In the worldwide sense , a cult is a mathematical group of people who come together with a set of unified beliefs and practices . Most of the time , the common values are fanatic views of organized religion and civilization that be given to keep apart one fussy ideal or standard and then site it above all else . But what separates cults from religions is the notion of complete reclusiveness and the apparent inability of members to leave behind under their own will . These group typically have dominating , magnetic leader who use their personality to attract new recruits , get members to do their bidding , and maintain a system of rules of controller . Many of the most infamous cults in account come up in the 1970s and ’ eighty during a time refer to as the “ Satanic Panic , ” when there was widespread concern that a fight between dear and immorality was torment just below the surface of American polish . Of those that the media were able-bodied to expose and expose , here are eight of the most terrifying .
8. Children of God
The Children of God was a furor founded by David Berg in California . Berg arrogate it to be an branch of Christianity and would often preach against Judaism , capitalism , and evolution . But the really horrifying prospect of the cult ’s practice was Berg ’s opposition to laws prohibiting paedophilia . According to former members , Berg advocated that having gender with tyke was not only allowable , but a inspired right . Although there were never any official reports of sexual abuse from former member , it was bang that the cult used young female members as sweetener to lure in new members . After Berg ’s last , the rage went through a number of transformations and today it ’s cognize as the Family International . While it no longer supports sex with fry , many still relegate the mathematical group as a rage and speak out against it , admit celebrity Joaquin Phoenix and Rose McGowan .
7. Paradise
6. Heaven’s Gate
Though technically an Revelation cult , Heaven ’s Gate was always more interested with aliens and spaceships then it ever was with Christian sacred scripture . Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles were co - leadership who claimed they were actually the two witnesses from the Book of Revelations and that Jesus had been reborn as a Texan . Heaven ’s Gate followers held the belief that the Earth was going to be “ reprocess ” and the only way to survive was to attain a starship that would reportedly conform to in the wake of the Hale - Bopp Comet . deplorably , Applewhite inform all members that the only way to reach the starship was to die , and , in 1997 his body and those of 38 other member were regain dead inside a Santa Fe mansion house — the observable issue of a mass suicide .
5. Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo was a Nipponese apocalyptic furore institute by Shoko Asahara in 1984 . On March 20 , 1995 , the radical orchestrated a GB gas blast on the Tokyo subway that killed 13 people and injured 100 more . It was later revealed that the onset was intended to be a deviation to keep the maraud of Asahara ’s chemical compound by police who had been inform of the rage ’s activity . But the diversion failed and police foray into the chemical compound anyway , discovering millions of dollar in Johnny Cash , Sojourner Truth blood serum , Ebola civilisation , a Russian helicopter , and enough chemic arm to toss off four million people .
4. The Chicago Rippers
The Chicago Rippers were a satanic cult led by Robin Gecht — a former employee of the serial killer John Wayne Gacy . For two years the cult terrorized the Illinois area and police reports indicate they were creditworthy for the disappearance of at least 18 woman . The cultus was especially known for its vicious ritualistic practice that require cut up the bodies of their victim . In 1981 , a 28 - year - old cleaning woman appoint Lisa Sutton was walking home when she was snaffle off the street and thrown in a van . Ten twenty-four hours later , her body was found mar with the left tit altogether cut off . police force reports would later reveal that fad members would often remove and eat on the chest of their victim as a satanic sacrament .
3. The People’s Temple
In the 1950s , this mathematical group started out as much more of an official organization , with founder Jim Jones preaching reform-minded views on adequate rights that appeal to many African - Americans . But after , in the ’ 70s , Jones and his followers became advocates of communism , and their compound in Guyana focused around these apotheosis . Fearing the intervention of the CIA , Jones lead his fad in peculiar simulations ring “ White Nights ” in which cult member would have to choose between concealing in the jungle , fleeing to the Soviet Union , fighting , or confide “ radical suicide . ” In 1978 , a congressman go to investigate the fad and was shot . Worried about the backlash from the event , Jones lay out his “ White Night ” plan in motion and instruct over 900 cult member to toast a juice meld with poisonous substance . It ’s still ill-defined whether member drink in the poison willingly or were pressure to do so against their will .
2. Order of the Solar Temple
1. The Branch Davidians
Founded in 1959 by David Koresh , the Branch Davidians were originally a part of the Seventh Day Adventist but broke away after Koresh had the revelation that he was a christ and that all woman were designated to be his spiritual wife . Consequently , he would often kip with and splice women who joined the cult , include underage girls and the wife of other member . But it was n’t until 1993 that the Branch Davidians gained real notoriety when it became the center of a 51 - day police draw in Waco , Texas . After the Department of Alcohol , Tobacco and Firearms foray into their compound to search for illegally amassed weapons , six cult members and four agents were shoot down . It was only after tear natural gas and tanks were brought in that the situation at last do to a dreadful conclusion with the chemical compound catching flame . In the end , 70 religious cult extremity had been kill , include 22 children .
