The media loves to show cults as being made up of people wearing strange robes & doing weird chants in abandoned buildings. But the truth is that some of the worst ones ruined lives & ended hundreds. Here are ten of the most dangerous cults in history. What do you think made people join them in the first place?
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock.
Children of God
This one’s rather difficult to talk about. The Children of God movement began in the 1960s and quickly spread globally by using music & missionary work to pull people in. But behind the scenes, the unthinkable was going on. Leader David Berg encouraged child abuse as a form of “spiritual bonding.” Yes, really.
Superior Universal Alignment
That’s not all for kids, though. In Brazil, during the 1990s, the Superior Universal Alignment group believed some children were born to destroy the Earth. So they began killing boys born after 1981. Police found some of the victims’ bodies, but many of them were never found at all. May those poor kids rest in peace.
Jonestown
Jonestown is probably one of the most famous cults. It involved Jim Jones taking his followers deep into the jungle. He claimed he was building paradise. In reality, he brainwashed & forced his followers to drink punch laced with cyanide. 918 people died that day. So much for utopia.
Aum Shinrikyo
At the start, the Aum Shinrikyo group involved meditation classes. It ended with them gassing a Tokyo subway with sarin gas. This caused thousands of people to become sick. Their leader, Shoko Asahara, decided that he was a prophet & became obsessed with the apocalypse. He created chemical warfare on the public transit system.
The Ant Hill Kids
Roch Thériault was the leader of Ant Hill Kids, who practiced torture in the name of God. Yes, you read that right. His cult lived in the woods & built cabins, and they beat people up. They also performed their own surgeries. This was without a license or painkillers. Just pliers.
Heaven’s Gate
In 1997, 39 members of Heaven’s Gate ended their own lives after writing identical farewell notes. Why? Because they thought the Hale-Bopp comet, which flew past the Earth, had a UFO hiding behind it. They believed they’d board the ship after their death. It was truly tragic.
The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments
Leaders of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments promised that the world would end with the new millennium. So, their believers gave up on everything. The date passed and, obviously, nothing happened, leading to a mass killing. They locked up the church during a celebration, then set the whole thing on fire. Over 700 people died.
The Order of the Solar Temple
Many cults preach the idea of rebirth, and the Order of the Solar Temple was no different. They had lodges in places like Canada & France, where they’d dress in robes. Believers thought they would move on to another world. As such, they decided to die together by shooting or drugging themselves. It was horrible.
NXIVM
On the surface, NXIVM seemed like just an expensive self-help seminar. Except it was actually a cult. It had a secret group called DOS that taught women to give collateral, such as nude pictures of themselves. Then, they were branded near their hips with a hot iron. No wonder the founder’s in prison, and he’ll stay there. For life.
The Branch Davidians
David Koresh ran the Branch Davidians compound in Waco, Texas, and his rule ended with a fiery standoff with the FBI. They arrived with a warrant in 1993. This turned into a 51-day siege and massive fire that killed 76 people, including many children. Nobody made it out.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
Like our content? Be sure to follow us.
