Amanda Montell
Cults, like porn and art, are something we feel we’ll know when we see. There is no agreed upon definition and the line of cult-land is nebulous. Montell, a linguist, suggests the core of a cult is driven by language. A vocabulary of inclusion (the way WE talk) …
My Life as a Rajneeshee, and the long journey back to freedom
Jane Stork
Netflix made a huge splash with their multi-part documentary, Wild Wild Country, about the Bhagwan cult. While a lot of the focus was on Bhagwan and his loyal secretary Sheela, another member Jane Stork (formerly known …
Jeff Guin
There are some tragedies that are so mind-boggling and so bizarre that we can’t help going back to take yet another look. “Why would anyone choose to follow such an obvious, slimy charlatan like Jim Jones?” we wonder. But the story of Jones …
Claire Hoffman
As far as cults go, the Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation (TM) community was, and still is, pretty benign. In fact, author Hoffman goes to great pains to avoid calling the group a true cult. There are plenty of the hallmarks though – separating members from the larger community, a …
Don Lattin
Touching on its early history, leaders of the movement and testimony of ex- and current members, Lattin presents a creepy portrait of the Children of God cult, otherwise known as The Family. The book loosely follows the life of David Berg, the charismatic and manipulative leader, and his …
My Life in Orange (Tim Guest) and Bhagwan, the God that Failed (Hugh Milne)
Both of these fascinating autobiographies tell of the authors’ lives living in ashrams of the Guru Shree Bhagwan. Guest moved into his first communal ashram at about age 5 when, after short bouts with other major …
