Around the Campfire - Cult Classics Ep 01

The first episode of the podcast "Around the Campfire" discusses two major cults: Scientology and the Manson Family. Scientology is a controversial religion that aims to help people reach a clear state through a practice called auditing. It has faced criticism from medical professionals. The Manson Family, led by Charles Manson, was a violent cult that committed heinous crimes, including the Tate murders. The cult believed in a racial war called Helter Skelter. Charles Manson died in 2017. The podcast ends with a reminder to be safe and a preview of the next episode on demons. Hello and welcome to the first episode of our podcast. This is Around the Campfire, where we tell stories about the strange and out-of-ordinary happenings in the world. My name is Nathan, and I'm joined by my fellow hosts, Andon, Casey, and Alex. So, turn out the lights and gather around the fire. So, today in our episode, Cult Classics, we'll be discussing two major cults, which are Scientology and the Manson Family. Now, these two cults are pretty different from each other, but we'll focus on some key points and beliefs of both of them. And now, before we get started, here's a quick word from our sponsor. HEB has been helping out local farmers since the start in 1905, because there's no taste like Texas. Through their efforts, they have been able to help hundreds of farmers bring their wonderful produce to the people of Texas. From now until New Year's, HEB is having a huge sale for 45% of all items. So, head to your local HEB today and help support these wonderful farmers, as well as bring produce to the rest of America. Okay, so first, we're going to discuss Scientology, and just like its name, it's kind of like a blend of science and spirituality. It's become one of the most successful new American religions that have been created in the past century. Scientology is considered to be an incredibly dubious religion by many researchers because of its undefined beliefs, controversial ways, and very concerning legal cases. Now, let's turn to the unsettling history of Scientology. Okay, so it all pretty much starts off with this one guy named L. Vaughn Hubbard. He was a college dropout who eventually became a fiction writer. Now, just like Casey said, Hubbard was a writer. He was especially interested in science fiction, specifically. This interest led him to write a series of articles that described this new approach to mental health called auditing. What's auditing? Auditing is a practice that helps people reach a clear state. We'll talk more about that in a second. So, Hubbard's success in the articles was exactly what encouraged him to teach others about his ideas. And of course, this formed the Scientology cult, or religion, if you want. The main belief of this cult is pretty unusual. Basically, it states when each person's mind responds to life's traumas, it keeps the logical part of the brain from working properly, and this prevents us from experiencing a true reality. The whole goal for all of the members is to reach a spiritual state called clear. This is possible through the process of auditing, which Alex mentioned earlier. Auditing requires the use of an e-meter and a set of specific interview questions. Adding on to that, the e-meter is supposed to measure the body's electrical flow when members are asked questions to reveal the source of the trauma. And to get rid of said trauma, the member must relive the experiences over and over again. Um, honestly, that doesn't really sound right to me. Yeah, it is a bit strange. And some members also believe that they can change the material world with just their minds, and that the use of medical drugs is just as bad as the use of illicit drugs. The beliefs of Scientology are all part of the reason that their group has been so controversial. Their ideas have been questioned and challenged by medical professionals over the legitimacy of their religion and their perspectives on mental health. And even considering all of this, after many rejections from the IRS, Scientology actually officially became a church in 1954, and they still exist to this day. Yeah, so if you ever are in Los Angeles-era California, you might want to think about visiting the first official church of Scientology. I probably would. Yeah. And that concludes our topic on a present-day cult. Now, we'll be talking about an older cult, one that ended in the late 20th century. The next cult that we are discussing is the Manson Family. Now, this cult is slightly more violent. It all surrounds a guy who didn't get the thing he wanted. This guy is none other than Charles Manson, who even before the whole cult fiasco, had already been to prison twice. Once for auto theft, and another time for trying to cash in a forged check. So, he doesn't really have the best background. After he was released from jail the second time, he tried to change his image, so he packed his things and moved to San Francisco to pursue a music career with several other female followers. He actually had a pretty successful career, and became a very persuasive person. Have you ever heard of the Beach Boys, a popular band from the 1960s? He became friends with their drummer, Dennis Wilson, and other people that are popular in the music industry. Now, during his music career, Charles' control over his self-created family grew more and more. He would use a group of young women called the Manson Girls to lure men into joining the cult, which caused the family to grow even more. Eventually, Charles with all the men and women that Nathan mentioned before, they all moved to Spawn Ranch, an old film and television set. And what's odd is that here, the family had strange rules in which they were not allowed to wear glasses, or carry money, and they had to listen to late-night lectures by Charles himself about the past, present, and future of society. Later on, when Charles found out that his connections with celebrities were not going to improve his music career, he resorted to violence. He gained an obsession with something called Helter Skelter. According to Charles, Helter Skelter was his vision of a racial war between whites and African Americans, while he and the Manson family would disappear into underground caves. Following the plan, the cult committed really violent crimes in rich neighborhoods to show African Americans the true way violence is done. And so, on the night of August 8, 1969, it all began. Charles Manson, along with five other members of the family, drove to the Polonsky House, home of famous model and filmmaker couples. In the house was actor Sharon Tate, with her friends Abigail Folger, Voshek Frykowski, and Jace Sebring. And I'm very sorry if I said any of those names wrong. Yeah, so the Manson family snuck in, they found Tate with their friends, and then they tied them up. First, they shot Sebring a total of seven times. Then Frykowski got into a fight with a cult member, which resulted in him also being shot and stabbed many times. Abigail was able to escape out of the room, but got chased down and, you guessed it, got stabbed many, many times. Actor Tate was a witness to all this and was the last to die. She was stabbed a total of 16 times. Dang. Oh my gosh. Okay. After the Tate murders, the Manson family went out to commit even more murders. Driving to Leno LaBianca's house, they sadly stabbed Leno and his wife, Rosemary. The victims didn't have any large connections to Charles Manson, but they were all chosen for their high class lives. The next night, the Manson family was convicted and put into jail. Charles Manson would eventually die on November 2017, dying at the old age of 83. Even after all the chain-offs, some family members were still loyal to Charles. Even one tried to kill the president. At the end of all this, the cult left such a big influence on the idea of nobody being safe anywhere and that anybody, yes, anybody, can commit unspeakable crimes at any time. So everybody, please be safe. Okay, and on that note, we'll be ending the episode. After hearing about cults and the horrible things they've done, I hope you begin to wonder, is there a reason for their evil deeds? If you do want to hear more, tune in next time to hear episode 2, Demons on the List. A huge thanks to our super cool editor, Daniel Joe, along with our sponsor, HEV. None of this would even be possible without them. If you'd like to learn more about cults or follow up on updates, please consider visiting our website, aroundthecampfire.com. Again, that's aroundthecampfire.com. Thanks so much for tuning in, and we hope to be accompanied by you in our next episode, Demons on the List. This is the host of Around the Campfire, signing out. Bye! Around the Campfire