The Heaven's Gate Cult

Published: Dec. 11, 2019, 4:21 a.m.

In March 1997, an anonymous 911 call directed authorities to a mansion in California, where they would find 39 bodies, neatly placed in their beds, all wearing identical black shirts, black pants, and black Nike shoes, faces covered with purple cloths.  It was soon discovered the scene was a mass suicide by members of a cult known as Heaven's Gate- and the ritualistic suicides were performed because the group believed doing so would allow them to exit their earthly bodies and be transported to a spacecraft they believed to be in the tail of the Hale-Bopp comet that was passing by earth.  This event became a media sensation, largely due to the group's heavy internet presence, and the website of the cult, which is still operating to this day.  We discuss in detail the cult and the events of March 1997, and feature an actual email interview with one of the surviving members of the cult that maintains the website.  So lace up your Nikes, and join us on this VERY interesting journey.