52 Former Cult Members Share How They Knew They Were In A Cult
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A few years ago, hundreds of people religiously followed their pastor into the woods, where they built a village. It had seemed like a no-brainer for many of them, who were offered parcels of land for less than $100. Little did they know they were being led astray…
429 bodies, including 191 children, would later be found by Kenyan police. Many had heeded the call to starve to death, after being told by their leader that the world was coming to an end, and that this was their golden ticket to heaven. A taxi driver turned self-proclaimed pastor went on trial last year, blamed for what’s been dubbed one of the worst cult-related disasters in history.
There are cults all over the world; some experts say up to 10,000 in the U.S. alone. Some members never get out. Others die trying. But fortunately, there are many who manage to escape and live to tell the tale. Someone recently asked former cult members to share the exact moment they realized they were in a cult, and hundreds of eye-opening answers followed.
Bored Panda has put together a list of the top ones, to shine a light on these underground communities that thousands find themselves caught up in every year. We also managed to secure an in-depth interview with renowned cult specialist and forensic psychologist Dr. Steven Eichel. He took us deep into the world of cultic culture. You’ll find that between the images.
A quiet coastal town in Kenya was left reeling when police made a gruesome discovery in the Shakahola forest near the Indian Ocean in 2023: Mass shallow graves containing hundreds of bodies, including men, women and children.
All had died sometime between January 2021 and September 2023, after being led into the forest by a man they respected and trusted, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie.
It would later emerge that Mackenzie, a former taxi driver, had pivoted to become a self-proclaimed pastor. He had a history of extremism and a slew of previous legal cases against him.
The pastor/cult leader had originally encouraged his followers to move to the Shakahola forest in preparation for the end of the world. He had offered them parcels of land for under $100 to entice them. Mackenzie reportedly partitioned the forest into different areas and gave them biblical names like Judea, Bethlehem and Nazareth.
A court would later hear that the self-proclaimed pastor had ordered his followers to starve themselves and their children so that they could get to heaven faster. This, he said, was their golden ticket to “meet Jesus.” It’s been dubbed one of the worst cult disasters ever.
Dr. Steven Eichel is a forensic psychologist and renowned cult specialist. Bored Panda reached out to him to delve deeper into the underground world of cults and to find out how to spot them. “Most people have heard of religious cults, but there are political cults, therapy cults, marketing cults, and cults that blend all of these together,” Eichel told us during an intriguing interview.
Interestingly, Eichel says that due to the confusion around the term “cult,” most of experts in the field refer to these groups as “high-demand” or “high-control” groups. But in this article, we will stick to the term “cult.”
The forensic psychologist added that cults vary tremendously in the content of their beliefs and rituals. “However, their processes are usually very similar and that’s how we recognize cults. Not by their ‘crazy’ beliefs, but by how people are treated in the group, and by the psychosocial processes they use to recruit and keep members,” said the expert.
He tells us that there are several “tell-tale” signs of a cult. Most are very secretive and will only allow certain information to be known by the recruit. Groups that alienate members from loved ones, families, and friends are another sign. “Lovebombing” (paying special attention to the new recruit, or even hinting at the possibility of romance and/or sex) is an indicator, he adds.
“Personal growth or therapy cults often make recruits sign NDA and other nondisclosure documents, or make you promise to never reveal the group’s ‘special’ techniques or beliefs,” reveals Eichel. “In the worst cases, like NXIVM and Scientology, they collect ‘collateral’ (information that, if revealed, would cause harm to the person) to ensure that you do not violate their rules about nondisclosure.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.boredpanda.com/people-share-moments-they-realized-were-in-cult/.
