There are many reasons for people to join a cult – especially if they feel alienated from society or that they’re missing something in their current associations.
What’s more disconcerting is the idea of deciding to step over the line and joining a group where murder, abuse and delusion are the order of the day – notwithstanding sex and drugs.
Updated 2/10/2020 – Considered a system where a single person or two are treated as Messengers or Messiahs, cults have the dubious reputation for being socially deviant, fanatical, paranoid and distrustful of the outside world.
Read on to get a glimpse into the terrifying and creepy world of disturbing cults and their leaders.
The 7 Most Disturbing Cults From Around The World
1) The Vampire Clan – Murray, KY
16 year old teenager Rod Ferrell was a fan of vampires and other dark themes, but he went further by telling people that he was actually a 500 year old vampire – called Vesago.
A Kentucky native, he traveled to Florida and met Heather Wendorf, where he evolved into a vampire cult leader.
Ferrell and his cult drank each other’s blood and mutilated animals.
They soon decided to travel to Wendorf’s parent’s home in 1996, in order to murder them – essentially freeing her from their control.
They were caught while fleeing the scene, after one of the followers called her parents for money.
2) The Church of Euthanasia – Boston, MA
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Rev. Chris Korda founded the Church of Euthanasia (CoE), which is considered a Dadaist organization; a cult that is devoted to restoring balance between humans and the remaining species on Earth.
They spread their message by performing a range of sermons, musical jamming and publicity stunts.
They also incorporate satire and black humor to illustrate their beliefs, incurring the wrath of anti-abortion activists.
One of their commandments states, “Thou shalt not procreate” and they preach about their four pillars – suicide, abortion, cannibalism of the dead and sodomy.
One of their slogans instructs: “Save the Planet, Kill Yourself.”
Read more about them here – but be warned – you might be offended at the very least.
3) Order of the Solar Temple – Several Locations
With headquarters in Switzerland and Canada, the members of this cult believed themselves to be the direct descendants of the Knights Templar.
Founded by Joseph Di Mambro in 1984, he asserted that Christ would return to the Earth as a Solar God and that they needed to help humans prepare for this event.
Di Mambro believed that there would be a fusion between Christianity and Islam and that the only way their death cult could pass on to a new spiritual plane was to commit suicide by fire.
A total of 74 members perished but one of the worst crimes was Di Mambro’s order for a child to be sacrificed.
A three month old baby was killed by wooden stake in October 1994 and over the next few days, his followers around the world committed suicide by smothering, shooting and poisoning themselves.
4) The Matamoros Drug Cartel – Mexico City
Adolfo Constanzo was a drug cartel leader in the late 1980’s, who convinced his followers that he possessed magical powers.
He also believed that human sacrifice was necessary for the success of the cartel.
These deaths soon became highly ritualized, including a cauldron, dead cats and a High Priestess.
One of the victims was Mark Kilroy who was a University of Texas student.
In March 1989, his brain was found in a black cauldron along with a turtle shell, a horseshoe and human bones.
Many more bodies were found and after a drug bust, Constanzo ordered a follower to shoot him and his longtime companion.
The cult’s killing shack was burned by law enforcement after a ceremonial exorcism to rid the area of the black magic spirits.
5) The Family – Victoria, Australia
Not to be confused with the Family International, this Aussie cult has a sinister past.
Considered a fringe, New Age group founded in the 1960’s by charismatic leader Anne Hamilton-Byrne, there are a lot of stories pertaining to child abuse, brainwashing, enforced isolation and procurement of babies from single mothers in this cult.
The Australian authorities raided the property in 1987, taking 6 children into custody and later discovering a total of 14 children with their hair dyed blonde and dressed in identical outfits.
Hamilton-Byrne was raising the children as her own, along with her husband – away from prying eyes, nosy neighbors or the police.
The abuse of the children included starvation, beatings and forced drug abuse – such as large amounts of tranquilizers and LSD. Hamilton-Byrne believed herself to be the incarnation of Jesus and she amassed a fortune through her public talks and private consultations and group sessions.
6) Colt Clan – New South Wales, Australia
As recently as 2013, this Australian family consisted of four generations beginning in 1966, when brother and sister – Betty and Charlie Colt – married and emigrated from New Zealand to Australia in the 1970’s.
Over the years, their family increased in number to nearly 40 members, all participating in incestuous relationships with one another.
From grandparents to parents, uncles, aunts, cousins and children – with many of the children suffering from medical conditions and deformities – the family would pick up and relocate before authorities or neighbors figured out what they were up to.
They were living in squalid conditions in tents and shacks.
Among the horrific conditions and events were stories about the children mutilating animals and sleeping among kangaroos, the children being filthy and diseased, and not speaking properly, perversions, and tying each other to trees.
There’s much more to be read here.
7) The Chicago Rippers – Chicago, Illinois
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From 1981, Robin Gecht – who was a former employee of serial killer John Wayne Gacy – led a Satanic cult in Chicago which was responsible for the murders of 18 women.
Along with 3 other men, their attacks centered on slashing the victim’s breasts and usually removing the left one with a wire garrote.
What makes these attacks particularly sadistic – on top of the mutilation of the women’s bodies – was the ritualistic masturbation into the wounds and cannibalizing of parts of the breasts.
15 breasts were found in a box when they were finally caught.
Here’s something that may disturb you even further: One of the killers will be released in September 2017.
Where will you be?
