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The BRUTALITY Of The Heaven's Gate Cult · The conspiracy

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Planet Earth about to be recycled. Your only chance to
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  Speaker 1: evacuate is to leave with us.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: It was a final message, a warning, and just a
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: short while afterwards, thirty nine people would be found dead,
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: all with matching uniforms, the same method of death, and
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: the same Nike shoes. These are the words of Marshall Applewhite,
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: a humble preacher's son who would transform into a supposed
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: extraterrestrial prophet, urging humanity to attain salvation through a spaceship
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: that would take them to the next level. And though
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: it sounds like a made up story in the world
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: of science fiction, this is the real story of Heaven's Gate. Crime, conspiracy, coats,
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: serial killers, and murder, all things that I love to consume.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: And I know you do too, you sick, twisted, beautiful,
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: intellectually minded. And today we are diving into one of
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: the most infamous cults in history, and that is Heaven's Gate.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: So without further ado, let's on my gloves, Seatbelt's go
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  Speaker 2: get back to it on May seventeenth, nineteen thirty one.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: Marshall Hearf apple White Junior was born the youngest of
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: four kids in a small town of Spur, Texas, and
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: his father, Marshall Hearf Applewhite Senior, raised a devout and
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: close knit family and he was a Presbyterian minister who
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: traveled frequently on a mission to establish churches throughout Texas,
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: and he brought the family along with him. So the
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: constant uprooting of home life gave Marshall a mobile upbringing
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: and tie that along with being a minister's son. And
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: it's not hard to see the pressures and challenges he
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: faced from a very early age. Not giving him a pass,
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: by the way, not even a little bit. But you know,
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: we're gonna empathize just a little at the beginning, because
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: he's a little kid at this point, all right. So
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: Marshall was brought up in a deeply religious environment, and
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: his family life was rather traditional and strict, and largely
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: because of his father's job as a minister, because Marshall
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: Senior fully expected his kids to live righteously adhering to
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: Christian morals, and he firmly disciplined them to ensure this.
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: But even with this, it still seemed like Marshall did
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: enjoy his upbringing, embracing the culture fully. And Marshall would
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: regularly attend church and he was seen as extremely dedicated
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: to the faith. And Marshall demonstrated an intense passion for
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: music and the performing arts, and he possessed a clear
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: aptitude for public speaking as well, And these are all
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: talents and skills that would shape this young man's adulthood.
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: And his love for the stage led him to take
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: part in theater productions at school, and he also sang
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: in choirs at churches, where his voice drew great praise.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: So his natural charisma and showmanship found many avenues for development,
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: forming a strong foundation for his future persona aka a
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: piece of shit cult leader, but we'll get to that.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: And in addition to his extra curricular talents, Marshall excelled
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: in his studies as well. He's pretty smart, and one
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: would think this wouldn't be the case due to the
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: constant movement around, but he quickly learned to adapt to
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: new environments regularly, and he was active in various organizations
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: in Corpus Christie High School and even was president of
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: the school's chapter of the National Honor Society, and he
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: would graduate in nineteen forty eight. Yet, despite his many
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: successes and his attention grabbing personality, Marshall had growing inner
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: questions about his own identity and his faith, and they
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: had yet to surface in a meaningful way, but they
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: soon would. But for now, he appeared to be following
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: a pretty standard path, a preacher's son, beloved in his
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: own right and perhaps meant to follow in his father's footsteps.
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: Nothing to red flaggy at this point. So after high school,
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: Marshall enrolled at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, and he
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: majored in philosophy, propelled by his deep desire to learn
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: the answer to life's greatest questions, and a former roommate
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: and classmate, John Alexander, recalled that he and Marshall took
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: a liking to one of their professors Glenn Maxwell, who
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: introduced them to thinkers like Aristotle and Plato and John Locke,
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: and Alexander said of Maxwell, quote, he really taught you
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: to ask the right kind of questions, to not go
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: along with the crowd unquote. So Marshall remained an active
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: and involved student, taking part in choirs, councils, and campus associations,
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: further developing his popularity amongst its peers. And Alexander described, quote,
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: he was an extrovert, he was popular, and he was
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: very smart unquote. And it's of note that during this time,
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: while he remained religious, he was described as only moderately
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: so compared to his enthusiasm of religion from his youth.
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: So the balance between the spiritual and the artistic continued
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: to shape him, and he graduated with a Bachelor of
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: Arts degree in nineteen fifty two, and around this time
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: Marshall married Anne Pierce from Corpus Christie, and the couple
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: would eventually have two children together, and in hopes of
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: becoming a minister, Marshall enrolled in Union Presbyterian Theological Seminary
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: shortly after graduating from Austin College, finally following in his
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: father's path. So by all appearances, he made smooth progress
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: towards that goal for a short time. However, Marshall only
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: lasted about a year at the seminary as his love
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: of music called to him for more, and a seminary
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: official recalled quote he was here less than a year
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: and withdrew in the spring and went into church music.
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: So upon leaving the seminary, Marshall quickly found work that
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: brought his church background in musical talent together, and he
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: became the music director at First Presbyterian Church in Gestonia,
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: North Carolina, in nineteen fifty three, where he was assistant
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: to the pastor and choir director. And he was still
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: young at this point, around twenty two years old, but
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: members of the congregation were very impressed with his gifts, saying,
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: quote he was he was quite a musician and had
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: a beautiful voice unquote, said Edith Warren, who was a
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: member of the choir Marshall directed, and another member of
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: the congregation described him as quote drop dead handsome unquote.
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: Quote when he got up to sing, he looked and
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: sounded like an angel unquote. Teach their own I don't
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  Speaker 2: think so about right, whatever you think so those who
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: watched him became mesmerized by his performances, and Marshall and
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: Anne would spend about two years at this church, and
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: they were beloved by all who crossed paths with them,
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: and they even welcomed their first two aforementioned children during
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: this time. So he thrived in his role at the church,
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: utilizing his passions for music with his strong charisma. But
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: life would change rather quickly when he was drafted into
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: the US Army in nineteen fifty four and he would
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: be stationed in Austria and New Mexico and served as
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: a member of the Army Signal Corps for two years,
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  Speaker 2: and he did his duty diligently and earned an honorable
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: discharge in nineteen fifty six. And upon his return to
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: civilian life, Marshall chose to further his musical education, enrolling
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: in the University of Colorado, Boulder, and he pursued graduate
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: studies in music, focusing on musical theater performance, and he
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: honed his skills as a singer and performer through various
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: roles in operas and musicals. And he did have a
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: pleasing baritone voice and showed a particular fondness for traditional spirituals,
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: so his training sharpened that flare for the theatrical and
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: the stage presence and the vocal talent that had been
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: present throughout his life, and eventually he earned himself a
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: master's degree, and by his thirties it looked like Marshall
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: had everything going for him. He was formally educated and
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: had lived a life full of different experiences, and he
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: was performing and leading and serving and teaching, and he
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: was ambitious and talented and well liked and respected, and
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: he had a great family with with a lot of
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: opportunities ahead of him. That his life would not follow
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: in this path, and his inner turmoil, which he had
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: hidden so well at this point, would soon peak through
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: the cracks. So Marshall set out in the early nineteen
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  Speaker 2: sixties to pursue his dream of a career in performing,
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: hoping to become a household name on stage, and he
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: moved to New York, aiming to break into Broadway or
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: the opera circuit, anything to show what he was made of.
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: And he supported his family during this time as a
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: singer and conductor, both in community culture music and commercial music,
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: according to his resume, and the resume also included that
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: he was an occupational therapist, at a tuberculosis sanitarium at
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: one point, amongst other odd jobs he held, But unfortunately,
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: his breakout moment eluded him, and Marshall never quite managed
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: to make it to the big stage, generally only landing
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: minor roles in the production he took part in, causing
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: professional disappointment within him. Yet he still chased his musical calling,
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: but instead through a slightly more stable route, and he
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: would become an assistant professor of music at the University
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: of Alabama, where he was a choir master. But that
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: stability would be challenged when controversy struck and Marshall was
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: forced to resign from his position in nineteen sixty five.
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: Some sources say nineteen sixty four, after it was discovered
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: that he began a sexual relationship with a male student.
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: Red flag number one. Not because he's sleeping with another male,
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: but he's cheating on his wife and it is a student,
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: and they're not supposed to do that. Just don't want
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: to clarify that. And also I don't know if this
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: student was underage, but that's a massive red flag obviously,
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: but such a relationship both between teacher and student and
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: at this time a homosexual one was extremely scandalous and
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: unacceptable in the nineteen sixties in the Deep South. So
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: Marshall's secret was out and one that no one had suspected.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: So even though he was a married father, he had
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: been wrestling with hidden homosexuality and separated from him after
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: learning at the affair in nineteen sixty five, ultimately divorcing
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: him in nineteen sixty eight. And the breakup was civil,
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: but it affected Marshall deeply because he genuinely loved his
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: wife and kids, but he was just unable to live
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: the conventional life that was expected of him, which again,
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: you know, at this point as long as a kid
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: wasn't underaged or anything. And obviously he cheated on his wife.
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: There's no you know, criminal. You know, he's not killing animals,
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: he's not doing all this stuff. But he is doing
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: the thing that falls into what a lot of cult
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: leaders that we've gone over, the Children of God guy,
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: the Jim Jones guy, and that is failing at something
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: that they are so determined to do, and right now
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: that's music or becoming a star. He can't do that.
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: And it's like a mid it's always almost always a
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: late twenties early thirties to even forties, like midlife crisis,
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: failing after failing after failing, and also being charismatic, also
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: being relatively smart, also just being able to public speak.
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: It's like all those things together to just create this perfect,
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: albeit horrible cult leader. So we're seeing that recipe over
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: and over again, and we see it with Heaven's Gate
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: and we see it with Marshall Applewhite. But anyway, his
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: sister would later recall a story of how he once
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: got a tree outside of Christmas time and painted and
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: decorated it just so the kids could have something fun
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: in the house. And it was just one small example
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: of the type of father he was. And the aftermath
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: of the school affair affected Marshall's relationship with his father,
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: and Marshall finally came out to his parents, hoping they
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: would understand, but sadly, Marshall Senior met his optimism with
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: disapproval in grief, shutting his son out of his life
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: for bringing shame upon the family. So this was just
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: yet another crushing blow, a quote unquote failure to him
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: in his life. So as if the pain of losing
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: his job, marriage and kids wasn't enough, he was now
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: basically disowned from his own family, which is a sentiment
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: that potentially fueled his later teachings. So Marshall would then
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: return to Texas with a new resolve to build his life,
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: and he would secure a job as chairman of the
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: music department at the University of Saint Thomas and he
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: was back in his element now and students saw him
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: as stylish, charismatic and a good teacher that was able
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: to make music come alive from them, and he became
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: quite popular locally as a singer, directing an episcopal choir
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: and performing with the Houston Grand Opera in secondary role.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: So stability seemed to have returned to Marshall, and he
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: even began living as openly gay for a time. But
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: with welcoming the Houston gay scene in to his life,
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: he still struggled with sex and relationships internally, which led
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: him to start dating a young woman again, but allegedly
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: facing pressure from her family, she ended things with Marshall
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: and a breakup devastated him, and to make matters worse,
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: that breakup combined with the guilt and tension he felt
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: from his relationships with men stemming from his religious upbringing,
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: and created a push pull in his sexual life that
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: tormented him, and Marshall allegedly confided with a lover that
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: he desired to have a quote sexless devotion, passion without
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: physical entanglements unquote. So this longing for a love that
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: transcended his personal sexuality was yet another sentiment that fueled
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: his later beliefs, as we'll see, and in a stroke
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: of luck, another chance presented itself for Marshall to achieve
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: his performance dreams when he landed lead baritone in the
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: opera The Ballad of Baby Doe in nineteen seventy. But
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: despite the many fans of his voice throughout the years,
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: there were those who didn't believe in him, saying his
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: voice was quote unquote not of national caliber, and this
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: was an opportunity for him to prove them wrong. But unfortunately,
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: amidst his difficult personal life, the part ended up being
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: too much for him and he withdrew, and the combination
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: of these many internal issues would push Marshall into several
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: periods of depression, and colleagues began to notice that he
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: became increasingly erratic and withdrawn on campus in the late
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: nineteen sixties, and come March of nineteen seventy, Marshall suddenly
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: resigned from his position at Saint Thomas, allegedly citing quote
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: unquote emotional turmoil and depression as the reason. And Robert
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: Balch and David Taylor, who were sociologists that later studied
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: Heaven's Gate, theorized that this resignation was actually due to
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: another potential affair with a male student. And some sources
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: claim that he didn't resign but was actually let go
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: because of this supposed affair. It's not totally clear, so
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: I just want to put that out there. But regardless
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: of the reason, and Marshall gave up his academic career
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: and now he had no job, no family support, and
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: to top it off, his father died around this time
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: as well, just compounding the pain in unresolved emotions he
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: dealt with. So he up and left Houston and wound
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: up in New Mexico, where he opened a deli in
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: nineteen seventy one, attempting to be a simple businessman, and
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: once again he thrived in an opportunity to connect and
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: interact with people the same old, lovable Marshal, But his
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: mental state continued to decline and he abandoned his Deli
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: to return empty handed to Texas in late nineteen seventy one,
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: I another failure, and he amounted several debts and borrowed
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: money from old friends in Marshall's life was not looking
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: good at this point, tell you what, because he was
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: alone and wrestling with spiritual issues, written with guilt and
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: his sexuality, and just crumbling from the weight of his depression.
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: But this troublesome part of his journey would soon have
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: an unlikely encounter, one that would lead to radical change.
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  Speaker 2: so much to Smalls for sponsoring this video and supporting
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: the channel, and let's get back to it. So Marshall
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: came to a breaking point in the spring of nineteen
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: seventy two when he was hospitalized in Houston, and accounts
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: vary on the why, but it was allegedly for either
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: a heart condition or a psychiatric stay. His own sister
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: Luis later claimed that he had a near death experience
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: from a blockage in his heart while in the hospital, saying, quote,
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: one of the nurses there told him he had a
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: purpose that God kept him alive unquote. But the nurse,
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: who was Bonnie and Lutruesdale, came to him in the
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: hospital bed in March and convinced him that he was
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: saved for a great mission that he would carry out.
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: So just like that, the chair on top of the
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: gay years and years for Marshall's longing for more instantly
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: found its focus, and he believed her message was real
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: and divine, and he just knew that God had shown
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: up through this nurse to direct him towards a new path,
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: and that she was the key to unlocking his divine purpose.
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: And Bonnie was a forty four year old nurse from
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: Houston who had a strong interest in astrology and biblical prophecy,
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: and she was married with children at the time, oh
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: her marriage was on the rocks, and while Marshall came
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: from a devout Christian family, Bonnie was more of a
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: seeker of the mystical, and she even wrote about astrology
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: in the local newspaper. But regardless of their backgrounds, they
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: truly believed that their meeting was destiny and their connection
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: was immediate and very powerful, and Marshall said he felt
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: like he had known Bonnie forever, to the point that
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: he felt that they had met in a past life,
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: and Bonnie told Marshall that their meeting had been revealed
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: to her beforehand by extra terrestrials and that she had
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: been receiving messages from them lucky. So this only further
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: cemented Marshall's inner calling and demonstrated that Bonnie shared it
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: with him, and the two became inseparable, constantly discussing all
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: sorts of spiritual matters, conventional and otherwise. And despite the
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: deep intimacy that the two shared intellectually and spiritually, their
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: relationship was not a sexual one, and this is important
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: as it filled Marshall's desire for that sexless devotion he
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: was desperate for, and Bonnie's daughter Terry would later say
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: about the relationship quote their relationship wasn't like a romantic thing,
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: more like a friendship, a platonic thing unquote. So he
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: had finally found someone who understood and accepted him for
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: who he truly was. So prior to their meeting, Bonnie
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: had met with some spiritualists who had told her that
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: a man would soon come into her life, and before
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: she knew it, Marshall was there. And she had actually
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: written a story when she was younger about a man
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: who dies and descends to heaven. And when Marshall read
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: the story, he was certain that it was actually written
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: about him. Ego complex, Am I right? And they quickly
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: decided to fully join forces together in pursuit of their
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: higher calling, and to start they cut off their remaining
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: earthly ties in order to go all in. So Bonnie's
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: growing relationship with Marshall and her steadily more concerning spiritual
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: ideas led her husband to file for divorce, eventually causing
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: her to lose custody of her children in the process,
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: which I think is for the best. To be honest,
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: and Marshall having already essentially lost his family in his
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: eyes anyway, cut the cord on what was left by
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: permanently breaking contact with his ex wife, his kids, and
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: his siblings as well. Classic cult shit, because they believe
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: they had each other and that was the only true
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: family they would need, you know. And Marshall eventually moved
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: in with Bonnie and they were committed to the cause
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: of spiritual exploration, and they opened a bookstore called the
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: Christian Arts Center in Houston that offered spiritual books from
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: different backgrounds, and they also started a teaching center called
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: no Place, as in like I know, like kN o
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: you or whatever? Why in w I mean? I can't
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: even spell? I need to go to the school. What
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: the But this no Place was where they offered classes
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: on various mystical and spiritual topics, and the two started
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: referring to each other by nicknames as well, such as
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: for Marshall and Peep for Bonnie, and perhaps to symbolize
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: the idea of shepherds and their flock like bo peep,
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: get it, little bo peep. Anyway, and more nicknames would
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: come along over time. So in February nineteen seventy three,
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: Marshall and Bonnie decided to leave their stationary ventures behind
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: in favor of hitting the road to share their insights,
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: because people with egos can't keep shit to themselves, no
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: matter how crazy it is. And they had an old
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: car and no source of income, but they trusted the
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: divine would provide for them, and they ponned or gave
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: away the majority of their belongings and kept only necessities,
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: and they'd even sell their blood for cash from time
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: to time. So, fueled by pure purpose, they traveled through
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: the Western United States, regularly camping to save money, and
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: sometimes they'd sleep in tents or check into sketchy motels
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: just to skip out on the bill when they left.
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: And money was so tight that simple bread rolls were
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: all they had to survive on. So the road train
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: for them was formative, and they created and refined their theology,
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: drawing from a large pool of ideas, and they would
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: study Madame Blavatsky's writings on theosophy, psychology works by r
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: Delaying New Age books from A. Richard Bach, and also
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: enjoyed science fiction novels by Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clark,
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: and they also dove deep into the Biblical New Testament,
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: with a particular focus on the Book of Revelation and
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: passages about Christology and asceticism, which is abstinence from earthly
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: pleasures through simple living, and eschatology, which is the focus
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: on the second Coming of Christ, which cult leaders just
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: love that shit basically like the doomsday stuff. You know,
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: it's like, oh, everything's going to go to shit when
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: Jesus comes back, or if he doesn't come back and
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: the world ends, and that's sweet, I mean, and it's
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: just like just fear written stuff. You know. I was
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: terrified of it when I was a kid, the rapture. Dude.
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: Every time I woke up, went downstairs and my parents
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: weren't there. I was like, shit, the rapture happened, and
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: I am stuck on hell on Earth? What of? So
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: with Marshall's seminary background in Bonnie's New Age knowledge, they
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: came to believe that humanity was on the verge of
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: the grand cosmic event and that they were central to
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: what was coming. And furthermore, they were certain that they
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: were the only people who truly understood God's new plan.
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: So the two began to actually see and refer to
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: themselves as the two, also the UFO two. It's kind
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: of a lame name, but okay. And they prophesized in
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: the Book of Revelation because in Revelation eleven, two prophets
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: are killed and then resurrected a few days later, ascending
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: to heaven as the world watches. And they wrote a
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: pamphlet suggesting that Jesus had returned as a Texan. All right,
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: I'm sorry, I cannot help, but just picture Jesus coming
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: down with cowboy hat spurs on his ankles, just like
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: clink clink clink with the last own you just here,
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: I'm back beaches, you know what I mean. Sorry Jesus anyway,
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: but this was just a not so subtle claim on
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: behalf of Marshall because you know, he's a Texan, and
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: preached that they were the fulfillment of this prophecy, and
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: the Kingdom of Heaven was actually a literal, physical place
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: located in outer space, and that spiritually chosen people would
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: be transported in new bodies via spaceship to the Kingdom.
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: Are you with me? Still great? And they also predicted
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: that they would be martyred and resurrected three and a
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: half days later. That's that's what Jesus did, by the way,
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: So they're you know, taken that from that book. Specifically,
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: when that spaceship would transport them and their disciples away
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: from Earth, and this was referred to as the demonstration,
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: and it was said that this event would be what
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: proves their divine authority when it happened, and in the meantime,
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: it was their mission to gather those who would be
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: ready to ascend to the next level when that time came,
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: aka the cult members, you know, they cult disciples if
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: you will, little biblical word right there, And by this
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: point they felt they had a solid outline of their beliefs.
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: So essentially a combination of apocalyptic Christianity with New Age
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: philosophy and UFO lore, which, you know, on the outside
• 28:34
  Speaker 2: look it in sounds crazy and like kind of cool,
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: but if you're in it, that's terrifying. I don't know
• 28:39
  Speaker 2: about all that sounds like a really good sci fi book, honestly.
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: But Marshall and Bonnie managed to convert their first follower
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: a little over a year into their journey, and they
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: resolved to carry their message further, but the recruitment would
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: have to wait a bit as Marshall was arrested in
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: August of nineteen seventy four, shortly after they began, for
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: failing to turn a rental car. I don't think Jesus
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: would forget to return a rental car just saying okay,
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: But he had driven it from Missouri down to Harlange
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: in Texas and claimed he was divinely authorized to keep
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: the car for the mission. He just pulls out a
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: card and it's him in like replacement of Jesus with
• 29:23
  Speaker 2: there's just a sun around him and his and his
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: hands in a prayer position, and he's just like I
• 29:29
  Speaker 2: look like that, like like a car salesman, like it's
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: all right, and it just says divinely authorized, and the
• 29:38
  Speaker 2: cops like, okay, yeah, that passes. That checks out. But
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: the divinely authorized car didn't work, and Marshall was returned
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: to Missouri and spent about six months in jail for
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: the theft. But letting nothing halt their progress, he continued
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: refining the theology and efforts to further organize it, and
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: he rejoined Bonnie in nineteen seventy five without missing a beat,
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: just filled with more clarity and drive than ever before,
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: and their movement was beginning, and it was time to
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: save some souls. So Marshall and Bonnie went on a
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: series of public meetings in nineteen seventy four in nineteen
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: seventy five to recruit people to the cause, and with
• 30:17
  Speaker 2: little more than posters their ideas and their conviction, and
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: probably those definedly authorized guards, they preached their message and
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: the posters asked readers if they had any interest in
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: quote unquote reaching the next evolutionary level beyond human, hinting
• 30:33
  Speaker 2: that the key rested with two mysterious visitors, and throughout
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: these meetings Marshall and Bonnie earnestly claimed that the Kingdom
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: of Heaven was at hand, an actual spaceship was arriving soon,
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: and those who followed them would escape the catastrophes that
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: would soon take place on Earth and be transported to
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: a higher plane of existence. It's a lot, but if
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: you're like a lost puppy out there and don't know
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: what you're doing and are just looking for some purpose,
• 31:02
  Speaker 2: that sounds pretty cool, you know. So let's talk about
• 31:06
  Speaker 2: the next level, which they described as a perfect place
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: in outer space and used sci Fi and biblical wordings
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: to evoke emotion, but despite their word choices, this was
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: no metaphor to them, and as crazy as it might sound,
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: their demeanor and knowledge of scripture made it seem like
• 31:24
  Speaker 2: a compelling argument to some. And one of the most
• 31:27
  Speaker 2: notable meetings took place in Waldport, Organ on September fourteenth,
• 31:31
  Speaker 2: nineteen seventy five, as it gained enough attention to launch
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: the UFO cult into the public eye nationally, and as usual,
• 31:39
  Speaker 2: posters were placed throughout the town inviting anyone who would
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: here to come listen to the two speak of a
• 31:47
  Speaker 2: real physical level beyond Earth's confines, and around two hundred
• 31:51
  Speaker 2: people showed up to the Bayshore Inn Motel's meeting just
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: curious to hear the message, and there Bo and Peep
• 31:59
  Speaker 2: calmly delivered their mind bending news, and they told people
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: in attendance that they were extra terrestrial beings taking human form,
• 32:09
  Speaker 2: here to show the people of Earth how to ascend
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: to the next level before the planet was recycled or
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: quote refurbished, spaded under and have another chance to serve
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: as a garden for a future human civilization unquote, as
• 32:25
  Speaker 2: Marshall himself later said. And those that desired to go
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: should abandon their worldly lives immediately in order to secure
• 32:33
  Speaker 2: a spot on the spaceship to Heaven. Yet they love
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: to isolate people from their families, from people that are
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: going to be like that sounds stupid, don't do that.
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: But as soon as they get them away and you
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: find a purpose. I always say, like, I don't understand
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: how these people get into these cults, but I honestly,
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: at this point I do. I do, especially at this time,
• 32:55
  Speaker 2: and you know, you just you don't know what you're doing.
• 32:58
  Speaker 2: You just went to university. You're trying to find yourself.
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: You know, you just came back from Asia. You know.
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: I maybe I did some of that. I went to
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: Asia to try to find myself, and honestly it was
• 33:07
  Speaker 2: a good time. It's a really good time. But yeah,
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: it's just yeah, you know, you come across people who
• 33:13
  Speaker 2: speak really well, that sound really smart, that come up
• 33:16
  Speaker 2: with something that makes you feel special, and it's like, eh,
• 33:19
  Speaker 2: I can see how people fall into it, you know.
• 33:21
  Speaker 2: So the two sparked curiosity amongst listeners at the comparison
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: that their seemingly outlandish message to their surprisingly ordinary appearance,
• 33:31
  Speaker 2: and one witness mentioned that they were quote unquote very unassuming,
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: and indeed they looked like normal, conservative, middle aged people,
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: certainly not like the typical person you'd expect conveying this
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: sort of message. Yet their common appearance somehow gave a
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: bit of credibility to their words. And when Marshall and
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: Bonnie left Walport a short while later, as many as
• 33:53
  Speaker 2: twenty people that had attended the meeting ended up leaving
• 33:57
  Speaker 2: with them, and they gave up their families, their jobs,
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: and their belongings to join, and the town was shocked
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: at what had happened. Quote people just disappeared, unquote, said
• 34:10
  Speaker 2: one of the people that remained from that ceremony, And
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: friends and family didn't know what to think because they
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: didn't know if their loved ones had been harmed or
• 34:19
  Speaker 2: brainwashed or what at this point, and one man even
• 34:23
  Speaker 2: unsuccessfully chased after the group in hopes of getting his
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: wife to return. And authorities looked into the incident and
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: discovered no troubling evidence because all those who left did
• 34:33
  Speaker 2: leave willingly, and there was no missing persons reports filed,
• 34:37
  Speaker 2: and no evidence of foul play or kidnapping, and investigators
• 34:41
  Speaker 2: determined no laws had been broken. So America had now
• 34:44
  Speaker 2: been introduced to a group that was called the UFO cult,
• 34:48
  Speaker 2: also sometimes referred to as Human individual METAMORPHOSISS. But you know,
• 34:54
  Speaker 2: UFO cults is a little shorter, you know, a little
• 34:56
  Speaker 2: more catchy. So the new converts joined Marshall and Bonnie's
• 35:00
  Speaker 2: now growing group of followers that camped out in various
• 35:03
  Speaker 2: rural areas while they continued to preach. And many of
• 35:06
  Speaker 2: the early people that joined were young adults drawn from
• 35:08
  Speaker 2: alternative lifestyles, interested in meditation, Eastern religions, UFOs, communal living,
• 35:15
  Speaker 2: and whatnot. And there were also a couple of people
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: that infiltrated the group as a way to study from within,
• 35:21
  Speaker 2: like sociologists Robert Bulk. But not all who joined were
• 35:25
  Speaker 2: cut out for this way of life, obviously, and one
• 35:27
  Speaker 2: such person was Robert Rubin, who was so convinced by
• 35:31
  Speaker 2: the message that he had given his house away to join,
• 35:34
  Speaker 2: which is crazy, and he stayed with the group for
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: about a year before returning to run a health food store.
• 35:40
  Speaker 2: And another was Annie Miller, who was ready to give
• 35:43
  Speaker 2: up everything for the cause until it was too much.
• 35:46
  Speaker 2: And those that left pointed to extremely strict commitments that
• 35:50
  Speaker 2: were demanded of them as something that most people could
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: not maintain, but many did stay, and the group's numbers
• 35:57
  Speaker 2: supposedly reached around one hundred or more members throughout the
• 36:01
  Speaker 2: western US by late nineteen seventy five, and some estimates
• 36:05
  Speaker 2: say the group reached to two hundred people at its peak,
• 36:08
  Speaker 2: and they were called the quote doomsday UFO cult in
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: the media and reporters actively pursued any chance at the story,
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: and a book titled UFO Missionaries Extraordinary was released in
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: nineteen seventy six as one of the first published stories
• 36:24
  Speaker 2: of the group, and as publicity skyrocketed, so did Marshall
• 36:28
  Speaker 2: and Bonnie's fears, which led them to drop out of
• 36:31
  Speaker 2: the public eye for a period of time and instead
• 36:34
  Speaker 2: of letting their followers carry on the recruitment. Life within
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: the group, which as a whole was sometimes called the
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: Class and members were sometimes called crew, was not conventional
• 36:45
  Speaker 2: by any means, but despite the harsh conditions, many members
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: were disarmingly ordinary people who just believed they were on
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: a spiritual mission, and they were instructed to set up
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: makeshift campgrounds in remote locations and all belongings and money
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: were to be surrendered to a common pool for the group,
• 37:03
  Speaker 2: and they lived collectively and essentially had no contact with
• 37:06
  Speaker 2: anyone outside of the group, so just complete isolation, complete control.
• 37:11
  Speaker 2: Nobody could leave because nobody had anything to leave with.
• 37:14
  Speaker 2: It was just a classic cult, and extreme obedience was
• 37:18
  Speaker 2: demanded from the start because they had to give up
• 37:21
  Speaker 2: all earthly attachments, including their families, friends, sex, drugs, fried foods,
• 37:27
  Speaker 2: you name it. And they even had to give up
• 37:29
  Speaker 2: their birth names. And they were controlled and stripped of
• 37:32
  Speaker 2: their individuality. And Joan Culpepper, an early member who later
• 37:36
  Speaker 2: left and became a critic, said, quote, most cults want
• 37:40
  Speaker 2: to sweet talk you. These guys weren't like that, unquote,
• 37:45
  Speaker 2: and the two offered a difficult road to salvation, but
• 37:48
  Speaker 2: many found meaning in the harsh discipline, and members would
• 37:51
  Speaker 2: address their leaders by their new names, Marshall as Doe
• 37:56
  Speaker 2: and Bonnie as Tea. So now instead of bow and peep,
• 38:00
  Speaker 2: it's dough and t like do Ramia, like Dorami, vassal lad,
• 38:06
  Speaker 2: I'll go on tour next month anyway, and the followers
• 38:09
  Speaker 2: would follow their every command without hesitation, and as a
• 38:13
  Speaker 2: group continued to grow, Marshall and Bonnie became uncomfortable with
• 38:16
  Speaker 2: significant attention from the larger crowds and associated press, So
• 38:20
  Speaker 2: they chose to downsize the group, and they began weeding
• 38:24
  Speaker 2: out members who they felt were totally devoted to the
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: cause or created any sort of friction. Just try to
• 38:31
  Speaker 2: get the bad apples out so nobody can can try
• 38:35
  Speaker 2: to corrupt within. And since too many eyes were looking
• 38:37
  Speaker 2: at them, they're like, ooh, there's too much possibility that
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: someone's actually going to say that we're full of shit.
• 38:44
  Speaker 2: So they were like, we got to consolidate this shit,
• 38:46
  Speaker 2: all right. And some were quietly encouraged to leave and
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: were given financial assistance to leave. But those who remained
• 38:54
  Speaker 2: were the truest of believers, the the ogs, the diehards,
• 39:00
  Speaker 2: if you will, willing to follow dough and T literally anywhere,
• 39:03
  Speaker 2: and Marshall had a quality over quantity approach to his block,
• 39:08
  Speaker 2: and to avoid drawing further attention, they broke the group
• 39:11
  Speaker 2: up into subgroups or star clusters, which a kind of
• 39:16
  Speaker 2: love that traveled separately but would regroup at pre chosen locations.
• 39:22
  Speaker 2: And these sorts of tactics kept authorities off their scent
• 39:25
  Speaker 2: while also reinforcing the desired isolation of the cult itself,
• 39:30
  Speaker 2: and Dough and T maintained control over the scattered star
• 39:33
  Speaker 2: clusters through writings and assistants. So as the early nineteen
• 39:37
  Speaker 2: eighties arrived, Marshall and Bonnie had fully settled into their
• 39:40
  Speaker 2: lives as cult leaders, and though the group had once
• 39:43
  Speaker 2: roamed and lived on various campgrounds, they shifted towards living
• 39:47
  Speaker 2: a stable yet secretive life, and after receiving a large
• 39:50
  Speaker 2: sum of money, potentially through inheritance or followers donations, they
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: began to rent houses, initially in Denver, then Texas, and
• 39:59
  Speaker 2: later a man in California to use as group homes,
• 40:03
  Speaker 2: and though they did cover windows to prevent prying eyes,
• 40:06
  Speaker 2: they passed as an innocent communal living arrangement for appearance's
• 40:10
  Speaker 2: sake to keep nosy neighbors at bay, while in actuality,
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: their lifestyle was enforced with military level discipline and members
• 40:18
  Speaker 2: were paired up with partners to keep each other accountable,
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: and daily routines were scheduled essentially down to the minute,
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: very Jim Jones of them. Nobody could ever be left alone,
• 40:28
  Speaker 2: and everybody had to like rat on somebody else if
• 40:30
  Speaker 2: somebody was doing something bad. It's just just like military
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: like it even worse than military like conditions, and Marshall
• 40:38
  Speaker 2: felt that in individual's ego and human habits were obstacles
• 40:42
  Speaker 2: that prevented spiritual progress, so he made it a point
• 40:46
  Speaker 2: to create an environment that squashed personal identity, and the cults,
• 40:50
  Speaker 2: already strict lifestyle only grew more strict over time, and
• 40:54
  Speaker 2: members experimented with a number of different diets in an
• 40:58
  Speaker 2: attempt to purify their body. Quote we tried every diet
• 41:02
  Speaker 2: out there to see its effect on the body, from
• 41:05
  Speaker 2: fruitarian to wheat grass, to low cooked grains to juice
• 41:09
  Speaker 2: only consumption. I'd be out. Shit, I'd be out at
• 41:12
  Speaker 2: this point. I'd be like, all right, you know, I
• 41:14
  Speaker 2: was cool with the divine authority cards and shit, but
• 41:17
  Speaker 2: this is too much. Okay, I'm joking anyway. But they
• 41:21
  Speaker 2: eventually settled on a boring but practical diet. Quote, you
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: would have a grain cereal in the morning, followed by
• 41:29
  Speaker 2: a low fat sandwich for lunch, no fried foods such
• 41:32
  Speaker 2: as French fries, and dinner would consist of a carefully
• 41:35
  Speaker 2: prepared protein with vegetables unquote. And they followed specific schedules
• 41:41
  Speaker 2: for everything. And not only was sex band, but so
• 41:45
  Speaker 2: was romance of any kind. And Marshall was so hell
• 41:49
  Speaker 2: bent on removing sexual distraction, that he encouraged castration for
• 41:54
  Speaker 2: any men that still struggled with their libido. Horrible castration,
• 42:01
  Speaker 2: just changing their lives and the ah, it's just anyway, yeah,
• 42:06
  Speaker 2: you just yeah, just terrible, and to the point that
• 42:11
  Speaker 2: he went with a few male followers down to Mexico
• 42:14
  Speaker 2: where they would all undergo surgical castration, which is, for
• 42:18
  Speaker 2: those of you who don't know, the voluntary removal of
• 42:21
  Speaker 2: their testicles to remain celibate, so a major body alteration,
• 42:28
  Speaker 2: a permanent body alteration, And though this was kept secret
• 42:31
  Speaker 2: at the time, it was later discovered by the medical
• 42:34
  Speaker 2: examiner as the bodies were checked after the final incident,
• 42:37
  Speaker 2: but we will get to that in a bit. But
• 42:40
  Speaker 2: the castrations just demonstrated just how far Marshall was willing
• 42:43
  Speaker 2: to go to control his followers, and it also potentially
• 42:47
  Speaker 2: showed just how deep his own sexual trauma influenced him.
• 42:51
  Speaker 2: And members were forced to wear identical baggy clothing, generally
• 42:56
  Speaker 2: something like plain shirts and sweatpants, which we've seen with
• 42:59
  Speaker 2: other calls as well, and they were given the same
• 43:01
  Speaker 2: haircut an attempt to mask gender and sexuality, hiding their differences,
• 43:07
  Speaker 2: and Marshall and Bonnie had everyone adopt new first names
• 43:11
  Speaker 2: that had three consonants, specifically in the first syllable and
• 43:15
  Speaker 2: ended in od to symbolize their rebirth into the group
• 43:19
  Speaker 2: and reinforce group identity. For instance, Jimmati or Levati is
• 43:24
  Speaker 2: spelt j mmody or l vvod y, and one on
• 43:29
  Speaker 2: one relationships and clicks were forbidden, and if two members
• 43:33
  Speaker 2: began to seem like they were getting too close, they
• 43:36
  Speaker 2: were broken up and assigned to separate tasks as partners.
• 43:39
  Speaker 2: And an investigator later noted, quote, nothing in the house
• 43:42
  Speaker 2: indicated members exhibited any individuality. There were no books, magazines,
• 43:47
  Speaker 2: or movies other than about one hundred homemade videotapes similar
• 43:52
  Speaker 2: to the one the group made as a final goodbye unquote,
• 43:56
  Speaker 2: so just no outside influence or outlets at all, and
• 44:01
  Speaker 2: the group environment was that of an echo chamber and
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: permanently reinforcing the colt's mindset and Marshall's brand of leadership
• 44:08
  Speaker 2: involved a mix of fatherly warmth and absolute authority, And
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: though he was strict excessively so, followers saw him as
• 44:17
  Speaker 2: a father figure and their guiding shepherd, and he generally
• 44:21
  Speaker 2: was soft spoken and he appeared to genuinely care whenever
• 44:25
  Speaker 2: he offered help to a troubled member, but he also
• 44:28
  Speaker 2: would not hesitate to punish anyone who disobeyed, and even
• 44:32
  Speaker 2: a minor slip up was met with swift correction until
• 44:35
  Speaker 2: the person repented. So he led with charisma and fear,
• 44:39
  Speaker 2: and the charisma was seen through followers real adoration and
• 44:42
  Speaker 2: belief that he was truly divinely guided, and the fear
• 44:46
  Speaker 2: was seen through members desperately avoiding anything that would disappoint him,
• 44:49
  Speaker 2: resulting in being left behind at the time of ascension,
• 44:53
  Speaker 2: and according to former members, there was also an underlying
• 44:56
  Speaker 2: threat that if you did decide to leave the group,
• 44:59
  Speaker 2: you were forfeiting your spot on the spaceship and suffering
• 45:03
  Speaker 2: for it. And because of this, even when doubts began
• 45:07
  Speaker 2: to surface, many members would decide to stay in the
• 45:09
  Speaker 2: world that Doe and t built, and understandably so. But
• 45:13
  Speaker 2: a significant turning point for the group came in nineteen
• 45:16
  Speaker 2: eighty five when their beloved leader Tea passed away from
• 45:20
  Speaker 2: cancer on June nineteenth, and her passing utterly devastated Marshall
• 45:26
  Speaker 2: and the prophecy had always foretold that they would ascend together,
• 45:30
  Speaker 2: but now their bullshit I mean their prophecy was different.
• 45:36
  Speaker 2: His Bonnie's solo death seemed to directly contradict everything he
• 45:41
  Speaker 2: had believed and preached, So Marshall was lost, but he
• 45:45
  Speaker 2: was able to put himself back together and decided to
• 45:48
  Speaker 2: reinterpret tease passing in a way that actually supported the
• 45:51
  Speaker 2: Colts' beliefs, and he began to tell his followers that
• 45:55
  Speaker 2: she had simply returned to the next level before them,
• 46:00
  Speaker 2: how conveniant Marshall, and her human body had become worn out,
• 46:05
  Speaker 2: so she left it to continue the work from beyond,
• 46:09
  Speaker 2: and he greatly emphasized that she was still working and
• 46:12
  Speaker 2: watching over them, and she had just graduated, all right.
• 46:17
  Speaker 2: So this shift was very significant to their theology. Whereas
• 46:20
  Speaker 2: before they believed that they would ascend physically into the spaceship,
• 46:25
  Speaker 2: now it was taught that their human bodies were only vessels,
• 46:30
  Speaker 2: and shedding this earthly form could be a requirement to
• 46:34
  Speaker 2: actually reach the next level, which isn't good because that
• 46:38
  Speaker 2: means all they need to do is die. Though Bonnie's
• 46:42
  Speaker 2: death forced Marshall to accept that death could still be
• 46:45
  Speaker 2: a part of the plan and planted the seed that
• 46:48
  Speaker 2: they all might need to voluntarily exit their vessels at
• 46:53
  Speaker 2: some point in time. So Marshall was now the sole
• 46:56
  Speaker 2: leader in Bonnie's permanent absence, despite believing she was still
• 47:00
  Speaker 2: actively playing a part, and he began saying that Tea
• 47:03
  Speaker 2: had been the heavenly father to his role as son,
• 47:08
  Speaker 2: and he later claimed in recording that quote, my father
• 47:12
  Speaker 2: came to earth with me this time unquote, in the
• 47:16
  Speaker 2: form of a woman Bonnie, and then returned back to
• 47:19
  Speaker 2: the heavens. And with this claim he established his true authority.
• 47:23
  Speaker 2: And he now taught that he was the current version
• 47:26
  Speaker 2: of Christ and as such the only source of truth
• 47:29
  Speaker 2: from the next level. Quote that mind that was in Jesus.
• 47:34
  Speaker 2: What that mind, that spirit, that soul is me? Unquote?
• 47:40
  Speaker 2: God thinks he's Jesus Christ. What's new? You know? So
• 47:43
  Speaker 2: the Second Coming has happened and he was here now.
• 47:48
  Speaker 2: So most followers thought this revelation made sense and took
• 47:52
  Speaker 2: it wholeheartedly, and they felt the wisdom and love that
• 47:55
  Speaker 2: radiated from Doe. And if Doe said that t was
• 47:58
  Speaker 2: God the Father and that he was the son Jesus,
• 48:03
  Speaker 2: that it must be the truth. Okay, raise your hand
• 48:06
  Speaker 2: if you've been putting off a doctor's appointment, because when
• 48:10
  Speaker 2: something feels off, I usually doom scroll my symptoms self
• 48:15
  Speaker 2: diagnosing on the internet and then I just kind of
• 48:17
  Speaker 2: hope it goes away. Sound familiar, Well, this year we're
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  Speaker 2: you so much to ZocDoc for supporting the channel and
• 49:28
  Speaker 2: sponsoring this video, and let's get back to it. So
• 49:30
  Speaker 2: through the late nineteen eighties, the group continued to live
• 49:33
  Speaker 2: their quiet, secretive lives and now it was time to
• 49:36
  Speaker 2: move to San Diego, California, where they rented a mansion
• 49:39
  Speaker 2: in the wealthy Rancho Santa Fe area, and as a
• 49:42
  Speaker 2: source of income, they turned to tech based jobs and
• 49:46
  Speaker 2: many members were educated and some already had backgrounds in tech,
• 49:50
  Speaker 2: and they founded a small business called Higher Source Let's
• 49:53
  Speaker 2: see what You Did there under Marshall's guidance, where they
• 49:57
  Speaker 2: did website design and various other programmings services, a perfect
• 50:01
  Speaker 2: fit with the growing dot com industry, and members did
• 50:05
  Speaker 2: their work under aliases for protection and the adoption of
• 50:09
  Speaker 2: an early Internet based business has led some people to
• 50:12
  Speaker 2: refer to Heaven's Gate as they would call themselves by
• 50:15
  Speaker 2: the Midnight what they would call themselves by the mid
• 50:17
  Speaker 2: nineteen nineties as the first Internet cult now right, and
• 50:23
  Speaker 2: they also launched their own website called Heavensgate dot com
• 50:27
  Speaker 2: by nineteen ninety six in order to further reach people
• 50:30
  Speaker 2: with their teachings online, because Marshall saw tech in all
• 50:33
  Speaker 2: of its advancements as a tool to convert people to
• 50:36
  Speaker 2: the cause and support the mission, all while continuing to
• 50:39
  Speaker 2: stay isolated, and any group members that worked outside of
• 50:43
  Speaker 2: the home still kept up with their strict lifestyle and
• 50:45
  Speaker 2: refrained from any socialization. Yet, despite their generally low profile existence,
• 50:51
  Speaker 2: Marshall was still convinced that the end of the world
• 50:54
  Speaker 2: was fast approaching, and in the early nineteen nineties he
• 50:57
  Speaker 2: decided to make his final public attempt to draw new
• 51:00
  Speaker 2: members to Salvation, and in nineteen ninety three, a rather
• 51:03
  Speaker 2: prominent ad appeared in US Today. The headline read UFO
• 51:08
  Speaker 2: cult resurfaces with final offer, and that ad, along with
• 51:13
  Speaker 2: several others placed in different papers and magazines, proclaimed the
• 51:16
  Speaker 2: general message they've been stating this whole time, that the
• 51:19
  Speaker 2: Earth would soon be recycled and any and all people
• 51:23
  Speaker 2: were invited to learn how to avoid destruction through evacuation.
• 51:27
  Speaker 2: And they also made a series of videos titled Beyond
• 51:31
  Speaker 2: Human The Last Call that aired on satellite TV in
• 51:35
  Speaker 2: nineteen ninety two, featuring Marshall on a simple set preaching
• 51:40
  Speaker 2: the doom of the human race, and only a select
• 51:43
  Speaker 2: few that were willing to break all connections to their
• 51:46
  Speaker 2: human ways would assent.
• 51:48
  Speaker 1: People fell, they felt more, they became, they got their
• 51:52
  Speaker 1: eyes off there, Heavenly Father. They weren't that interested in
• 51:56
  Speaker 1: what he desired for them. They were interested in what
• 51:59
  Speaker 1: their does were, the desires of their flesh.
• 52:02
  Speaker 2: How the flat was just allowed on TV, I'll never know,
• 52:06
  Speaker 2: but according to some his charisma was on another level,
• 52:09
  Speaker 2: as his resolve had never been greater. Speaking with great
• 52:12
  Speaker 2: urgency yet calm as he urged viewers that this was
• 52:16
  Speaker 2: their final chance and it would soon be too late,
• 52:19
  Speaker 2: and a few viewers took him up on the offer,
• 52:22
  Speaker 2: including a few former members that decided to rejoin, but
• 52:25
  Speaker 2: mostly the message fell on deaf ears, so by nineteen
• 52:29
  Speaker 2: ninety six, Heaven's Gate had come down to around thirty
• 52:32
  Speaker 2: nine members, potentially a few more, as there are still
• 52:35
  Speaker 2: some remaining today, though so. Astronomers discovered in nineteen ninety
• 52:39
  Speaker 2: five that comet Hail Bob was approaching Earth and would
• 52:42
  Speaker 2: pass by closely sometime around nineteen ninety six to nineteen
• 52:47
  Speaker 2: ninety seven, and rumors also circulated that there was a
• 52:50
  Speaker 2: mysterious object that was trailing just behind the comet, and
• 52:54
  Speaker 2: some believe this could be a UFO. So when Marshall
• 52:57
  Speaker 2: learned of this news, he was naturally ecstatic because this
• 53:02
  Speaker 2: is going right along with his prophecy, because he had
• 53:05
  Speaker 2: been preaching of a sign to come from the next
• 53:08
  Speaker 2: level that told it was time to finally leave Earth,
• 53:12
  Speaker 2: and he was wholly convinced that Hailbop was that sign
• 53:16
  Speaker 2: and the rumored tailing object was the long awaited spacecraft.
• 53:20
  Speaker 2: So Heaven's Gate triumphantly updated their website, still visible to
• 53:25
  Speaker 2: this day, by the way, to declare Hailbop's approach is
• 53:29
  Speaker 2: the marker we've been waiting for the time for the
• 53:32
  Speaker 2: arrival of the spacecraft from the level above human to
• 53:35
  Speaker 2: take us home to their world. In the literal, heavens
• 53:39
  Speaker 2: Our twenty two years of classroom here on planet Earth
• 53:42
  Speaker 2: is finally coming to conclusion graduation from the human evolutionary level.
• 53:47
  Speaker 2: We are happily prepared to leave this world and go
• 53:50
  Speaker 2: with T's crew. So this window of ascension had arrived
• 53:55
  Speaker 2: at last, and the Earth's recycling would soon begin. The
• 54:00
  Speaker 2: only way to survive was to leave with them, So
• 54:03
  Speaker 2: the group's excitement was at an all time high because
• 54:07
  Speaker 2: years of sacrifice and disciplined living was going to finally
• 54:10
  Speaker 2: pay off, or so they thought. So they circled the
• 54:13
  Speaker 2: date that Hail Bob would be closest to Earth in
• 54:16
  Speaker 2: March nineteen ninety seven, and plans were set to exit
• 54:20
  Speaker 2: the world to join the spaceship that they believed was
• 54:23
  Speaker 2: en route for them. And in the weeks leading up
• 54:26
  Speaker 2: to the comet's arrival, the group made a series of
• 54:29
  Speaker 2: farewell messages and many members sat in front of cameras
• 54:33
  Speaker 2: and some alone and some together and delivered their exit statement,
• 54:37
  Speaker 2: which were these ominously upbeat testimonials where they smiled and
• 54:42
  Speaker 2: talked about how happy they were and confident in the
• 54:45
  Speaker 2: decision that they had made in what they were about
• 54:48
  Speaker 2: to do. And it's extremely unsettling to watch. I don't
• 54:53
  Speaker 2: think any of us could be more happy.
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: Okay, that's all.
• 54:58
  Speaker 2: We had to say. Videos had a dual purpose in
• 55:01
  Speaker 2: that they not only acted as members final goodbyes, but
• 55:04
  Speaker 2: also they hoped that they might save any last souls
• 55:07
  Speaker 2: that would see them before the end, and they even
• 55:11
  Speaker 2: wrote up a press release entitled Away Team Returns to
• 55:15
  Speaker 2: Level Above Human in which they framed their departure as
• 55:18
  Speaker 2: a homecoming rather than a mass exit. For the night
• 55:24
  Speaker 2: before the big moment, on March twenty first, the group
• 55:28
  Speaker 2: went to one of their favorite restaurants, Marie Calendars, to
• 55:31
  Speaker 2: enjoy a final outing together, and they all ordered the
• 55:35
  Speaker 2: exact same meal for kypop pie, iced tea and cheesecake
• 55:39
  Speaker 2: with blueberries for dessert. And this last supper another Jesus callback,
• 55:46
  Speaker 2: demonstrated their connectedness and devotion to each other and the
• 55:50
  Speaker 2: cause in complete unison, down to the very last bite,
• 55:54
  Speaker 2: ready to take the next step into their grand journey together. So,
• 55:58
  Speaker 2: starting on March twenty second, the members of Heavensgate began
• 56:01
  Speaker 2: the process of their graduation that we now see as
• 56:06
  Speaker 2: mass exit. And I mean, you know, I can't say
• 56:10
  Speaker 2: that word on YouTube because YouTube doesn't like that word,
• 56:13
  Speaker 2: but I'm assuming you know what I mean. So the
• 56:17
  Speaker 2: deaths were carried out in stages which were outlined in
• 56:20
  Speaker 2: a note later discovered in the home quote fifteen classmates,
• 56:24
  Speaker 2: eight assistants, then fifteen more and eight assistants then help
• 56:28
  Speaker 2: each other unquote. So staggering the scheduled deaths in this
• 56:33
  Speaker 2: way helped make sure that the earlier ones could be
• 56:35
  Speaker 2: taken care of by those that followed, and each member
• 56:39
  Speaker 2: had a bunk or bed prepared as their final resting place,
• 56:43
  Speaker 2: complete with a purple cloth to be placed over their
• 56:45
  Speaker 2: body once they passed, and they also had a small
• 56:48
  Speaker 2: travel bag placed next to them, including identification and a
• 56:52
  Speaker 2: few dollars, and some sources say members initiated their graduation
• 56:57
  Speaker 2: by eating apple sauce poisoned with a lethal dose of sedatives,
• 57:02
  Speaker 2: while others say it was a combination of sedatives and
• 57:06
  Speaker 2: or alcohol, but whatever the initial combo was, each member
• 57:10
  Speaker 2: then had a plastic bag placed over their head to
• 57:13
  Speaker 2: guarantee death by exphyxiation should the drugs fail to do
• 57:18
  Speaker 2: their job, and investigators later found instructions in the house
• 57:21
  Speaker 2: stating quote, used plastic bag to be sure unquote, and
• 57:26
  Speaker 2: toxicology reports later showed that some members actually did not
• 57:29
  Speaker 2: have a fatal dose in their system, suggesting that the
• 57:32
  Speaker 2: bags may have actually been the cause of their death,
• 57:36
  Speaker 2: or that one of the helpers that stayed behind had helped.
• 57:40
  Speaker 2: And once the members had passed on, the helpers then
• 57:43
  Speaker 2: removed the plastic bags from the past and placed the
• 57:46
  Speaker 2: purple cloths over the bodies in preparation for the next
• 57:49
  Speaker 2: stage of deaths, which would take place over the next
• 57:53
  Speaker 2: few days, and allegedly, forty four year old Susan Strom
• 57:57
  Speaker 2: was the last to go and her body was the
• 58:00
  Speaker 2: only one found with a plastic bag still around her head,
• 58:03
  Speaker 2: which suggests no one had been alive to remove it
• 58:06
  Speaker 2: for her. And Marshall himself was one of the last
• 58:09
  Speaker 2: four to pass, and the coroner noted that he had
• 58:13
  Speaker 2: severe heart disease, which may have caused the sedatives to
• 58:16
  Speaker 2: work faster on him, and he was discovered in the
• 58:19
  Speaker 2: master bedroom dressed as the other's eyes closed. And after
• 58:23
  Speaker 2: these many years of preaching this day would come, Marshall
• 58:27
  Speaker 2: had finally taken his grand exit, bully convinced he would
• 58:31
  Speaker 2: join his beloved Bonnie in the next level, and deputies
• 58:35
  Speaker 2: from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department arrived at the
• 58:38
  Speaker 2: mansion in response to a nine to one one call
• 58:40
  Speaker 2: on March twenty sixth, and the call was allegedly made
• 58:43
  Speaker 2: by Rio DiAngelo, also called Richard Ford, an ex member
• 58:48
  Speaker 2: that reportedly received instructions to take over the colt's business
• 58:51
  Speaker 2: and discovered the scene when he came to the house,
• 58:54
  Speaker 2: and as authorities searched the premises, they found the bodies
• 58:57
  Speaker 2: all lying in the same peaceful with their matching clothing
• 59:02
  Speaker 2: purple cloth covering and Nike shoes, and walking room to room.
• 59:06
  Speaker 2: It looked like thirty nine people had just decided it
• 59:10
  Speaker 2: was time to go to sleep together. But the mansion
• 59:13
  Speaker 2: would be soon flooded with law enforcement, and of course,
• 59:16
  Speaker 2: the media circus followed, attempting to grab any photos and
• 59:19
  Speaker 2: information they could get their hands on, and images of
• 59:22
  Speaker 2: corpses still on their bunks with their fresh black and
• 59:26
  Speaker 2: white nikes clearly visible in what almost seemed like a
• 59:29
  Speaker 2: dark ad for the brand, and even Saturday Night Live
• 59:33
  Speaker 2: would run a skitch poking fun at the cult's nikes,
• 59:37
  Speaker 2: and clips of the strange exit videos left by Heaven's
• 59:41
  Speaker 2: Gate members were aired on TV networks, and the public
• 59:45
  Speaker 2: as a whole found the situation hard to understand, and
• 59:48
  Speaker 2: they weren't forced or coerced like in Jonestown. These people
• 59:52
  Speaker 2: left seemingly willingly in pursuit of a sci fi esque salvation,
• 59:58
  Speaker 2: and autopsies confirmed the that all deaths were from a
• 1:00:01
  Speaker 2: combination of either sedative poisoning or exphyxiation, and in the
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 2: wake of the tragedy. All remaining materials possessions of Heaven's
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 2: Gate were gathered and sorted, and the Heavensgate dot com
• 1:00:13
  Speaker 2: website was found to essentially be their exit note, illustrating
• 1:00:18
  Speaker 2: Marshall's sentiment quote we are happily prepared to leave this
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 2: world unquote. And as mentioned, the site is still operational
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 2: and maintained today, and all personal items were removed from
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 2: the mansion and later put up for auction by the county,
• 1:00:33
  Speaker 2: and Rio DiAngelo engaged in a legal battle with the
• 1:00:36
  Speaker 2: county over ownership rights of Heavensgate's sole business asset, Higher Source,
• 1:00:41
  Speaker 2: but the county treated it like any other part of
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 2: the estate and liquidated the business, giving proceeds to the
• 1:00:47
  Speaker 2: families of the deceased. And though the initial shock and
• 1:00:50
  Speaker 2: awe of the Heaven's Gate mass exit had essentially worn
• 1:00:53
  Speaker 2: off within a few months, the situation left a number
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 2: of unanswered questions that people would debate for years to go,
• 1:01:00
  Speaker 2: Because how is it that so many seemingly educated and
• 1:01:04
  Speaker 2: intelligent people could be convinced to exit in such a
• 1:01:08
  Speaker 2: strange way? And what does this say about the power
• 1:01:11
  Speaker 2: of charismatic people in the search for meaning and purpose?
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 2: In life. But Marshall's life journey from devoutly religious Southern preacher, son,
• 1:01:20
  Speaker 2: family man, music teacher and performer to self proclaimed prophet
• 1:01:24
  Speaker 2: of an apocalyptic UFO cult remains to be one of
• 1:01:27
  Speaker 2: the most fascinating cautionary tales in recent history. And what
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 2: began as a rather ordinary story quickly became shaped by
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 2: a number of personal crises mixed with an unmet spiritual purpose,
• 1:01:41
  Speaker 2: and this ultimately plummeted into the realm of delusion with
• 1:01:44
  Speaker 2: extreme and lethal consequences. As he possessed such great talent
• 1:01:50
  Speaker 2: and a lovable personality, yet was never able to conquer
• 1:01:53
  Speaker 2: his demons until he created a grandiose purpose for himself.
• 1:01:58
  Speaker 2: And arguably, these demons were never defeated in that they
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 2: showed themselves through how Marshall controlled his followers, and his
• 1:02:05
  Speaker 2: severe struggles with his sexuality, inability to conform to what
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 2: was expected of him, and the loss of his soulmate
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 2: all played their own part in pushing Marshall into a
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 2: narrative that placed himself as the sole possessor of truth
• 1:02:19
  Speaker 2: and the only one who knew how to achieve salvation.
• 1:02:23
  Speaker 2: So combine Marshall's theology with the era of fascination with
• 1:02:27
  Speaker 2: sci fi lore and extraterrestrials that was the nineteen seventies
• 1:02:31
  Speaker 2: through nineteen nineties, and you have a cult that was
• 1:02:33
  Speaker 2: just as much a product of the time as it
• 1:02:36
  Speaker 2: was born of his mind. And the broader implications of
• 1:02:39
  Speaker 2: this being that cult leaders are often uniquely positioned to
• 1:02:43
  Speaker 2: arise when serious personal desperation meets cultural fascination, and in
• 1:02:48
  Speaker 2: this case, Heaven's Gate UFO conspiracy blended beautifully with rapture
• 1:02:53
  Speaker 2: based Christian doctrine, and when looking at the thirty eight
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 2: members who died alongside of Marshall in the end, these
• 1:03:00
  Speaker 2: people didn't fit the normal crazy cultist stereotypes. They were
• 1:03:05
  Speaker 2: just regular people, many with above average intelligence. But what
• 1:03:09
  Speaker 2: they had in common was a longing for something deeply
• 1:03:12
  Speaker 2: spiritual and openness to pervading UFO and alternate belief systems
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 2: that Marshall's message satisfied. And Joan Culpepper, the aforementioned ex
• 1:03:21
  Speaker 2: member turned critic said, quote, many of these people weren't
• 1:03:25
  Speaker 2: losers with low self esteem. Applewhite's message connected to some
• 1:03:30
  Speaker 2: belief in them unquote. Heaven's Gate provided a vision of purpose,
• 1:03:35
  Speaker 2: community and ultimately a level of transcendence that these people
• 1:03:38
  Speaker 2: were willing to give their lives for quote. The true
• 1:03:42
  Speaker 2: meaning of exit is to turn against the next level
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 2: when it is being offered unquote, as was written on
• 1:03:50
  Speaker 2: their website. And if normal people with any sort of
• 1:03:53
  Speaker 2: intelligence can be exploited by charisma and desire for belonging
• 1:03:58
  Speaker 2: in purpose, were forced to a rind recognize that this
• 1:04:00
  Speaker 2: sort of thing can happen to just about anyone under
• 1:04:04
  Speaker 2: the right conditions. But still, the line of brainwashing versus
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 2: true choice is heavily debated, and Marshall always claimed that
• 1:04:12
  Speaker 2: members were free to disobey and leave, but with the
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 2: underlying fear of damnation ever present, so how free were
• 1:04:19
  Speaker 2: they really? And even the members demonstrating happiness with their situation,
• 1:04:24
  Speaker 2: was this simply the illusion of choice? I don't know,
• 1:04:28
  Speaker 2: But with Doe and T's overly strict structure and demands
• 1:04:31
  Speaker 2: micromanaging every part of members' lives and isolating them for
• 1:04:35
  Speaker 2: further control, it's hard to say that corrosion wasn't occurring
• 1:04:39
  Speaker 2: on at least some level. But in the end, whether
• 1:04:42
  Speaker 2: coerced or truly free, will were left with a story
• 1:04:45
  Speaker 2: in which the deep search for spiritual meaning and purpose
• 1:04:49
  Speaker 2: led to a tragic loss of thirty nine lives, lives
• 1:04:53
  Speaker 2: that left families and friends behind, Families who were confused, hurt, angry, grieving,
• 1:05:00
  Speaker 2: and overall struggling with the loss of their loved ones
• 1:05:03
  Speaker 2: taken from them much too soon. So my heart goes
• 1:05:06
  Speaker 2: out to all those families and to the victims, because
• 1:05:10
  Speaker 2: they really are truly victims in this. But that is
• 1:05:14
  Speaker 2: that bore the Heaven's Gate.
• 1:05:16
  Speaker 1: Cult.
• 1:05:17
  Speaker 2: If you have any other cases, cults, conspiracies, serial killers
• 1:05:21
  Speaker 2: you want me to look into, let me know in
• 1:05:23
  Speaker 2: the comments below. I always read them, and until then
• 1:05:26
  Speaker 2: I will see your beautiful face. Okay, stay safe out there. Bye.