revealed patterns: distinct ways that cult leaders from different generations resemble one another. What links the ten notorious figures profiled in Cults are as disturbing as they are stunning—from Manson to Applewhite, Koresh to Raël, the stories woven here are both spellbinding and disturbing. Cults is more than just a compilation of grisly biographies, however. In these pages, Parcast’s founder Max Cutler and national bestselling author Kevin Conley look closely at the lives of some of the most disreputable cult figures and tell the stories of their rise to power and fall from grace, sanity, and decency. Beyond that, it is a study of humanity, an unflinching look at what happens when the most vulnerable recesses of the mind are manipulated and how the things we hold most sacred can be twisted into the lowest form of malevolence.

Download or read book Hollywood Park written by Mikel Jollett and published by Celadon Books. This book was released on 2020-05-26 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: **THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** “A Gen-X This Boy’s Life...Music and his fierce brilliance boost Jollett; a visceral urge to leave his background behind propels him to excel... In the end, Jollett shakes off the past to become the captain of his own soul. Hollywood Park is a triumph." —O, The Oprah Magazine "This moving and profound memoir is for anyone who loves a good redemption story." —Good Morning America, 20 Books We're Excited for in 2020 "Several years ago, Jollett began writing Hollywood Park, the gripping and brutally honest memoir of his life. Published in the middle of the pandemic, it has gone on to become one of the summer’s most celebrated books and a New York Times best seller..." –Los Angeles Magazine HOLLYWOOD PARK is a remarkable memoir of a tumultuous life. Mikel Jollett was born into one of the country’s most infamous cults, and subjected to a childhood filled with poverty, addiction, and emotional abuse. Yet, ultimately, his is a story of fierce love and family loyalty told in a raw, poetic voice that signals the emergence of a uniquely gifted writer. We were never young. We were just too afraid of ourselves. No one told us who we were or what we were or where all our parents went. They would arrive like ghosts, visiting us for a morning, an afternoon. They would sit with us or walk around the grounds, to laugh or cry or toss us in the air while we screamed. Then they’d disappear again, for weeks, for months, for years, leaving us alone with our memories and dreams, our questions and confusion. ... So begins Hollywood Park, Mikel Jollett’s remarkable memoir. His story opens in an experimental commune in California, which later morphed into the Church of Synanon, one of the country’s most infamous and dangerous cults. Per the leader’s mandate, all children, including Jollett and his older brother, were separated from their parents when they were six months old, and handed over to the cult’s “School.” After spending years in what was essentially an orphanage, Mikel escaped the cult one morning with his mother and older brother. But in many ways, life outside Synanon was even harder and more erratic. In his raw, poetic and powerful voice, Jollett portrays a childhood filled with abject poverty, trauma, emotional abuse, delinquency and the lure of drugs and alcohol. Raised by a clinically depressed mother, tormented by his angry older brother, subjected to the unpredictability of troubled step-fathers and longing for contact with his father, a former heroin addict and ex-con, Jollett slowly, often painfully, builds a life that leads him to Stanford University and, eventually, to finding his voice as a writer and musician. Hollywood Park is told at first through the limited perspective of a child, and then broadens as Jollett begins to understand the world around him. Although Mikel Jollett’s story is filled with heartbreak, it is ultimately an unforgettable portrayal of love at its fiercest and most loyal.

Download or read book The Cult of Trump written by Steven Hassan and published by Free Press. This book was released on 2020-09-01 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *As featured in the streaming documentary #UNTRUTH—now with a new foreword by George Conway and an afterword by the author* A masterful and eye-opening examination of Trump and the coercive control tactics he uses to build a fanatical devotion in his supporters written by “an authority on breaking away from cults…an argument that…bears consideration as the next election cycle heats up” (Kirkus Reviews). Since the 2016 election, Donald Trump’s behavior has become both more disturbing and yet increasingly familiar. He relies on phrases like, “fake news,” “build the wall,” and continues to spread the divisive mentality of us-vs.-them. He lies constantly, has no conscience, never admits when he is wrong, and projects all of his shortcomings on to others. He has become more authoritarian, more outrageous, and yet many of his followers remain blindly devoted. Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert and a major Trump supporter, calls him one of the most persuasive people living. His need to squash alternate information and his insistence of constant ego stroking are all characteristics of other famous leaders—cult leaders. In The Cult of Trump, mind control and licensed mental health expert Steven Hassan draws parallels between our current president and people like Jim Jones, David Koresh, Ron Hubbard, and Sun Myung Moon, arguing that this presidency is in many ways like a destructive cult. He specifically details the ways in which people are influenced through an array of social psychology methods and how they become fiercely loyal and obedient. Hassan was a former “Moonie” himself, and he presents a “thoughtful and well-researched analysis of some of the most puzzling aspects of the current presidency, including the remarkable passivity of fellow Republicans [and] the gross pandering of many members of the press” (Thomas G. Gutheil, MD and professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School). The Cult of Trump is an accessible and in-depth analysis of the president, showing that under the right circumstances, even sane, rational, well-adjusted people can be persuaded to believe the most outrageous ideas. “This book is a must for anyone who wants to understand the current political climate” (Judith Stevens-Long, PhD and author of Living Well, Dying Well).

Download or read book Cultish written by Amanda Montell and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-06-15 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “One of those life-changing reads that makes you see—or, in this case, hear—the whole world differently.” —Megan Angelo, author of Followers “At times chilling, often funny, and always perceptive and cogent, Cultish is a bracing reminder that the scariest thing about cults is that you don't realize you're in one till it's too late.”—Refinery29.com The New York Times bestselling author of The Age of Magical Overthinking and Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how “cultish” groups, from Jonestown and Scientologists to SoulCycle and social media gurus, use language as the ultimate form of power. What makes “cults” so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join—and more importantly, stay in—extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it already has . . . Our culture tends to provide pretty flimsy answers to questions of cult influence, mostly having to do with vague talk of “brainwashing.” But the true answer has nothing to do with freaky mind-control wizardry or Kool-Aid. In Cultish, Montell argues that the key to manufacturing intense ideology, community, and us/them attitudes all comes down to language. In both positive ways and shadowy ones, cultish language is something we hear—and are influenced by—every single day. Through juicy storytelling and cutting original research, Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities “cultish,” revealing how they affect followers of groups as notorious as Heaven’s Gate, but also how they pervade our modern start-ups, Peloton leaderboards, and Instagram feeds. Incisive and darkly funny, this enrapturing take on the curious social science of power and belief will make you hear the fanatical language of “cultish” everywhere.

Download or read book Surviving Centrepoint written by Rachel C. King and published by Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited. This book was released on 2021-06-04 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shortly before I turned 13, my life changed forever when my family moved to the notorious Centrepoint Community on Auckland's North Shore, then at its peak. Centrepoint was founded by Bert Potter, its 'spiritual leader'. He called himself God. During my four years there I was pressured into inappropriate and often frightening situations by many of its adult members. Like so many others, I have lived with the trauma and shame of these memories, but I have survived. This is my story. In this intimate and harrowing account, Rachel C. King tells her story of the years she spent in New Zealand’s notorious commune, Centrepoint, and life there under the rule of its cult leader and founder Bert Potter. Through the eyes of her young self, Rachel exposes the truth of life at Centrepoint — a hippie dream turned nightmare — with its bizarre rules, hierarchies and social controls. It was a place where children were given drugs, where free sexuality was mandated, including between adults and children, and where to resist was actively discouraged. She describes the fear and confusion of growing up in a corrupt world where wrong was right, and the grief of losing her childhood. She takes us inside the police case and court battle against one of her abusers, and the historic action that ultimately saw Potter and others charged with drug and child sex abuse crimes, and Centrepoint shut down. Surviving Centrepoint was first published under the pseudonym Ella James. Now, using her real name for the first time, Rachel shares her journey from physical hurt and emotional pain to the reality of survival and the healing power of telling the truth.

Download or read book Unsafe Sects written by Roger E. Olson and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2023-08-29 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For some decades American (and other) culture has been obsessed with cults. But what does "cult" mean? How should a religious group be identified as a cult? Who joins cults and why? These and other questions are answered in this book. It provides a basic introduction to cults, "unsafe sects," especially from an orthodox Christian perspective. Here readers will also find accounts of the author's personal experiences of cults.

Download or read book Scarred written by Sarah Edmondson and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2019-09-17 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As seen in the HBO docuseries THE VOW: The shocking and subversive memoir of a 12-year-NXIVM-member-turned-whistleblower, and her inspiring true story of abuse, escape, and redemption. "'Master, would you brand me? It would be an honor.' From the second I climb onto the table, acutely aware that I am lying in the sweat of my sisters, I will have blocked that out. Lying there completely naked, I am at my most vulnerable but determined to prove my strength. I try to keep my legs closed as my body wills itself to protect my most private area. . . . I tell myself: I am a warrior. I birthed a human. I can handle pain. But nothing could have ever prepared me for the feel of this fire on my skin." Scarred is Sarah Edmondson's compelling memoir of her recruitment into the NXIVM cult, the 12 years she spent within the organization (during which she enrolled over 2,000 members and entered DOS—NXIVM's "secret sisterhood"), her breaking point, and her harrowing fight to get out, to expose Keith Raniere and the leadership, to help others, and to heal. Complete with personal photographs, Scarred is also an eye-opening story about abuses of power, female trust and friendship, and how sometimes the search to be "better" can override everything else. • In the tradition of Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman, Escape by Carolyn Jessop, and Troublemaker by Leah Remini • This tell-all follows Sarah from the moment she takes her first NXIVM seminar, to the invitation she accepts from her best friend, Lauren Salzman, into DOS, to her journey toward become a key witness in the federal case against its founders • Evokes questions about friendship, ethics, good and evil, making it a brilliant selection for book clubs Audio edition read by the author.

Download or read book Cult Following written by J. W. Ocker and published by Quirk Books. This book was released on 2024-09-10 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A must-read for those with a taste for cult narratives.”—Publishers Weekly From the author of Cursed Objects and The United States of Cryptids, an eye-popping compendium of the 30 most infamous, audacious, and dangerous cults in history Have you ever wondered how ordinary people end up enmeshed in extreme cults? Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about history’s most notorious cults—and the psychology of the people who join them—is packed into this accessible, engaging volume. Walk in the footsteps of those who were lured into such sinister groups as: Branch Davidians: This cult was waiting out the apocalypse when the FBI infamously raided their compound in Waco, Texas. Los Narcosatánicos: This group of drug traffickers in 1980s Mexico committed human sacrifice and believed their leader had magic powers. Breatharianism: Breatharians believe that humans can live on air alone, and their founder claimed to have gone without food for seventeen years. NXIVM: This twenty-first-century cult attracted Hollywood actresses and engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, and racketeering under the guise of personal development seminars. Heaven’s Gate: The Heaven’s Gate UFO cult ended in the suicide of thirty-nine members who believed they would ascent to a spaceship after death. In this fascinating collection, weird history expert J. W. Ocker sheds light on the terrifying attraction of cults, demonstrating the elasticity of belief, the desperateness of belonging, and the tragedy of trust.

Download or read book What To Do About SUE English written by Susan Bauer and published by Golden Age Media Private Limited. This book was released on 2022-01-01 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “What to do about SUE?” by author HG Sukhavaha Mataji is a comprehensive guide that addresses the challenges and complexities of life’s struggles, symbolized by the acronym “SUE” (Suffering, Uncertainty, and Envy). Drawing from the Bhakti tradition, this book offers practical solutions and spiritual insights to navigate these issues with grace and wisdom. It empowers readers to transform suffering into growth, uncertainty into opportunity, and envy into compassion, fostering a more fulfilling and purposeful life.

Download or read book Misunderstanding Cults written by Benjamin Zablocki and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2001-12-01 with total page 860 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Misunderstanding Cults provides a uniquely balanced contribution to what has become a highly polarized area of study. Working towards a moderate "third path" in the heated debate over new religious movements or cults, this collection includes contributions from both scholars who have been characterized as "anticult" and those characterized as "cult-apologists." The study incorporates multiple viewpoints as well as a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives, with the stated goal of depolarizing the discussion over alternative religious movements. A prominent section within the book focuses explicitly on the issue of scholarly objectivity and the danger of partisanship in the study of cults. The collection also includes contributions on the controversial and much misunderstood topic of brainwashing, as well as discussions of cult violence, children brought up in unconventional religious movements, and the conflicts between alternative religious movements and their critics. Unique in its breadth, this is the first study of new religious movements to address the main points of controversy within the field while attempting to find a middle ground between opposing camps of scholarship.

Download or read book Hating God Loving God written by A. K. Davies and published by A. K. Davies. This book was released on 2021-07-20 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hating God, Loving God presents the author's graphic and painful memories of being raised in a secretive, abusive, and manipulative cult, and how his childhood sufferings spilled over into a troubled adolescence and a deeply disturbed adulthood. In throwing off the lies told to him by the cult's elders, he also threw away any sense of God's love and mercy. His pain, fuelled by a hatred of God, whom he blamed for all his troubles, turned him into a bully, a petty thief, and, but for the grace of God, a murderer. Somehow, he survived adolescence, got an education, and set out on the road to making money, believing that the accumulation of possessions was the only thing that would earn him respect. But his pain persisted, and he sought relief in all the wrong places. Even the unexpected love of a good woman was not enough to take away the pain. Adrift in an ocean of despair, he decided to commit suicide. It was only then when he was at his lowest point that he was ready to accept a truth he had persistently denied: the truth that God loved him. After giving my life to Jesus Christ, who transformed him and renewed his soul, he went from hating God to loving God.

Download or read book The Mirror of Christianity Cults and the Catholic Church written by Richard Bennett and published by LifeRich Publishing. This book was released on 2021-05-13 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are we on the brink of a theological war between Conservative Protestant Christianity and the new Charismatic Protestant Christian movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation, (NAR)? Are they as demonic as some well known pastors say? A very debated question. This is a book that must be read by every ex-Catholic that perhaps has second thoughts. Reading this book is assurance the decision was right. And let us not forget those Prosperity preachers who constantly ask for money. This book exposes them even to their very core beliefs which are shocking and unbelievable.

Download or read book Sects Cults and Spiritual Communities written by Marc Petrowsky and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 1998-06-30 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American society is culturally diverse with a variety of religious denominations, sects, cults, and self-help groups vying for members. This volume analyzes nine of these groups, chosen both for their intrinsic interest and because they illustrate a variety of sociological concepts. The groups included in this study are: Heaven's Gate, Jesus People USA, the Love Family, The Farm, Amish Women, Scientology, El Niño Fidencio, Santería, and Freedom Park. The contributors are social scientists with first-hand knowledge of the groups they examine.

Download or read book The Manson Family Inside The Cult And The Helter Skelter Murders written by ANONYMOUS and published by THE PUBLISHER. This book was released on 2024-02-27 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Manson Family: Inside The Cult And The Helter Skelter Murders is a gripping exploration of one of the most notorious criminal cults in American history. The book delves into the formation of the Manson Family, led by the charismatic yet delusional Charles Manson, and their disturbing activities and beliefs. It examines the influence Manson had on his followers and the psychological manipulation techniques he employed, ultimately leading to the brutal Tate-LaBianca murders. The arrest, trial, and media frenzy surrounding the case are thoroughly examined, along with the ongoing fascination with Manson and his legacy. The book also delves into unsolved mysteries, life inside the cult, the psychological profiles of Manson and his followers, and the long-lasting impact of the Manson Family on American culture. A thought-provoking and chilling account, this book provides a comprehensive understanding of the Manson Family and their crimes.

Download or read book Cults Coercion and Control written by Jamie King and published by Summersdale. This book was released on 2024-03-14 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Belief system or brainwashing? Captivated or captive? Community or cult? Uncover stories of the world's most infamous cults in this true crime compendium... Filled with stories of notorious cults, this book details their origins, beliefs, leaders, followers and victims, and uncovers the unthinkable horrors hidden by these "utopian" societies.

Download or read book Escaping Utopia written by Janja Lalich and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-01 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We think of cults as bizarre, inexplicable, or otherworldly places that only strange people inhabit, but cults and other abusive and high-demand groups (and relationships) are actually quite commonplace. In fact, the behaviors, social pressures, and authoritarian structures that create cults exist to a greater or lesser extent in every human relationship and every human group. In the first in-depth research of its kind, the author interviewed sixty-five people who were born in or grew up in thirty-nine different cultic groups spanning more than a dozen countries. What’s especially interesting about these individuals is that they each left the cult on their own, without outside help or internal support. In Escaping Utopia: Growing Up in a Cult, Getting Out, and Starting Over, the authors craft Lalich’s original and groundbreaking research into an accessible and engaging book, the first of its kind focusing on this particular population.