What’s scarier than a murderer? Someone with the charisma to compel others to kill for them . . . or to kill themselves. Meet these cult leaders—and get an inside look at their beliefs and how they controlled others. Some cults, led by leaders like Charlie Manson, Jim Jones, and David Koresh, are notorious. But others are less well known, such as Shoko Asahara and his doomsday cult, Aum Shinrikyo, who orchestrated the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. Or Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret, who founded the Order of the Solar Temple, a doomsday cult that led to the death of 51 members by murder or suicide. Then there is Marshall Applewhite, leader of Heaven’s Gate, who, along with 38 followers, killed themselves in the belief that the Hale-Bopp comet signaled the arrival of a spaceship that would transport them to a higher plane of existence. What makes cult leaders so compelling is their often-unfathomable power over their adherents. Why do people kill others or themselves for a questionable set of beliefs? Killer Cults tells the stories behind both famous and unfamiliar cults, and the people behind them. Across a series of profiles, we learn the jaw-dropping truth behind some of the most mystifying and deadly cults, and their leaders, all of whom led their followers down a dark, murderous path.

Killer cults horrify us-and fascinate us. Their leaders demand obedience from their followers, even when the ends are deadly. Manson is perhaps the most notorious, but history is filled with brutal cult leaders: Jim Jones, David Koresh, Marshall Applewhite, Shoko Asahara. How do these men take hold of so many lives?

Deranged messiahs...brainwashed devotees...deadly consequences. Descend into the harrowing world of the Killer Cults. See for yourself how bands of self-proclaimed "angels of death," fueled by lust, power and the thrill of death, committed unspeakable acts of violence. Now, for the first time, author James J. Boyle takes you inside the inner sanctum of: The Manson Family: They prayed to their own warped vision of the Holy Trinity-- sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. Under the spell of Charles Manson, a two-bit ex-con they worshipped as a god, they butchered nine people in their 1969 Hollywood killing spree, including beautiful actress Sharon Tate and her unborn child. The People's Temple: Reverend Jim Jones offered his congregation a vision of heaven and earth. Little did they know that following him to the South American jungle to await the Apocalypse would put them on the path to Hell. Luc Jouret and The Solar Temple: Belgian spiritualist Luc Jouret warned that the world would end in environmental armageddon. For Jouret and 53 followers of his secretive New Age cult, the end would come all too soon-- in a fiery mass-death ritual that shocked the world, and shattered the peace of an idyllic Swiss Alpine community. With 8 pages of harrowing photographs!

An adult activity book collaboration between artist/illustrator Shane Owen AKA SamHane and filmmaker/author John Borowski. Includes: 25 illustrations to color with information on each person, spot the difference Ed Kemper Quiz, and a full color Pogo Mask is included on the back cover! The book was created so that after coloring an image, the page can be torn out and framed as the reverse side of each illustration has historical facts on each case.

How does a Vampire Cult differ from a Satanic Cult? How do seemingly normal or ordinary citizens suddenly find themselves committed to a group whose leader promotes criminal activities and isolation from families and friends? What should you do if a loved one becomes indoctrinated by a potentially dangerous cult? This book focuses on various cults and their often criminal belief systems. Most readers are shocked by stories of mass suicides and ritualized cult killings, but few understand how such crimes come to be committed. Snow, a seasoned police officer with experience working on cult crimes, examines those cults that commit offenses from murder and fraud to kidnapping and sexual assault. By providing specific accounts of dangerous cults and their destructive acts, Snow illustrates how seemingly innocent groups can turn pernicious when under the sway of a charismatic leader with an agenda, or when members take things too far. He offers advice on how to avoid falling victim to cult indoctrination, concluding with chapters on how to identify cults, how to protect yourself and your family, and what to do if a loved one is ensnared by such a group.

Robert Simon's Bad Men Do What Good Men Dream: A Forensic Psychiatrist Illuminates the Darker Side of Human Behavior is that rare title that is both essential reading for the mental health professional and accessible in style and content to the fascinated lay reader. In twelve powerful and provocative chapters, the author introduces readers to a psychological perspective on evil, character and destiny, as well as the making of good men and women. Simon also illuminates the psychology of psychopaths, serial killers, rapists and all manner of evil characters who appall and challenge us by their very existence. He rejects the common belief that his subjects are "monsters" with nothing in common with the more "normal" among us. Simon posits that if we deny our dark side, it can only obscure our understanding of violent offenders and impede our ability to both know ourselves and control our own, at times, unacceptable impulses. The author is among the foremost experts in forensic psychiatry. He is Director of the Program in Psychiatry and Law at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Author or co-author of more than two dozen books and editions, including the foundational Textbook of Forensic Psychiatry, Simon has made important contributions to the field of forensic psychiatry for more than 30 years. He is also an eloquent writer with a dramatic, yet nuanced, narrative style that takes the reader inside the mind of the evildoer. The first edition of this groundbreaking work garnered uniformly superlative reviews and was translated into several languages. This updated version retains Simon's engrossing portrayals and keen insight, while offering a number of key enhancements. The highlights include: Explorations of the Internet and violence, "corporate" psychopaths, cyberstalkers, perpetrators of school violence, and a new cast of serial killers, terrorists, and other evildoers. A psychological perspective on evil, serial killers, and us. Updates on the neuroscience and genetics of deviant behaviors. Reflections on empathy, character, and destiny: the making of good men and women. A new foreword by Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Co-Founder, Program in Psychiatry and the Law at Harvard Medical School, that illuminates Simon's thesis and grounds it in historical context. Graphic but never sensational, unsparing but never cold, Simon's writing transcends the theoretical and achieves that most difficult of aims: leading readers to discover, contain, and transform the darkness within us all, to the betterment of our human condition.

In this unique and astonishing book, Dr. Lung not only traces the complete history of the hashishin, but explains the rules of Islamic warfare and the true concept of jihad.