Mr. Ed
Be what you is not what you what you ain’t
- Location
- Central NY
The Chicago Rippers
Also called the Ripper Crew, they weren’t a cult in the traditional sense: they didn’t try to recruit members. However, they were more than just serial killers. There were four Rippers (unusual for killers to attack in a group), including Robin Gecht, who was once employed by John Wayne Gacy, and was said to be the leader of the group. The Rippers operated in Chicago in 1981 and 1982, during which time they abducted, gang raped, tortured, and killed 18 young women.
The foursome were part of a Satanic cult, who met at an altar in Gecht’s attic. They amputated the left breast of their victims and used them to “take communion” — they would each take a bite of the severed flesh. The other men in the cult believed that Gecht had a supernatural power over them, to force them to take part in the rituals. One witness claimed that Gecht could get you to do his bidding just by looking him in the eyes. All four Rippers were eventually convicted of various capital crimes. One was executed; another had his death sentence commuted to life; and two others, including Gecht, were given life sentences.
Heaven’s Gate
The Heaven’s Gate cult was huge headline fodder in the 1990s. Led by Marshall Applewhite, the cult believed that Earth was going to be “recycled” (destroyed) and the only way to survive was to jump on a space ship that was traveling behind the Hale-Bopp comet. In order to board this space ship, they would need to kill themselves because it was their spirits that would hitch a ride.
In a rented mansion just outside San Diego, police found the bodies of 39 cult members, Applewhite among them. All had an overdose of phenobarbital in their systems, but they also had plastic bags tied over their heads as a backup. They wore identical sweat suits and brand new Nike sneakers; had purple ceremonial cloths over their heads; and arm bands that read “Heaven’s Gate Away Team.”
The “Carny Cult”
At age 15, Mark Goodwin created his own Satanic cult, called Satan’s Disciples, during which he would “dance wildly,” and partake in animal sacrifice and sex rituals. Eventually, Goodwin moved out of this Satanic phase, until he met Keith Lawrence, who had his own interest in Satanism and brought Goodwin back into it. The two drew up a contract with the devil, signed in blood. Keith’s brother David, and Jimmie Penick also joined the cult. All four men worked with a traveling carnival, and in 1991, another carny, William Ault wanted to join their cult.
The cult rejected him, so Ault tried to blackmail his way into the group by threatening to tell the cops about another murder Penick and Keith committed earlier in the year. Seeming to give in, the five men drove out to a secluded area, and Ault was laid out on a makeshift altar. He was tied and gagged and Penick said a prayer to Satan. The cultists then carved inverted crosses into Ault’s flesh and asked if he was ready to die before his throat was slit. They later cut off Ault’s hands and head and tossed his body in a field. All four men pled guilty to various crimes against Ault, with Penick pleading guilty to the actual murder.
The Order of the Solar Temple
Started in the early 1980s by Joseph di Mambro and Luc Jouret, the Order of the Solar Temple is a secret society that supposed to be modeled after the Knights Templar. Some of their goals included preparing for the second coming of Christ as a “solar god-king,” and unifying all Christian and Islamic churches. Allegedly, they drew some of their teachings from noted occultist Aleister Crowley and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
The OST is best known for the 1994 murder of an infant boy, who di Mambro believed was the antichrist. A few days later, a series of mass suicides/murders occurred in Switzerland. At least 15 poisoned themselves and 30 were shot or smothered. Additional mass death scenes were discovered in December 1995 and March 1997, a mix of murders and suicides. Many of these mass deaths included ceremonial touches like the bodies forming symbols; the dead dressed in ceremonial robes; and farewell letters. Swiss musician and conductor Michel Tabachnik was arrested as the leader of the Solar Temple in the late 1990s, and was acquitted in two separate trials for murder and participation in a criminal organization.
Superior Universal Alignment
Valentina de Andrade, a woman in her mid-seventies, was the leader of the Superior Universal Alignment in Brazil. In 1989, young boys were going missing in the small town of Altamira. It is estimated that 19 boys disappeared in the following years, but only six bodies were ever found. Five boys escaped. Each one had been castrated; many were raped and tortured.
It wasn’t until 2003 that charges were finally brought against de Andrade and several other members of her cult. All were prominent members of society and used their position and influence to avoid prosecution. Four men were eventually convicted, but de Andrade was acquitted of all charges. The cult believed that all children born after 1981 were evil and needed to be killed. The sex organs the cult stole from the children were used in voodoo ceremonies.
Open enrolment.
Also called the Ripper Crew, they weren’t a cult in the traditional sense: they didn’t try to recruit members. However, they were more than just serial killers. There were four Rippers (unusual for killers to attack in a group), including Robin Gecht, who was once employed by John Wayne Gacy, and was said to be the leader of the group. The Rippers operated in Chicago in 1981 and 1982, during which time they abducted, gang raped, tortured, and killed 18 young women.
The foursome were part of a Satanic cult, who met at an altar in Gecht’s attic. They amputated the left breast of their victims and used them to “take communion” — they would each take a bite of the severed flesh. The other men in the cult believed that Gecht had a supernatural power over them, to force them to take part in the rituals. One witness claimed that Gecht could get you to do his bidding just by looking him in the eyes. All four Rippers were eventually convicted of various capital crimes. One was executed; another had his death sentence commuted to life; and two others, including Gecht, were given life sentences.
Heaven’s Gate
The Heaven’s Gate cult was huge headline fodder in the 1990s. Led by Marshall Applewhite, the cult believed that Earth was going to be “recycled” (destroyed) and the only way to survive was to jump on a space ship that was traveling behind the Hale-Bopp comet. In order to board this space ship, they would need to kill themselves because it was their spirits that would hitch a ride.
In a rented mansion just outside San Diego, police found the bodies of 39 cult members, Applewhite among them. All had an overdose of phenobarbital in their systems, but they also had plastic bags tied over their heads as a backup. They wore identical sweat suits and brand new Nike sneakers; had purple ceremonial cloths over their heads; and arm bands that read “Heaven’s Gate Away Team.”
The “Carny Cult”
At age 15, Mark Goodwin created his own Satanic cult, called Satan’s Disciples, during which he would “dance wildly,” and partake in animal sacrifice and sex rituals. Eventually, Goodwin moved out of this Satanic phase, until he met Keith Lawrence, who had his own interest in Satanism and brought Goodwin back into it. The two drew up a contract with the devil, signed in blood. Keith’s brother David, and Jimmie Penick also joined the cult. All four men worked with a traveling carnival, and in 1991, another carny, William Ault wanted to join their cult.
The cult rejected him, so Ault tried to blackmail his way into the group by threatening to tell the cops about another murder Penick and Keith committed earlier in the year. Seeming to give in, the five men drove out to a secluded area, and Ault was laid out on a makeshift altar. He was tied and gagged and Penick said a prayer to Satan. The cultists then carved inverted crosses into Ault’s flesh and asked if he was ready to die before his throat was slit. They later cut off Ault’s hands and head and tossed his body in a field. All four men pled guilty to various crimes against Ault, with Penick pleading guilty to the actual murder.
The Order of the Solar Temple
Started in the early 1980s by Joseph di Mambro and Luc Jouret, the Order of the Solar Temple is a secret society that supposed to be modeled after the Knights Templar. Some of their goals included preparing for the second coming of Christ as a “solar god-king,” and unifying all Christian and Islamic churches. Allegedly, they drew some of their teachings from noted occultist Aleister Crowley and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
The OST is best known for the 1994 murder of an infant boy, who di Mambro believed was the antichrist. A few days later, a series of mass suicides/murders occurred in Switzerland. At least 15 poisoned themselves and 30 were shot or smothered. Additional mass death scenes were discovered in December 1995 and March 1997, a mix of murders and suicides. Many of these mass deaths included ceremonial touches like the bodies forming symbols; the dead dressed in ceremonial robes; and farewell letters. Swiss musician and conductor Michel Tabachnik was arrested as the leader of the Solar Temple in the late 1990s, and was acquitted in two separate trials for murder and participation in a criminal organization.
Superior Universal Alignment
Valentina de Andrade, a woman in her mid-seventies, was the leader of the Superior Universal Alignment in Brazil. In 1989, young boys were going missing in the small town of Altamira. It is estimated that 19 boys disappeared in the following years, but only six bodies were ever found. Five boys escaped. Each one had been castrated; many were raped and tortured.
It wasn’t until 2003 that charges were finally brought against de Andrade and several other members of her cult. All were prominent members of society and used their position and influence to avoid prosecution. Four men were eventually convicted, but de Andrade was acquitted of all charges. The cult believed that all children born after 1981 were evil and needed to be killed. The sex organs the cult stole from the children were used in voodoo ceremonies.
Aetherius Society
Founded in the mid-1950s by a former British taxi driver, Aetherius is a New Age religion whose belief systems are built around the idea that a series of "Cosmic Masters" (mostly from Venus and Saturn) control the fate of humanity. Additionally, they focus heavily on prayer and "spiritually charging" the Earth to make way for the "Next Master, a messianic figure who will descend to earth in a flying saucer armed with "magic" more powerful than "the combined materialistic might of all the armies."2. Ho No Hana Sanpogyo
This modern Japanese sect is often referred to as the "foot reading cult" based on the claim that its founder—who also claimed to be the reincarnation of both Jesus Christ and Buddha—could diagnose followers' problems by simply examining their feet, and that they would die if they weren't examined appropriately. According to his methods, traits like short toes indicated a short temper and fat toes meant your life would be filled with good fortune. However, the whole ruse unraveled when followers fought back against the steep $900 fee he charged for each "inspection."Freedomites
Originally formed in Saskatchewan in 1902 after a fracturing of different religious groups who had fled Russia to escape persecution, the Freedomites insist on three different things: communal living, nudity, and anarchy. They became most famous for their all-nude public demonstrations to show opposition to the material tendencies of society, and in the '20s and '30s even burned and bombed a whole slew of public buildings (while naked, of course) to show their disdain for the government.Movement For the Restoration of the 10 Commandments
A breakaway movement from the Roman Catholic Church, the Movement was founded in the late '80s in Uganda, and revolved around the strict adherence to the 10 Commandments as a means of avoiding damnation in the apocalypse. Among the odder tenets were weekly fasts and the outlawing of both soap and sex. The sect began to unravel after the world failed to end at the start of the new millennium (as leaders predicted), resulting in a mass murder involving a series of poisonings, stabbings, and a massive church fire.. Aum Shinrikyo
Combining extreme and idiosyncratic interpretations of religions ranging from Buddhism to Christianity, Aum was founded in 1984 and considered fairly controversial from the beginning for its doomsday prophecies, which involved a third World War, instigated by the US. Then, things got violent. It was discovered that they engaged in outrageously dangerous initiation practices and were murdering members who tried to leave the organization. The group was officially designated a terrorist group after they were found responsiblefor a coordinated sarin gas attack on five trains in the Tokyo subway system that killed 13 and affected more than 1,000 other commuters in 1995.The Creativity Movement
Based in Illinois, Creativity was officially formed in 1973 to unite white people through a common "racial religion." While much of their belief system involves a naturalist philosophy and abiding by an extremely healthy lifestyle, their supreme value is that what is good for white people is the highest good. And it's exactly that type of thinking that has earned them a place on a list of Neo-Nazi organizations by the Souther Poverty Law Center.John Frum
Founded on the island of Tanna in the South Pacific, this fascinating cult revolves around the image of an American World War II serviceman, who is thought to bring wealth and prosperity to the isolated island. It originated in the early '40s when 300,000 American troops were stationed in the area and armed with tons of supplies and cargo related to their mission. The troops eventually left along with much of their gear, but the followers of John Frum held out hope that they'd return, building symbolic landing strips to encourage other American planes to stop by and bring goods.Raëlism
Founded in 1974 by the French race car driver Claude Vorilhon, Raëlism teaches that human life was created intentionally by a bunch of aliens who later sent messengers in human form to check in on things, including Jesus and Buddha. On the surface, their values are quite agreeable, considering they advocate world peace, sharing, democracy, nonviolence, and a liberal view of sexuality—but they most certainly have their strange side. For instance, in the late '90s the organization founded a cloning company, and made the bold claim (with zero scientific proof) that they'd actually cloned a human in 2000.Open enrolment.
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