Cult #5 - Heaven’s Gate - Marshall Applewhite & Bonnie Nettles - Another Mass Suicide

🚨 Cult #5 - Heaven’s Gate - Another Mass Suicide 🚨

For the fifth #Cult I decided to go with one that rivals #JimJones and #ThePeoplesTemple because it too had a #MassSuicide … a much smaller one but even more bizarre as they basically choked themself to death.

#HeavensGate was an American cult founded in the early 1970s by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. The cult combined elements of Christianity with beliefs in UFOs and extraterrestrial life. Key points about Heaven's Gate include. Marshall Applewhite, also known as "Do" or "The Leader," and Bonnie Nettles, known as "Ti" or "The Teacher," founded the group.

Heaven's Gate members believed that Earth was due for recycling (essentially a cleansing or renewal), and the only way to survive was to leave their human bodies and ascend to a higher level of existence. They thought this ascension would be facilitated by a spacecraft traveling with the Hale-Bopp comet.

Members believed they were originally extraterrestrial beings who had taken on human bodies to learn and grow spiritually. They believed that the Hale-Bopp comet, visible at the time, was accompanied by a spaceship that would take their souls to the "Next Level."

They aimed to transcend human existence and enter the "Next Level," a state of being beyond human limitations, akin to a spiritual or extraterrestrial realm. The group believed that Earth was about to be "recycled," meaning it would be wiped clean, and only those who transcended would survive.

The cult members lived a highly regimented and communal lifestyle, renouncing family ties, personal possessions, and their human identities.

They often wore identical clothing and hairstyles and adopted new names. They often dressed identically, wearing black Nikes and armbands that read "Heaven's Gate Away Team" during their final days. This uniformity was intended to eliminate individuality and promote group identity. Members lived together in shared houses, leading highly disciplined lives.

They followed strict rules, including celibacy, a vegan diet, and renunciation of personal attachments and material possessions. The founders willingly castrated themself which led their followers to do the same but not by professionals.

Which #Cults would you like me to cover next?