Loe raamatut: «Cult. how sects are created and how they lure people in»

© Dumitru Ghereg, 2025

ISBN 978-5-0065-9530-9

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

THE PREFACE

Absolute love, endless devotion, and control over human minds, bodies, and souls – these will all become available to you! You just need to follow the techniques in this manual. A series of tactical techniques for those who want to become the leader of a cult will help you transform from an ordinary mortal into a god living among us. But be careful on this path, as things might spiral out of control. Are you ready to enslave a few souls?

What do we mean by a cult? A cult is a system of religious worship centered around a specific being or object. A sect is a group of people gathered around a powerful, charismatic, and often autocratic figure. These groups often feature elements of mind control and suppression of free thought, and their end is almost always marred by bloodshed and death. In reality, cults provide people with a sense of belonging. It is human nature to want simple answers to all questions, to want to be part of something greater. Everyone goes through moments in life when they lose their way and find themselves defenseless against external influence. And this is where the “good” cult leader appears, offering their knowledge, love, belonging to a great cause, a life mission, and so on.

With this guide in hand, you will learn how to subordinate human weaknesses and make them work for you. Leaders must say what people want to hear, see them as soulless mechanisms, and look for the button they can push – the reward that motivates people to follow orders. But before you transform the lives of others, you must first change yourself! Few have done this better than Charles Manson – a petty criminal and failed singer who later became a legend of a different kind.

Chapter I. Foundation

September 1970. It was on this day that Charles Manson stood trial for murder in handcuffs. A year earlier, he had inspired his followers to carry out a series of brutal crimes. One thing cannot be denied – he used his opportunities to the fullest. He was an actor in life and immersed himself in his role deeper than anyone could have imagined. Are you ready to learn how Charles became a “legend”? It all began with choosing the right priorities.

LESSON 1. EMBRACE YOUR CALLING

It is impossible to become the leader of a cult if you don’t stand out from others. The most successful leaders declare and truly believe that they are not like everyone else. In other words, all cult leaders, without exception, are pathological narcissists who couldn’t care less about anyone but themselves. Below are the proofs that the best gurus have thought only about themselves, almost since birth. In his childhood, James Warren “Jim” Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978), the American preacher and founder of the destructive cult “People’s Temple,” used to make his younger brothers follow his orders and would beat them with a stick if they refused.

When Shoko Asahara, the founder of the “Aum Shinrikyo” cult (which is banned in Russia), attended a Japanese school for the visually impaired, he would extort pocket money from his classmates under the pretext of paying for his protection. Meanwhile, Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the South Korean religious leader and founder of the new religious movement “Unification Church,” known for conducting mass “blessing ceremonies” of marriages, claimed that on Easter Sunday, when he was sixteen years old, Jesus appeared before him and told him that Moon was the new messenger of God, who was to complete what Jesus had started. However, Jesus did not show such interest in the young Charles Manson.

Manson was born an unwanted child: he was born in Cincinnati, without knowing his father, to a troubled mother. Charlie was still an infant when his mother and uncle were arrested for robbery and sent to a prison in West Virginia. He then moved to another uncle and aunt in a small town called McMechen. It was a remote place, and it was here that Manson’s calling began to form.

Charlie was only five years old when he moved to his relatives, but he already knew how to stand up for himself. As the new kid, he immediately became the “scapegoat” at school: he was bullied, beaten, and had his pocket money and sweets taken. Manson thirsted for revenge, but he couldn’t do it alone, so he used his natural talent – his ability to persuade. He found those who showed sympathy and used his charm. A couple of days later, Charlie’s new friends took revenge. When they ended up in the principal’s office, the girls who defended Charlie claimed that he had been their instigator. Manson denied everything and very convincingly. The principal believed him, and thus Charles avoided responsibility, cementing his role as a villain while all the blame was placed on his accomplices. Finding your strong side is a good start, but a cult leader needs more than just the right attitude. In addition to that, they need to create a unique belief system that will be built around themselves. And don’t limit your imagination.

LESSON 2. DEFINE THE DOGMA

Cults come in various forms: there are religious cults, self-help cults that revolve around the cult of success, where everyone worships achievements; there are esoteric cults that extol spirituality, and finally, there are cults where there is no single ideology that everyone follows it’s more about the cult of personality. Choose what resonates with you. The most important thing to remember is that “truth” must be presented persuasively. Cult leaders choose the position that benefits them. You need to find a small piece of truth and make yourself believe in it. Still, don’t expect to accomplish this overnight. Perhaps you will need some time to become a hermit, dive into deep contemplation, and reflect. In the case of Manson, this place became prison. Charles ended up there after attempting car theft, but he didn’t waste time. Prison was an excellent place for learning, and he absorbed everything like a sponge. There, Charles met pimps who became his idols. These guys had a lot to teach. But there were also other sources of knowledge, such as the prison library. The time Charles spent behind bars was dedicated to searching for himself. He studied Buddhist teachings, the idea of the Wheel of Samsara from Hinduism, and even a new philosophy promising to unlock human potential – Scientology.

Added to this were the songs of his favorite band, The Beatles, which he became increasingly fascinated with. It became a heterogeneous mix, but for Charlie, all of this became his guiding star to enlightenment. The secret ingredient came from an even more unusual source. The most popular course in American prisons was Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. The course was so popular that prisons had waiting lists for those wanting to enroll. Manson was a big fan of it. Carnegie had useful advice: for instance, let your conversation partner speak more, let them feel important, and call them by their name often – everyone likes that. Even if you disagree with something, don’t tell people they’re wrong just ask questions and make them think that your thoughts are their own. Sales techniques, emotional manipulation all of this would come in handy for a budding cult leader. These methods worked for Carnegie and then for Charles Manson. With the help of the master of sales, he created his own teachings, but to fully captivate the human imagination, you need to add a little sparkle. This guide will tell you about that too.

LESSON 3. CREATE YOUR OWN PERSONA

Great cult leaders are not born – they are made, and how you present yourself to the world can significantly affect your status. Cult leaders feed on their image, and it’s important to make an impression. You need to demonstrate that you can do what no one else can and not be afraid to experiment along the way. It’s like creating an advertisement: if you didn’t manage to catch someone’s attention, try again!

After his last sentence, 32-year-old Charles Manson was ready to put this technique into practice. It’s hard to imagine a better time for a cult leader. The 1960s were full of chaos. America was constantly changing, with many political assassinations already committed – John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King. Additionally, the Vietnam War was highly unpopular. Society was overwhelmed by distrust in the institutions that were supposed to support it, so people increasingly looked toward alternative communities, connections, and meanings to fill this void. By offering the right kind of filling, you could become the supplier of meaning. But you would also need a secret weapon, without which no cult leader can succeed – charisma.

Charisma is the ability to form a certain closeness, a tight bond between you and the person you are communicating with. When encountering a charismatic personality, we smile, trust everything that is said, and are ready to agree with everything. Logic shuts down – this makes it difficult to realize what we truly want. But having this natural talent is not enough: to create the perfect image, you need to learn how to use it. Most cult leaders, including Manson, start with failure. To understand what’s what, it takes quite a bit of time. For some time, Manson worked as a dance instructor – hard to imagine, but that’s how he started interacting with young women again. He didn’t stay long in that job, and he tried his hand at other services.

Charles Manson wanted to become the most successful pimp in America. He was thrilled by the fact that there were women in this world willing to work the streets while he relaxed at home. Later, this would become his norm, but it is said that being a pimp is not an easy job. Often, no more than two or three women worked for Charlie, whom he hired. At best, they could earn a couple of dollars, relying on a fling in the front seat of a car. You can’t survive in this business, and eventually, he became one of the most incompetent pimps in America.

Sometimes the key to success lies in understanding the right moment. After being granted parole, Manson went to San Francisco, where he could start with a clean slate. That’s how he ended up in the place where the ’60s counterculture originated – in the Haight-Ashbury district, in the midst of the “Summer of Love.” At that time, there was a lot of sex, accessible drugs, and rock and roll. Charlie realized that he had hit nirvana: on every corner, young, innocent hippies were searching for their guru – someone to idolize, someone who would inspire them. However, Manson realized that his image did not fit the times, and he began to change in order to fit into the era, while still keeping his unique touch – a mix of hippie culture with a hint of danger. Soon, Charlie began attracting people. He had a hypnotic gaze that effortlessly knocked the ground out from under the feet of any troubled teenager. But even if you have charisma and have carefully crafted your image, as Manson did, to become a cult leader, you need to identify your potential followers. This can be achieved with a technique from a beginner’s marketing handbook.

LESSON 4. FIND YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

What traits make a person more vulnerable? These people often lack prejudices, are idealistic, and the community gives them a false sense that, together, they can solve the world’s problems. When you’re hunting for lost souls, proper time management is of paramount importance. Typically, when we think of potential cult members, we imagine a specific demographic group: young people. At this stage of life, they are trying to figure out who they are, separating their desires from those of their family, from what their parents imposed on them. There’s no better time to use a person than this. A couple of weeks after arriving in San Francisco, Charles Manson began to put into practice the knowledge described above and noticed his first victim – the modest librarian Mary Brunner. Mary wanted love, but she was also an advocate for nature. Charles Manson convinced her that saving nature was almost the main goal of his life, and within a couple of days, they began living together. Brunner was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to George and Elsie Brunner. She moved to California after graduating from the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1965 and got a job as an assistant librarian at the University of California, Berkeley. She allowed Manson to stay in her apartment, and within a few weeks, they became lovers. Thus, she became the first person Manson took into his “Family.” She quit her job, and together they started traveling around California in a van, meeting other young women.

Soon, Charlie found another follower. Lynette Fromme was born into a family of an aviation engineer and a housewife. As a child, she danced and performed with a group from Santa Monica in other U.S. states and Europe. In 1967, she met Charles Manson, around whom rejected women gathered. Manson gave her the nickname “Squeaky” due to the sounds she made during sex. In 1975, Lynette attempted to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford. She was sentenced to life in prison but was released in 2009. Lynette had problems with her father: they often fought, and she would run away from home. Manson saw her sitting on a bench. He convinced Lynette that he was made for her. And all three began living together in a rented house on Cole Street, 636, in San Francisco. Over the next two years, the “Family” grew, and it now included between 20 and 30 people living together. Some, like Brunner and Fromme, became ardent followers of Manson, while other young people came and went.

Who was next? Patricia Krenwinkel met Manson at a party. She was a sweet, naive girl. Charles made every effort to seduce her during their first meeting. In later interviews, Patricia claimed that she slept with Manson on the very first night they met and that he was the first person who called her “beautiful.” Blinded by Manson’s charisma and eager for attention, Patricia went with him and the girls to San Francisco, leaving her apartment, car, and last paycheck behind. The core of Manson’s family was becoming more defined. Like the legend of the Pied Piper, when Charlie played his flute, the girls would gather around him. Over the next few months, Charlie continued to attract new followers. But knowing how to find lost souls is not the same as knowing how to find the perfect target. Manson had a special rule for the people he chose. He said that they must be “beaten” but not “broken,” because if they were “broken,” they could no longer be helped.

When potential followers bite the bait, it’s time to reel in the hook. Charlie knew how to communicate with each of his women as if she were special. He was an excellent lover, and this attracted women to him. These young girls, each thinking that she was the only one, suddenly realized that they had become part of a harem, and accepted it as normal. And, of course, one thing is to make defenseless lambs follow you, but how do you make sure they don’t scatter?

LESSON 5. TEST YOUR LOYALTY

As the leader of a cult, you will have many demands for your followers, so it is essential to know who will cover for you. Charlie had this all figured out: he loved testing his followers, testing their faith in him and their recognition of his leadership, to ensure they were ready for the most shocking things. And he wasn’t alone in this. Marshall Applewhite, also known as Bo, Doe, Guinea, Tiddly, Ninkum – the American religious figure and leader of the UFO-based new religious movement “Heaven’s Gate” – led a destructive cult whose members committed mass suicide. Preparing for the so-called next level, he even underwent castration. Some followers mimicked him in this procedure, of course, without a doctor’s supervision.

Rosh Terrio, the leader and founder of the “Children of the Mountain Ants” cult, forced his followers to participate in fistfights for hours in a homemade ring for his entertainment. Meanwhile, the leader of the “Branch Davidians” cult, Viktor Guttif, tested the loyalty of his disciples by forcing men to practice celibacy while he spent the nights with their wives. How self-sacrificing!

However, for a cult leader, it’s not the act itself that matters, but the fact that if he tells his followers to do something, they will do it. In Charlie’s case, he initially preferred to conduct chemical tests. He would hold sect meetings and give everyone a dose of LSD – a semi-synthetic psychoactive drug from the lysergamide family. LSD was long considered the most famous psychedelic, used or still used as a recreational drug, as well as a tool in various transcendental practices such as meditation, psychonautics, and in illegal (but once legal) psychedelic psychotherapy. Charlie would personally place a dose on each person’s tongue. He used this ceremony as a form of communion. It was expected that all sect members would undergo the communion ritual invented by Charlie. But his mind games with his followers were just beginning.

Young girls from the sect called him “Jesus, returned to Earth,” and carved crosses on their foreheads. Over time, Manson’s loyalty confirmation program evolved into a house transformation project called “creepy outings.” His followers would dress in black, go to strangers’ homes, and break into them at night. At first, these were just pranks: the followers would cause disorder. Of course, the goal wasn’t just to mock the homeowners – it was also another way to assess obedience and devotion. If you’ve carefully studied the first lesson of the manual, you should now have a correct assessment of the situation. You’ve worked on the ideology and image, built a group of devoted disciples ready to do anything you demand. But there is still one obstacle to your cult’s greatness: no one knows about you yet. Charles Manson quickly figured this out.

LESSON 6. MAKE SOME NOISE

Leaders of cults know very well how to always be in the spotlight. If they couldn’t manage this, where would their followers come from? If anyone in their circle dared to steal the attention that, in the leader’s view, should belong only to them, these people had a rough time. Even before Charlie started building his cult, he had a plan for attracting attention. Back in prison, he learned to play the guitar and planned to become a rock-and-roll star. And where else to pursue this dream if not in sunny Los Angeles? So, Charlie and his “family” moved to Los Angeles, where he planned to establish connections with people who could help him secure a recording contract.

Luckily for Charlie, he had a secret weapon: attractive and determined fans. Manson used these girls to his advantage – they roamed Los Angeles, trying to meet rock stars. One of them even met Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, who was then one of the most popular bands in the world. Dennis picked up a few girls when they were hitchhiking, and they were thrilled at the chance to introduce Dennis to their leader. Dennis entertained the girls in his mansion while he went to the studio to record. When he returned home after midnight, he was in for a big surprise. Charlie showed up at the house uninvited. Whether you believe it or not, Dennis was intrigued by this event. He liked Charlie, especially his group of girls, whom he had gathered, and the way these girls did everything he wanted. So, Manson and his “family” spent the whole summer in Dennis’s mansion, enjoying the fruits of his fame. “Girls, we’re leaving,” Charlie said. “Do whatever you want with the music, just don’t touch the lyrics.”

Meanwhile, Charlie was writing songs, and Dennis arranged to record one of them with his brother in his home studio. He was furious that they didn’t make him a star, because, in his mind, he was unique and didn’t want anyone to take that uniqueness from him. Anyway, Charlie wasn’t going to give up. He decided that all the representatives of the music industry were corrupt and declared that he would take revenge on them. The situation was developing quickly, so pay attention. Charlie said that a race war would begin and told his followers that he would lead them into the desert, where they would become the rulers of this world. But since the “great war” hadn’t started, Charlie decided to start it himself and turned his loyal followers into deadly weapons, hoping that these crimes would create chaos and racial violence. However, his plan failed. Five members of the “family,” including Charlie himself, were arrested, charged with murders, and found guilty. Less than three years after the creation of his “family,” Manson was sent to prison for the rest of his life. In some circles, he became a legend, but his fire died out before he realized his potential as a cult leader. Surpassing him will not be difficult. The next chapter of the guide will explain how to turn your cult into a movement that will follow you anywhere. Who is the mentor? A person whose flock has grown so much that they built an entire city for him: Preacher Jim Jones – a crazy son of a bitch who caused the death of 900 people.