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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:05,344 --> 00:00:07,034 WILLIAM SHATNER: Masters of manipulation, 2 00:00:07,137 --> 00:00:10,551 mind control... 3 00:00:10,655 --> 00:00:13,551 and deadly practices committed by... 4 00:00:15,275 --> 00:00:16,758 ...ordinary people. 5 00:00:19,758 --> 00:00:24,137 The Manson Family, Heaven's Gate, 6 00:00:24,241 --> 00:00:26,896 Jonestown. 7 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:29,275 All are examples of deadly cults. 8 00:00:29,379 --> 00:00:32,068 But what makes a gathering of people a cult? 9 00:00:32,172 --> 00:00:34,137 And why do many cult leaders 10 00:00:34,241 --> 00:00:37,241 possess the power to control minds 11 00:00:37,344 --> 00:00:41,275 and make people do unspeakable acts? 12 00:00:41,379 --> 00:00:46,137 Well, that is what we'll try and find out. 13 00:00:46,241 --> 00:00:48,413 ♪ 14 00:01:05,655 --> 00:01:10,482 Former United States Marine Omar Rosales is at a crossroads. 15 00:01:10,586 --> 00:01:13,034 Three years after graduating from law school, 16 00:01:13,137 --> 00:01:16,172 he is struggling to get his career off the ground. 17 00:01:16,275 --> 00:01:18,620 After a series of dead ends, 18 00:01:18,724 --> 00:01:21,655 Omar decides to enroll in a professional development course 19 00:01:21,758 --> 00:01:24,827 run by a company known as NXIVM, 20 00:01:24,931 --> 00:01:29,482 in the hope that it will help bring him greater success. 21 00:01:29,586 --> 00:01:31,413 I think at the time, I was a little bit lost. 22 00:01:31,517 --> 00:01:33,379 I was looking for guidance. 23 00:01:33,482 --> 00:01:35,689 I had been out of the Marine Corps for six years, 24 00:01:35,793 --> 00:01:38,655 finished law school and I still felt a bit empty. 25 00:01:38,758 --> 00:01:41,827 I was told about NXIVM and I was recruited by a friend 26 00:01:41,931 --> 00:01:43,586 who told me that these were good courses 27 00:01:43,689 --> 00:01:45,620 to become more successful. 28 00:01:45,724 --> 00:01:48,448 And the group had a lot of accomplished members. 29 00:01:48,551 --> 00:01:50,655 So I thought it was a-a good way to improve myself 30 00:01:50,758 --> 00:01:52,896 and get to know more people. 31 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:57,103 SHATNER: NXIVM claimed that its Executive Success Programs were designed 32 00:01:57,206 --> 00:02:01,379 to put members on a path toward experiencing more fulfillment 33 00:02:01,482 --> 00:02:05,793 in their lives and achieving self-actualization. 34 00:02:05,896 --> 00:02:10,172 But Omar soon found that the company's training methods 35 00:02:10,275 --> 00:02:12,931 were a bit unusual. 36 00:02:13,034 --> 00:02:15,379 ROSALES: It was decided that Keith Raniere 37 00:02:15,482 --> 00:02:17,275 would be called Vanguard. 38 00:02:17,379 --> 00:02:19,827 He was the leader of this new movement, 39 00:02:19,931 --> 00:02:21,827 and so you were not supposed to say "Keith," 40 00:02:21,931 --> 00:02:23,517 you're supposed to talk to him as Vanguard. 41 00:02:23,620 --> 00:02:24,758 That's how you would address him. 42 00:02:24,862 --> 00:02:26,689 "Yes, Vanguard. No, Vanguard." 43 00:02:26,793 --> 00:02:29,689 The lessons were very long during the courses. 44 00:02:29,793 --> 00:02:32,103 We would sometimes go 12 or 14 hours straight. 45 00:02:32,206 --> 00:02:33,724 It was almost hypnotic. 46 00:02:33,827 --> 00:02:36,379 What I also noticed was, playing volleyball with Keith, 47 00:02:36,482 --> 00:02:38,379 when women would enter or leave the room, 48 00:02:38,482 --> 00:02:41,379 they had to kiss Keith on the mouth. 49 00:02:41,482 --> 00:02:42,862 Every single woman had to do this. 50 00:02:42,965 --> 00:02:44,793 And I just thought, "That's kind of unusual." 51 00:02:44,896 --> 00:02:46,586 That's not a normal social custom, 52 00:02:46,689 --> 00:02:50,689 to make a woman kiss you on the mouth before they left. 53 00:02:50,793 --> 00:02:54,137 It's almost like the women were subservient to Keith 54 00:02:54,241 --> 00:02:57,379 or servants controlled, and it was done without thinking. 55 00:02:57,482 --> 00:02:59,206 And that kind of struck me as-as off. 56 00:02:59,310 --> 00:03:00,896 As something that's going wrong. 57 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,758 SHATNER: Fortunately, Omar was able to get out of NXIVM 58 00:03:04,862 --> 00:03:07,413 before it brought him any more harm. 59 00:03:07,517 --> 00:03:11,000 But sadly, many others, especially women, 60 00:03:11,103 --> 00:03:13,689 were unable to break free. 61 00:03:13,793 --> 00:03:15,896 The suspected head of an alleged cult that reportedly 62 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,241 branded female members now faces charges in the United States 63 00:03:19,344 --> 00:03:22,482 after he was arrested and extradited from Mexico. 64 00:03:22,586 --> 00:03:25,827 JIM MORET: It became a cult primarily for him, 65 00:03:25,931 --> 00:03:28,137 of women who were his sex slaves. 66 00:03:28,241 --> 00:03:31,275 And it's fascinating, because you're talking about 67 00:03:31,379 --> 00:03:35,103 young, attractive, smart, successful women 68 00:03:35,206 --> 00:03:38,241 often coming from money, and you think, "How is it possible?" 69 00:03:38,344 --> 00:03:41,793 How could you lure these people who are intelligent and educated 70 00:03:41,896 --> 00:03:44,689 and have them become sex slaves? 71 00:03:44,793 --> 00:03:47,310 The women would be brought into a room 72 00:03:47,413 --> 00:03:49,000 and they would be told, "Disrobe." 73 00:03:49,103 --> 00:03:51,310 They would be told to be blindfolded. 74 00:03:51,413 --> 00:03:52,689 They would lie down on a table, 75 00:03:52,793 --> 00:03:55,655 and then, for ten, 20, 30 minutes, 76 00:03:55,758 --> 00:03:59,931 another member of that cult would literally brand them 77 00:04:00,034 --> 00:04:03,862 just above the pelvic area with Keith Raniere's initials. 78 00:04:03,965 --> 00:04:09,137 I think my reaction to NXIVM was what most people's reaction was: 79 00:04:09,241 --> 00:04:12,379 "Uh, how is this possible? That can't possibly happen." 80 00:04:12,482 --> 00:04:16,551 But it didn't start like that. It developed very slowly. 81 00:04:16,655 --> 00:04:19,931 Keith Raniere, like many cult leaders, had allure, 82 00:04:20,034 --> 00:04:21,896 had an attraction, had a charisma. 83 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:25,862 And that charisma was intoxicating. 84 00:04:25,965 --> 00:04:27,758 And you think to yourself, "This is impossible." 85 00:04:27,862 --> 00:04:30,344 But imagine now that you've gone through with this. 86 00:04:30,448 --> 00:04:33,000 The only way to rationalize this 87 00:04:33,103 --> 00:04:36,620 is you must tell yourself this is okay, this is important, 88 00:04:36,724 --> 00:04:39,689 because otherwise you'd say that's crazy. 89 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:43,517 Actors are the perfect advert 90 00:04:43,620 --> 00:04:47,000 to attract cult members. 91 00:04:47,103 --> 00:04:51,379 Society values actors and their opinions. 92 00:04:51,482 --> 00:04:54,551 Catherine Oxenberg, the actress who was initially part 93 00:04:54,655 --> 00:04:57,241 of this group, her daughter became involved, 94 00:04:57,344 --> 00:05:00,137 and she came to us at Inside Editionand began pleading. 95 00:05:00,241 --> 00:05:03,137 "Please, help me. Please, get the word out. 96 00:05:03,241 --> 00:05:05,103 "I haven't seen my daughter. She won't talk to me. 97 00:05:05,206 --> 00:05:08,137 I don't know where she is. I'm worried for her safety." 98 00:05:08,241 --> 00:05:11,482 She admitted to me that she had been branded, 99 00:05:11,586 --> 00:05:15,000 and she didn't think that it was problematic. 100 00:05:15,103 --> 00:05:16,931 When you heard that she had been branded 101 00:05:17,034 --> 00:05:19,896 and she was okay with it, what was your reaction? 102 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:21,448 Really sad. 103 00:05:21,551 --> 00:05:24,689 Really, it's like, "What have they done? 104 00:05:24,793 --> 00:05:29,103 "What have they, um, how have they spun this to make it 105 00:05:29,206 --> 00:05:32,448 a good thing for woman to be doing to themselves and others?" 106 00:05:32,551 --> 00:05:36,931 So that's, that was really, really hard to figure out. 107 00:05:37,034 --> 00:05:38,896 How do you make sense of that? 108 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:41,896 MORET: When the alarm bells start to ring, 109 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,172 and then investigative journalists get involved 110 00:05:44,275 --> 00:05:46,103 and you think to yourself, "This can't get any stranger," 111 00:05:46,206 --> 00:05:47,482 and then it does. 112 00:05:47,586 --> 00:05:49,827 And then, fortunately, in this case, 113 00:05:49,931 --> 00:05:53,275 you find people are eventually brought to justice. 114 00:05:53,379 --> 00:05:55,482 Keith Raniere was convicted of racketeering 115 00:05:55,586 --> 00:05:56,793 and sex trafficking. 116 00:05:56,896 --> 00:05:58,310 He'll be sentenced in January, 117 00:05:58,413 --> 00:06:01,862 and faces a possible sentence of life in prison. 118 00:06:01,965 --> 00:06:04,137 Keith wanted to get as many people as possible, 119 00:06:04,241 --> 00:06:06,931 so his message was always a message of love. 120 00:06:07,034 --> 00:06:09,724 It says, "I love you just the way you are." 121 00:06:09,827 --> 00:06:14,344 There was no overt agenda. It was just an acceptance. 122 00:06:14,448 --> 00:06:17,000 MORET: It's all designed to lure people in. 123 00:06:17,103 --> 00:06:19,551 A kind of a multilevel pyramid scheme. 124 00:06:19,655 --> 00:06:22,241 But the, at the pyramid, there's only one person on the top, 125 00:06:22,344 --> 00:06:25,137 and that person is the guy who gets all of the money. 126 00:06:25,241 --> 00:06:29,103 And in NXIVM, got all of the women to be subservient to him. 127 00:06:29,206 --> 00:06:32,689 It's just fascinating to see how people are so willing 128 00:06:32,793 --> 00:06:34,655 to put themselves beneath somebody else 129 00:06:34,758 --> 00:06:36,862 who's going to tell them all the answers. 130 00:06:36,965 --> 00:06:41,172 SHATNER: While the power of cults to draw in the unwitting 131 00:06:41,275 --> 00:06:43,551 and convert them into true believers 132 00:06:43,655 --> 00:06:45,689 has long been a subject of intense 133 00:06:45,793 --> 00:06:49,482 and terrifying fascination, one has to wonder, 134 00:06:49,586 --> 00:06:51,482 what makes cults so powerful? 135 00:06:51,586 --> 00:06:54,000 And how does a person keep themselves 136 00:06:54,103 --> 00:06:58,103 from falling into their deceptive clutches? 137 00:06:58,206 --> 00:07:01,586 JANJA LALICH: People generally are looking for something 138 00:07:01,689 --> 00:07:03,620 to belong to, to be a part of, 139 00:07:03,724 --> 00:07:05,827 to find purpose in their life, or meaning. 140 00:07:05,931 --> 00:07:10,068 And today, that's a very common phenomena. 141 00:07:10,172 --> 00:07:13,724 In ancient belief systems, "cult" was not a negative. 142 00:07:13,827 --> 00:07:15,793 Uh, cult is related to cultivate, 143 00:07:15,896 --> 00:07:19,206 to tend or, uh, take care of. 144 00:07:20,965 --> 00:07:23,586 You had the Mithraic cult in ancient Rome 145 00:07:23,689 --> 00:07:26,034 or the Eleusinian Mysteries in Greece 146 00:07:26,137 --> 00:07:29,275 or the Cult of Dionysus that bridged both of them. 147 00:07:29,379 --> 00:07:32,068 There were cults in India, the Thuggee. 148 00:07:32,172 --> 00:07:36,551 These were religious bodies with practices that promise 149 00:07:36,655 --> 00:07:39,068 various possibilities of enlightenment, 150 00:07:39,172 --> 00:07:42,275 and all seen as a constructive part of the community. 151 00:07:42,379 --> 00:07:44,275 DAVID WHITEHEAD: There's a virtue to seeking out 152 00:07:44,379 --> 00:07:45,931 a spiritual expression 153 00:07:46,034 --> 00:07:48,172 or a religious expression towards orientating yourself 154 00:07:48,275 --> 00:07:51,931 to the truth, to answering the big questions of life, 155 00:07:52,034 --> 00:07:54,413 which are, "Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?" 156 00:07:54,517 --> 00:07:57,758 That's a natural human endeavor. 157 00:07:58,965 --> 00:08:02,344 LALICH: Cults are led by and founded by 158 00:08:02,448 --> 00:08:04,586 a charismatic or someone who's considered 159 00:08:04,689 --> 00:08:06,655 to be a charismatic leader. 160 00:08:06,758 --> 00:08:09,172 Often narcissistic and authoritarian, 161 00:08:09,275 --> 00:08:13,000 and they always demand total devotion from their followers. 162 00:08:13,103 --> 00:08:17,793 There also needs to be some type of indoctrination program 163 00:08:17,896 --> 00:08:22,103 that is meant to change or transform the person 164 00:08:22,206 --> 00:08:26,689 into who the cult leader wants you to be as a cult member. 165 00:08:26,793 --> 00:08:31,241 WHITEHEAD: If we look back at figures such as Charles Manson, 166 00:08:31,344 --> 00:08:34,379 he ended up indoctrinating his followers to the point 167 00:08:34,482 --> 00:08:36,689 where they were willing to do things that they otherwise 168 00:08:36,793 --> 00:08:39,275 would never have been capable of doing. 169 00:08:41,758 --> 00:08:46,448 SHATNER: Humans are hardwired to form social relationships. 170 00:08:46,551 --> 00:08:50,482 Bonds that identify our tribe and keep us together. 171 00:08:50,586 --> 00:08:52,551 Friend groups, sports teams, community organizations. 172 00:08:52,655 --> 00:08:55,034 [cheering, applause] 173 00:08:55,137 --> 00:08:58,482 All of them speak to our instinctual urge 174 00:08:58,586 --> 00:09:00,827 to be part of the group. 175 00:09:00,931 --> 00:09:04,068 Could the basic human need to belong 176 00:09:04,172 --> 00:09:07,793 explain how a cult could make an otherwise normal person 177 00:09:07,896 --> 00:09:12,413 lie, enslave or even kill? 178 00:09:12,517 --> 00:09:15,551 LALICH: We always say, "In Rome, do as the Romans do." 179 00:09:15,655 --> 00:09:19,689 So that kind of peer pressure, that's why cults are groups. 180 00:09:19,793 --> 00:09:22,103 ROSALES: There's something in our psyche 181 00:09:22,206 --> 00:09:25,413 that draws us to the dark, the other. 182 00:09:25,517 --> 00:09:27,103 We're intrigued by it, because we want 183 00:09:27,206 --> 00:09:29,586 to maybe experience it vicariously. 184 00:09:29,689 --> 00:09:33,172 But there are people that will take advantage of that 185 00:09:33,275 --> 00:09:36,517 and manipulate you because they want your money, your life 186 00:09:36,620 --> 00:09:38,137 and your soul. 187 00:09:38,241 --> 00:09:40,448 SHATNER: Is it possible that cult leaders 188 00:09:40,551 --> 00:09:44,862 are drawing on powers that are even stranger and stronger 189 00:09:44,965 --> 00:09:46,724 than we think? 190 00:09:46,827 --> 00:09:49,793 Perhaps the answer can be found by taking a closer look 191 00:09:49,896 --> 00:09:52,241 at what many believe to be the cult leader's 192 00:09:52,344 --> 00:09:56,482 most powerful weapon: charisma. 193 00:10:01,758 --> 00:10:04,103 SHATNER: Port Kaituma, Guyana. 194 00:10:04,206 --> 00:10:06,862 November 18, 1978. 195 00:10:06,965 --> 00:10:10,827 News cameras broadcast shocking images from a commune 196 00:10:10,931 --> 00:10:14,655 that lies deep within the Guyanese jungle. 197 00:10:14,758 --> 00:10:17,482 Hundreds of men, women and children, 198 00:10:17,586 --> 00:10:21,241 most of them families, lie dead, 199 00:10:21,344 --> 00:10:25,758 victims of a mass cult suicide. 200 00:10:28,551 --> 00:10:31,241 It was an event so horrific 201 00:10:31,344 --> 00:10:35,275 that it would eventually come to be known around the world 202 00:10:35,379 --> 00:10:40,000 as the Jonestown Massacre. 203 00:10:40,103 --> 00:10:43,413 Jonestown is the quintessential example after World War II 204 00:10:43,517 --> 00:10:45,620 of what a cult is. 205 00:10:46,896 --> 00:10:50,034 It started off as an idealized church vision, 206 00:10:50,137 --> 00:10:51,551 based in Christianity, 207 00:10:51,655 --> 00:10:55,000 advocating racial integration and harmony. 208 00:10:55,103 --> 00:10:58,758 It gradually devolved, however, into a commune in Guyana, 209 00:10:58,862 --> 00:11:02,758 based around the pathologies of Jim Jones. 210 00:11:02,862 --> 00:11:05,344 LALICH: He took his followers to Guyana 211 00:11:05,448 --> 00:11:06,965 because there was going to be an exposé 212 00:11:07,068 --> 00:11:09,793 in one of the San Francisco magazines 213 00:11:09,896 --> 00:11:12,965 about his phony faith healing. 214 00:11:13,068 --> 00:11:16,137 They were really in a bounded reality. 215 00:11:16,241 --> 00:11:19,000 And Jones' voice was on loudspeakers all the time. 216 00:11:19,103 --> 00:11:20,965 He was in total control. 217 00:11:21,068 --> 00:11:22,896 And he also got more 218 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,448 and more demented and more and more drug-addled. 219 00:11:26,551 --> 00:11:29,586 SHATNER: When reports of abuse surfaced, 220 00:11:29,689 --> 00:11:32,517 Congressman Leo Ryan of California flew to Jonestown 221 00:11:32,620 --> 00:11:35,896 with a delegation to investigate. 222 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:38,689 Fearing that the congressman would blow the whistle 223 00:11:38,793 --> 00:11:41,034 on the strange and abusive behavior 224 00:11:41,137 --> 00:11:43,827 happening at the compound, Jones ordered 225 00:11:43,931 --> 00:11:45,793 his armed guards to attack Ryan and his companions 226 00:11:45,896 --> 00:11:49,482 before they could leave the country. 227 00:11:49,586 --> 00:11:54,000 Congressman Ryan and four others were killed. 228 00:11:54,103 --> 00:11:57,482 Jones then summoned his followers, one by one, 229 00:11:57,586 --> 00:12:00,551 to swallow a cup of powdered fruit drink 230 00:12:00,655 --> 00:12:02,310 mixed with cyanide, 231 00:12:02,413 --> 00:12:04,344 before taking his own life. 232 00:12:04,448 --> 00:12:06,482 All told, 233 00:12:06,586 --> 00:12:09,827 909 people died 234 00:12:09,931 --> 00:12:14,620 in what Jones called "a revolutionary suicide." 235 00:12:19,068 --> 00:12:21,758 Jim Jones wielded a level of control over his followers 236 00:12:21,862 --> 00:12:25,241 that to this day, remains hard to comprehend. 237 00:12:25,344 --> 00:12:29,482 But what makes these leaders so different from the rest of us 238 00:12:29,586 --> 00:12:32,931 that they are capable of making people do 239 00:12:33,034 --> 00:12:34,793 almost anything? 240 00:12:34,896 --> 00:12:38,344 Perhaps the answer can be found by examining one such person 241 00:12:38,448 --> 00:12:42,758 whose influence extended, not just within a community... 242 00:12:42,862 --> 00:12:46,275 but across the entire United States. 243 00:12:53,862 --> 00:12:57,482 Self-help guru and author, James Arthur Ray, 244 00:12:57,586 --> 00:13:00,517 takes the stage to speak to a packed audience 245 00:13:00,620 --> 00:13:04,482 at his "Harmonic Wealth Weekend" seminar. 246 00:13:04,586 --> 00:13:07,655 It isn't long before he has the crowd 247 00:13:07,758 --> 00:13:11,310 hanging on his every word. 248 00:13:11,413 --> 00:13:13,379 He was very compelling, 249 00:13:13,482 --> 00:13:16,413 very, um, masterful 250 00:13:16,517 --> 00:13:18,517 from the stage. 251 00:13:18,620 --> 00:13:23,448 And knew how to move an audience. 252 00:13:23,551 --> 00:13:26,448 GINNY BROWN: James Ray was famous from The Secret 253 00:13:26,551 --> 00:13:30,068 and from being on Oprah and all the morning TV shows. 254 00:13:30,172 --> 00:13:33,275 He was a very charismatic, powerful speaker. 255 00:13:33,379 --> 00:13:36,827 He had an amazing ability to rally the audience 256 00:13:36,931 --> 00:13:40,241 and to synthesize Eastern and Western 257 00:13:40,344 --> 00:13:44,517 religious concepts and modern science. 258 00:13:44,620 --> 00:13:46,206 We all have a special purpose and a, 259 00:13:46,310 --> 00:13:48,103 and a mission to fulfill in this lifetime... 260 00:13:48,206 --> 00:13:50,206 SHATNER: On the strength of his seminars, 261 00:13:50,310 --> 00:13:51,655 media appearances, 262 00:13:51,758 --> 00:13:53,137 and best-selling book, 263 00:13:53,241 --> 00:13:56,413 James Arthur Ray became a household name 264 00:13:56,517 --> 00:13:59,241 in the field of personal development. 265 00:13:59,344 --> 00:14:02,448 In October of 2009, 266 00:14:02,551 --> 00:14:05,482 he held an event at the Angel Valley Retreat Center 267 00:14:05,586 --> 00:14:07,068 near Sedona, Arizona, 268 00:14:07,172 --> 00:14:08,827 that was designed to be the apex 269 00:14:08,931 --> 00:14:11,344 of his personal development curriculum. 270 00:14:11,448 --> 00:14:14,551 The Spiritual Warrior Retreat. 271 00:14:14,655 --> 00:14:16,551 TUCKER: Spiritual Warrior was 272 00:14:16,655 --> 00:14:18,931 described as the highest pinnacle. 273 00:14:19,034 --> 00:14:21,896 It was appealing to me because it was a smaller group. 274 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,137 I had done all of the successive workshops. 275 00:14:25,241 --> 00:14:27,586 It was an 18-month journey for me. 276 00:14:27,689 --> 00:14:31,137 And so, I saw it as a bit of a finish line. 277 00:14:31,241 --> 00:14:34,586 BROWN: My daughter Kirby was a very physical person. 278 00:14:34,689 --> 00:14:37,000 She loved adventure-- 279 00:14:37,103 --> 00:14:39,206 she mountain biked, she hiked. 280 00:14:39,310 --> 00:14:43,551 And she went there to grow and expand her life. 281 00:14:43,655 --> 00:14:45,827 SHATNER: After four days 282 00:14:45,931 --> 00:14:47,862 spent meditating in the desert heat, 283 00:14:47,965 --> 00:14:51,965 and having already undergone 36 hours of fasting, 284 00:14:52,068 --> 00:14:55,034 the retreat members took part in the culmination of the program: 285 00:14:55,137 --> 00:14:59,310 a vision quest inside a sweat lodge. 286 00:14:59,413 --> 00:15:00,793 TUCKER: The sweat lodge 287 00:15:00,896 --> 00:15:04,103 was explained as a ceremony with the intent 288 00:15:04,206 --> 00:15:07,413 to celebrate transformation and rebirth. 289 00:15:07,517 --> 00:15:12,068 They pulled out razors with the expectation that 290 00:15:12,172 --> 00:15:15,068 if someone was serious, you would shave your head. 291 00:15:15,172 --> 00:15:18,275 And I did. 292 00:15:20,206 --> 00:15:22,896 I remember that we went in in a line, 293 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,517 and circled around on the inside. 294 00:15:25,620 --> 00:15:29,103 When the sweat lodge began, 295 00:15:29,206 --> 00:15:33,137 one thing that surprised me was when the flap 296 00:15:33,241 --> 00:15:36,344 was closed, how dark it was. 297 00:15:38,689 --> 00:15:39,896 SHATNER: With the only source of light 298 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,724 and oxygen cut off, 299 00:15:42,827 --> 00:15:47,241 and hot rocks brought in to raise the temperature even more, 300 00:15:47,344 --> 00:15:49,931 Ray asked the participants to push themselves 301 00:15:50,034 --> 00:15:51,724 past their discomfort, 302 00:15:51,827 --> 00:15:54,379 in hopes of being spiritually transformed. 303 00:15:54,482 --> 00:15:56,896 But as they spent many hours 304 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,551 baking in the temperatures of the sweat lodge, 305 00:15:59,655 --> 00:16:04,413 many people began slipping in and out of consciousness. 306 00:16:04,517 --> 00:16:08,310 By this point, the heat's radiating from our bodies. 307 00:16:08,413 --> 00:16:10,551 It was very chaotic. 308 00:16:10,655 --> 00:16:12,620 It was discombobulating. 309 00:16:12,724 --> 00:16:14,482 The sweat lodge was extremely hot, 310 00:16:14,586 --> 00:16:16,827 possibly up to, uh, 200 degrees. 311 00:16:16,931 --> 00:16:21,482 He pushed people beyond physical limits. 312 00:16:21,586 --> 00:16:23,379 He told people, 313 00:16:23,482 --> 00:16:26,034 "You may think you are going to die in this, but you won't." 314 00:16:26,137 --> 00:16:28,517 SHATNER: Despite what Ray believed, 315 00:16:28,620 --> 00:16:30,689 several people were, in fact, teetering on the edge 316 00:16:30,793 --> 00:16:35,724 of losing their lives in the suffocating, oppressive heat. 317 00:16:35,827 --> 00:16:41,413 Until the inevitable finally, and tragically, happened. 318 00:16:55,655 --> 00:16:59,620 SHATNER: As officers flooded the compound in response to a 911 call, 319 00:16:59,724 --> 00:17:02,551 it became apparent that the Spiritual Warrior Retreat 320 00:17:02,655 --> 00:17:04,724 had gone wrong. 321 00:17:04,827 --> 00:17:06,896 Very wrong. 322 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:08,793 Two people were dead, 323 00:17:08,896 --> 00:17:11,724 including 38-year-old Kirby Brown. 324 00:17:11,827 --> 00:17:14,103 And a third would die a week later. 325 00:17:14,206 --> 00:17:18,275 All killed by the excruciating heat in the sweat lodge. 326 00:17:18,379 --> 00:17:21,068 When the police arrived on the scene, 327 00:17:21,172 --> 00:17:23,896 they couldn't find James Ray, 328 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:26,551 because in the midst of all of this chaos, 329 00:17:26,655 --> 00:17:29,655 in the midst of people standing over my daughter's body, 330 00:17:29,758 --> 00:17:32,068 trying to revive her, 331 00:17:32,172 --> 00:17:36,172 he was up in his... room 332 00:17:36,275 --> 00:17:41,931 having dinner and taking a shower. 333 00:17:42,034 --> 00:17:45,000 SHATNER: For people like James Arthur Ray, 334 00:17:45,103 --> 00:17:49,172 the ability to exert absolute power over others 335 00:17:49,275 --> 00:17:52,137 was as natural as breathing. 336 00:17:52,241 --> 00:17:56,655 But why do so many who have this power 337 00:17:56,758 --> 00:17:58,931 use it for harm? 338 00:17:59,034 --> 00:18:00,965 KENT: Ray had been a bodybuilder. 339 00:18:01,068 --> 00:18:03,482 He was very concerned about his hair, his clothes, 340 00:18:03,586 --> 00:18:06,655 his presentation, and so some people think 341 00:18:06,758 --> 00:18:11,344 Ray as an adult was reacting against, uh, his childhood. 342 00:18:11,448 --> 00:18:14,448 He, in fact, talked about himself being a geek. 343 00:18:14,551 --> 00:18:16,448 He made comments about the size of his glasses, 344 00:18:16,551 --> 00:18:19,620 his teeth and so on, and so, later on in life, 345 00:18:19,724 --> 00:18:22,689 Ray became very concerned about his appearance. 346 00:18:22,793 --> 00:18:28,310 Cult leaders are often sick, troubled individuals. 347 00:18:28,413 --> 00:18:30,448 So, in the case of James Arthur Ray, 348 00:18:30,551 --> 00:18:34,000 it's exactly what we see with so many of these leaders. 349 00:18:34,103 --> 00:18:36,758 It's like they can't deal with who they really are, 350 00:18:36,862 --> 00:18:38,862 so they're living their fantasy. 351 00:18:38,965 --> 00:18:42,034 They're living out their perverted hopes. 352 00:18:42,137 --> 00:18:44,206 Most people think that charisma 353 00:18:44,310 --> 00:18:47,482 is-is a characteristic inherent in an individual. 354 00:18:47,586 --> 00:18:51,586 But, in fact, charisma is a social relationship. 355 00:18:51,689 --> 00:18:53,862 Everyone sitting there and they're oohing and awing, 356 00:18:53,965 --> 00:18:55,793 and you don't want to be the odd one out. 357 00:18:55,896 --> 00:18:59,965 Which gives them the ability to then demand things of you. 358 00:19:00,068 --> 00:19:03,827 And you are obligated to carry out the wishes 359 00:19:03,931 --> 00:19:07,275 of your so-called charismatic leader. 360 00:19:08,931 --> 00:19:12,172 What was it that compelled James Arthur Ray's followers 361 00:19:12,275 --> 00:19:15,517 to stay in that sweat lodge, 362 00:19:15,620 --> 00:19:17,620 three of them to the point of death? 363 00:19:17,724 --> 00:19:21,000 Was it peer pressure... or something else? 364 00:19:21,103 --> 00:19:24,206 Perhaps that question will be answered after we investigate 365 00:19:24,310 --> 00:19:28,620 a cult that was responsible for an even deadlier event... 366 00:19:28,724 --> 00:19:31,586 Heaven's Gate. 367 00:19:39,931 --> 00:19:43,793 15 members of the apocalyptic UFO cult 368 00:19:43,896 --> 00:19:45,517 known as Heaven's Gate, 369 00:19:45,620 --> 00:19:47,137 gather for the sighting 370 00:19:47,241 --> 00:19:50,517 of the much-anticipated Hale-Bopp comet. 371 00:19:50,620 --> 00:19:53,310 They believe the arrival of the comet 372 00:19:53,413 --> 00:19:55,379 is a signal that the time 373 00:19:55,482 --> 00:19:58,931 for final salvation is at hand. 374 00:19:59,034 --> 00:20:02,344 After observing the comet, one by one, 375 00:20:02,448 --> 00:20:04,068 the members of Heaven's Gate 376 00:20:04,172 --> 00:20:07,344 ingest a lethal concoction of phenobarbital-- 377 00:20:07,448 --> 00:20:08,724 a powerful sedative 378 00:20:08,827 --> 00:20:10,448 mixed with pudding... 379 00:20:12,379 --> 00:20:16,034 ...and chased down with a shot of vodka. 380 00:20:16,137 --> 00:20:18,310 Over the next few days, two more groups 381 00:20:18,413 --> 00:20:21,965 follow their brethren into what Shakespeare called 382 00:20:22,068 --> 00:20:26,344 "the undiscovered country from which no traveler returns." 383 00:20:26,448 --> 00:20:30,482 We don't care to cling to the life of this body 384 00:20:30,586 --> 00:20:36,344 until it naturally gives up. 385 00:20:36,448 --> 00:20:38,689 We don't care to be aborted 386 00:20:38,793 --> 00:20:41,344 by the body that we're wearing. 387 00:20:41,448 --> 00:20:44,448 We care more to abort it 388 00:20:44,551 --> 00:20:47,655 in proof to our Heavenly Father 389 00:20:47,758 --> 00:20:51,034 that we're ready to leave this place. 390 00:20:51,137 --> 00:20:52,724 [siren wailing] 391 00:20:52,827 --> 00:20:55,689 SHATNER: In all, 39 bodies, 392 00:20:55,793 --> 00:20:59,034 including that of cult leader Marshall Applewhite, 393 00:20:59,137 --> 00:21:02,206 are found dead in their bunk beds. 394 00:21:02,310 --> 00:21:06,758 All of them wear identical black shirts and sweatpants, 395 00:21:06,862 --> 00:21:08,689 Nike tennis shoes 396 00:21:08,793 --> 00:21:12,103 and purple cloths covering their faces. 397 00:21:12,206 --> 00:21:15,413 BILL KOLENDER: Based on the conditions at the scene, 398 00:21:15,517 --> 00:21:19,827 all indications are that this was a mass suicide. 399 00:21:19,931 --> 00:21:22,896 SHATNER: It was, and still is, 400 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:27,103 the worst mass suicide ever committed on U.S. soil. 401 00:21:29,310 --> 00:21:32,172 WHITEHEAD: Marshall Applewhite was a failed cult leader. 402 00:21:32,275 --> 00:21:34,862 He had tried starting up many other cults before. 403 00:21:34,965 --> 00:21:38,034 Welcome to Beyond Human. 404 00:21:38,137 --> 00:21:40,758 WHITEHEAD: He was in a psychiatric institution. 405 00:21:40,862 --> 00:21:42,896 I mean, all the warning signs were there. 406 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:47,758 Yet he blended new age UFO-logy and Christianity 407 00:21:47,862 --> 00:21:50,034 and was able to swindle these people 408 00:21:50,137 --> 00:21:52,103 and start a very successful cult. 409 00:21:56,965 --> 00:21:59,931 SHATNER: The notion of committing suicide 410 00:22:00,034 --> 00:22:03,068 so a spaceship can beam your soul up to Heaven 411 00:22:03,172 --> 00:22:07,689 is certainly misguided, but how could 412 00:22:07,793 --> 00:22:09,931 a group of highly intelligent people, 413 00:22:10,034 --> 00:22:12,689 most of whom were skilled computer experts 414 00:22:12,793 --> 00:22:17,206 and web designers, come to believe something so irrational? 415 00:22:17,310 --> 00:22:19,172 LALICH: This is a perfect example of 416 00:22:19,275 --> 00:22:21,413 what we call cognitive dissonance, 417 00:22:21,517 --> 00:22:23,896 when reality doesn't match what you believe. 418 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,931 So if you actually believed, 419 00:22:27,034 --> 00:22:29,620 "I'm an alien and I'm gonna go out into this world 420 00:22:29,724 --> 00:22:31,344 "of human beings, 421 00:22:31,448 --> 00:22:34,241 nobody's gonna believe me. How am I gonna fit in out there?" 422 00:22:34,344 --> 00:22:38,655 If people would just know that we're not forced into this 423 00:22:38,758 --> 00:22:41,827 in any way; it's, you know, our own choosing to do it. 424 00:22:41,931 --> 00:22:43,344 LALICH: At the end, 425 00:22:43,448 --> 00:22:46,655 most of the people who died, had been with them 426 00:22:46,758 --> 00:22:50,413 for 20-some years, I mean, a-a huge part of their life. 427 00:22:57,517 --> 00:23:01,034 SHATNER: Investigative journalist and radio host, David Whitehead, 428 00:23:01,137 --> 00:23:04,379 travels to the Museum of Death, 429 00:23:04,482 --> 00:23:07,931 which houses authentic artifacts from notorious deaths, 430 00:23:08,034 --> 00:23:11,827 including the Heaven's Gate suicides. 431 00:23:11,931 --> 00:23:15,758 Meeting David is museum curator, Erek Obrist. 432 00:23:15,862 --> 00:23:17,482 And here it is. 433 00:23:17,586 --> 00:23:21,206 OBRIST: Yes, indeed. You are looking at a recreation 434 00:23:21,310 --> 00:23:23,103 of the crime scene of the Heaven's Gate 435 00:23:23,206 --> 00:23:25,137 suicide cult from Rancho Santa Fe. 436 00:23:25,241 --> 00:23:28,310 WHITEHEAD: So everything in here is authentic? 437 00:23:28,413 --> 00:23:32,103 Everything that you are viewing right now is 100% authentic. 438 00:23:33,655 --> 00:23:35,137 [shudders] That is chilling. 439 00:23:35,241 --> 00:23:37,413 This is how it went down. 440 00:23:37,517 --> 00:23:41,379 This is all the real clothing, the purple scarves, 441 00:23:41,482 --> 00:23:43,482 the Nike shoes. 442 00:23:43,586 --> 00:23:45,413 Everything that wasn't evidence or religious material 443 00:23:45,517 --> 00:23:47,241 was auctioned off to the highest bidder. 444 00:23:47,344 --> 00:23:51,241 They've actually got the comet on there. 445 00:23:51,344 --> 00:23:53,965 This one says, "Earth Exit: Monasteries." 446 00:23:54,068 --> 00:23:55,448 OBRIST: I believe they referred to 447 00:23:55,551 --> 00:23:57,655 the mansion they were living in as the Monastery. 448 00:23:57,758 --> 00:23:59,931 The initial responding officers 449 00:24:00,034 --> 00:24:02,448 originally thought that it was all men. 450 00:24:02,551 --> 00:24:04,862 Turns out that half, easily, were women, 451 00:24:04,965 --> 00:24:07,724 but they couldn't tell because of the short hair, the dress, 452 00:24:07,827 --> 00:24:09,586 the loose style of clothing. 453 00:24:09,689 --> 00:24:12,275 The cult was very asexual. 454 00:24:12,379 --> 00:24:14,310 They saw themselves as aliens. 455 00:24:14,413 --> 00:24:15,862 Eight of the male members had actually 456 00:24:15,965 --> 00:24:17,620 undergone castration. 457 00:24:17,724 --> 00:24:20,206 - No way. - Yes. Willingly. 458 00:24:20,310 --> 00:24:22,551 WHITEHEAD: What are those notes on the wall? 459 00:24:22,655 --> 00:24:24,448 That is a very important piece within the exhibit. 460 00:24:24,551 --> 00:24:27,206 A four-page handwritten note left behind 461 00:24:27,310 --> 00:24:31,068 by one of the members trying to explain why they're doing it. 462 00:24:31,172 --> 00:24:33,310 The note was left behind in a set of clothing 463 00:24:33,413 --> 00:24:35,689 that was purchased at the auction, and naturally, 464 00:24:35,793 --> 00:24:37,482 just like when you do your laundry, you go through 465 00:24:37,586 --> 00:24:39,379 the pockets to see if anything had been overlooked. 466 00:24:39,482 --> 00:24:42,206 The note itself is really amazing to read because 467 00:24:42,310 --> 00:24:44,344 you can see how some things are crossed out. 468 00:24:44,448 --> 00:24:46,103 Maybe they changed their mind a little bit. 469 00:24:46,206 --> 00:24:49,034 Maybe they just wanted to express themselves properly. 470 00:24:49,137 --> 00:24:51,931 They were excited about leaving this planet 471 00:24:52,034 --> 00:24:54,103 and going to what they thought would be "home," 472 00:24:54,206 --> 00:24:55,241 to a better place. 473 00:24:55,344 --> 00:24:57,655 It ends with the chilling line, 474 00:24:57,758 --> 00:25:01,862 "I hope you may all experience someday what we've had." 475 00:25:01,965 --> 00:25:05,827 Yeah, I'm-I'm just feeling an overwhelming sense of... 476 00:25:05,931 --> 00:25:08,448 just this heavy feeling. Reading about it 477 00:25:08,551 --> 00:25:11,448 is one thing, but coming in and-and seeing it... 478 00:25:11,551 --> 00:25:14,344 OBRIST: I don't think people are aware there are 479 00:25:14,448 --> 00:25:17,034 surviving members still to this day that maintain the website. 480 00:25:17,137 --> 00:25:18,379 It's still active. 481 00:25:18,482 --> 00:25:20,586 You can write them, they'll reply. 482 00:25:20,689 --> 00:25:21,724 Really? 483 00:25:21,827 --> 00:25:23,103 Yeah. 484 00:25:23,206 --> 00:25:25,586 SHATNER: Will the remaining members 485 00:25:25,689 --> 00:25:30,724 of Heaven's Gate repeat the horrific events of 1997? 486 00:25:30,827 --> 00:25:34,551 The fact that they're still committed to their mission 487 00:25:34,655 --> 00:25:38,137 suggests that such a frightening notion is possible. 488 00:25:38,241 --> 00:25:41,344 It is also a testament to the insidious power 489 00:25:41,448 --> 00:25:43,517 of cult leaders and their ideas. 490 00:25:43,620 --> 00:25:47,068 But not all cults use the promise of Heaven 491 00:25:47,172 --> 00:25:49,620 to control their followers. 492 00:25:49,724 --> 00:25:53,517 Some are even able to turn the simple art of dancing 493 00:25:53,620 --> 00:25:56,275 into something deadly. 494 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,103 Not all deadly cults involve the indoctrination 495 00:26:05,206 --> 00:26:07,896 of hundreds or even thousands of followers. 496 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,068 Some cults only involve one. 497 00:26:11,172 --> 00:26:13,620 An unlucky person under the spell of a cult leader 498 00:26:13,724 --> 00:26:16,379 who uses something as benign as dancing 499 00:26:16,482 --> 00:26:18,000 to lure their follower. 500 00:26:18,103 --> 00:26:19,793 That's all very well and good, of course, 501 00:26:19,896 --> 00:26:23,689 until the dance turns deadly. 502 00:26:29,620 --> 00:26:32,620 29-year-old performer and yoga instructor, Sharon Stern, 503 00:26:32,724 --> 00:26:34,724 enrolls at Naropa University 504 00:26:34,827 --> 00:26:37,241 to earn her master's degree in Dance. 505 00:26:37,344 --> 00:26:40,413 TIBOR: Sharoni was unbelievably happy. 506 00:26:40,517 --> 00:26:45,241 She played piano, guitar, singing, 507 00:26:45,344 --> 00:26:47,137 dancing. 508 00:26:47,241 --> 00:26:48,931 MIZRAHI: She just had this way of taking 509 00:26:49,034 --> 00:26:51,379 anything monotonous or anything repetitive 510 00:26:51,482 --> 00:26:54,862 or anything routine and just, like, flipping it upside down. 511 00:26:54,965 --> 00:26:58,413 She had a way of making any moment special. 512 00:26:58,517 --> 00:27:01,241 TIBOR: She told me one day in 2007, 513 00:27:01,344 --> 00:27:03,517 "Dad, I would like to go back to finish my master degree." 514 00:27:03,620 --> 00:27:06,620 And she told me that she got Naropa, 515 00:27:06,724 --> 00:27:09,068 which is a Buddhist university. 516 00:27:09,172 --> 00:27:12,620 And I told her, "Sharoni, that sounds so good to me." 517 00:27:12,724 --> 00:27:14,965 I was wrong. I was very wrong. 518 00:27:18,517 --> 00:27:20,482 SHATNER: Soon after arriving at university, 519 00:27:20,586 --> 00:27:23,034 Sharon enrolls in a class on Butoh, 520 00:27:23,137 --> 00:27:26,482 a Japanese form of dance theater. 521 00:27:26,586 --> 00:27:30,862 Translated as "Dance of Darkness," 522 00:27:30,965 --> 00:27:33,896 Butoh is known for its grotesque imagery, 523 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:37,793 controlled movements and taboo themes. 524 00:27:37,896 --> 00:27:42,206 Performers wear corpse-like white body makeup 525 00:27:42,310 --> 00:27:47,517 and use unnatural movements in order to appear that much more 526 00:27:47,620 --> 00:27:50,344 inhuman. 527 00:27:50,448 --> 00:27:53,206 MIZRAHI: Having been a dancer for most of my life, 528 00:27:53,310 --> 00:27:55,172 it's like nothing I've ever seen before. 529 00:27:55,275 --> 00:27:58,724 The facial movement 530 00:27:58,827 --> 00:28:00,344 is completely expressionless. 531 00:28:00,448 --> 00:28:04,689 There's no smiling, there's very little eye contact. 532 00:28:04,793 --> 00:28:07,517 The movements are sort of robotic. 533 00:28:07,620 --> 00:28:09,655 It's a little chilling. 534 00:28:09,758 --> 00:28:13,482 SHATNER: Mesmerized by Butoh's strange motions and imagery, 535 00:28:13,586 --> 00:28:17,517 Sharon immediately felt drawn to the unique dance 536 00:28:17,620 --> 00:28:19,551 and to her instructor, 537 00:28:19,655 --> 00:28:23,241 a world-renowned Butoh practitioner from Kyoto, Japan, 538 00:28:23,344 --> 00:28:27,413 who operated under the name of Katsura Kan. 539 00:28:27,517 --> 00:28:31,172 MIZRAHI: Sharoni seemed very excited to introduce me to him, 540 00:28:31,275 --> 00:28:34,034 and he turned around and made very little eye contact 541 00:28:34,137 --> 00:28:36,344 and sort of said "hi," and turned-- 542 00:28:36,448 --> 00:28:38,758 gave his back to me and barked some orders 543 00:28:38,862 --> 00:28:42,379 at her and-and left. 544 00:28:42,482 --> 00:28:44,620 There was definitely a very 545 00:28:44,724 --> 00:28:49,827 powerful influence coming from this teacher figure in her life, 546 00:28:49,931 --> 00:28:52,793 this mentor figure in her life. 547 00:28:52,896 --> 00:28:55,482 He was intriguing to her. 548 00:28:59,206 --> 00:29:01,448 SHATNER: Under Kan's tutelage, 549 00:29:01,551 --> 00:29:04,965 Sharon devoted herself to the study of Butoh, 550 00:29:05,068 --> 00:29:09,758 sacrificing everything in an effort to immerse herself 551 00:29:09,862 --> 00:29:11,655 in this macabre ritual. 552 00:29:11,758 --> 00:29:15,241 The Sharon before Butoh and the Sharon after Butoh 553 00:29:15,344 --> 00:29:17,931 are two totally different people. 554 00:29:18,034 --> 00:29:22,793 The Sharon after Butoh was malnourished in every way. 555 00:29:22,896 --> 00:29:26,517 She looked skinnier than she had ever looked. 556 00:29:26,620 --> 00:29:28,482 That energy 557 00:29:28,586 --> 00:29:33,482 that was so, so characteristic of Sharon wasn't there. 558 00:29:33,586 --> 00:29:36,689 It wasn't the same person. 559 00:29:36,793 --> 00:29:38,724 TIBOR: Sharoni called Kan "God," 560 00:29:38,827 --> 00:29:43,034 and anybody who tried to change her mind and bring her back 561 00:29:43,137 --> 00:29:45,482 to normal life was enemy. 562 00:29:45,586 --> 00:29:48,862 She became a zombie, and, uh, 563 00:29:48,965 --> 00:29:52,310 she hardly remembered things. 564 00:29:52,413 --> 00:29:54,862 At that point, two things had happened: 565 00:29:54,965 --> 00:29:56,827 she lost her critical thinking. 566 00:29:56,931 --> 00:29:59,620 She felt useless, worthless. 567 00:29:59,724 --> 00:30:01,655 She couldn't cope with life anymore. 568 00:30:03,586 --> 00:30:05,413 SHATNER: Over the course of the next four years, 569 00:30:05,517 --> 00:30:08,034 Sharon's friends and family became more and more concerned 570 00:30:08,137 --> 00:30:10,620 about what they believed was her obsession 571 00:30:10,724 --> 00:30:13,896 with the world of Butoh and the disturbing nature 572 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:16,517 of her relationship with her teacher, 573 00:30:16,620 --> 00:30:18,448 Katsura Kan. 574 00:30:18,551 --> 00:30:20,965 LALICH: Kan developed a relationship with Sharon 575 00:30:21,068 --> 00:30:23,206 that became sexual. 576 00:30:23,310 --> 00:30:25,758 She became completely dependent on him. 577 00:30:25,862 --> 00:30:27,931 We all know that that's verboten, 578 00:30:28,034 --> 00:30:29,620 that's something you don't do, you know. 579 00:30:29,724 --> 00:30:31,758 If it's a-a teacher and a pupil, 580 00:30:31,862 --> 00:30:34,034 if it's a pastor and a, and a parishioner, 581 00:30:34,137 --> 00:30:36,827 if it's a psychologist and his patient. 582 00:30:36,931 --> 00:30:39,137 You don't take advantage of your students. 583 00:30:39,241 --> 00:30:42,000 It's already a power relationship. 584 00:30:45,793 --> 00:30:48,172 SHATNER: On April 25, 2012, 585 00:30:48,275 --> 00:30:52,034 after years of psychological, emotional and physical decline, 586 00:30:52,137 --> 00:30:55,206 Sharon Stern was finally overwhelmed 587 00:30:55,310 --> 00:31:00,172 by this dance of darkness and ended her own life. 588 00:31:01,862 --> 00:31:06,000 In 2019, in a civil case for the wrongful death of Sharon Stern, 589 00:31:06,103 --> 00:31:10,206 a judge in Florida found Terugoshi Kotoura, 590 00:31:10,310 --> 00:31:12,379 the real name of Katsura Kan, 591 00:31:12,482 --> 00:31:15,103 liable for the young dancer's death, 592 00:31:15,206 --> 00:31:20,379 a judgment that Mr. Kotoura is attempting to overturn. 593 00:31:20,482 --> 00:31:23,517 But how could a bright young woman, 594 00:31:23,620 --> 00:31:25,896 who had her entire life ahead of her, 595 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,965 become so consumed by thoughts of death, 596 00:31:30,068 --> 00:31:34,275 that she eventually took her own life? 597 00:31:34,379 --> 00:31:38,586 When you align physical states, like movements, 598 00:31:38,689 --> 00:31:43,206 you align neural states, and you align psychological states. 599 00:31:44,793 --> 00:31:47,655 In a sense, their brain states and their psychology 600 00:31:47,758 --> 00:31:51,379 is also moving together at once. 601 00:31:51,482 --> 00:31:54,793 I would liken it to the experience of hypnosis. 602 00:31:54,896 --> 00:31:57,827 Some people are easily hypnotized, 603 00:31:57,931 --> 00:31:59,758 some people aren't, and that feature, 604 00:31:59,862 --> 00:32:01,758 that defining personality feature, 605 00:32:01,862 --> 00:32:03,310 is usually called suggestibility. 606 00:32:03,413 --> 00:32:05,689 Some people are highly suggestible, 607 00:32:05,793 --> 00:32:07,655 especially if that is coming 608 00:32:07,758 --> 00:32:11,586 from this highly charismatic authority leader or figure. 609 00:32:11,689 --> 00:32:14,586 And it's because of that personality trait 610 00:32:14,689 --> 00:32:16,896 that they're having those experiences. 611 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:21,413 TIBOR: He was teaching to lose your identity, authenticity. 612 00:32:21,517 --> 00:32:23,103 And darkness 613 00:32:23,206 --> 00:32:26,068 and death and suffer was the message. 614 00:32:26,172 --> 00:32:29,827 SHATNER: Was it the psychosomatic power of dance 615 00:32:29,931 --> 00:32:31,862 that led Sharon Stern 616 00:32:31,965 --> 00:32:36,310 down such a dark, deadly path? 617 00:32:36,413 --> 00:32:39,310 Sadly, that seems to have been the case. 618 00:32:39,413 --> 00:32:43,206 Sharon's story is a testament to the destructive power 619 00:32:43,310 --> 00:32:47,379 untethered belief can have on a single person. 620 00:32:48,586 --> 00:32:51,620 But what happens when those same beliefs 621 00:32:51,724 --> 00:32:54,413 infiltrate... an entire city? 622 00:33:04,137 --> 00:33:06,103 SHATNER: In this coastal town 623 00:33:06,206 --> 00:33:09,517 located 300 miles southwest of Sao Paolo... 624 00:33:09,620 --> 00:33:13,620 19 children have mysteriously... 625 00:33:13,724 --> 00:33:15,551 gone missing. 626 00:33:15,655 --> 00:33:19,068 Vanished without a trace. 627 00:33:23,172 --> 00:33:24,896 KENT: What happened in Brazil 628 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:26,793 in the late 1980s and early 1990s 629 00:33:26,896 --> 00:33:28,758 was a shock to Brazilian society. 630 00:33:28,862 --> 00:33:31,034 People were afraid. 631 00:33:31,137 --> 00:33:34,241 They did not know why these disappearances were going on. 632 00:33:34,344 --> 00:33:37,068 SHATNER: Todd Lewan, a foreign correspondent 633 00:33:37,172 --> 00:33:40,103 for the Associated Press news agency, 634 00:33:40,206 --> 00:33:43,172 is assigned to cover the developing situation. 635 00:33:44,517 --> 00:33:45,793 LEWAN: This was a major story 636 00:33:45,896 --> 00:33:47,724 going on in the country at the time. 637 00:33:47,827 --> 00:33:50,103 It was being covered by the major news weeklies. 638 00:33:50,206 --> 00:33:52,551 It was in the newspapers every day. 639 00:33:52,655 --> 00:33:56,103 I immediately drove to Guaratuba, 640 00:33:56,206 --> 00:33:58,413 and went straight to the police station 641 00:33:58,517 --> 00:34:00,068 for my interview. 642 00:34:00,172 --> 00:34:02,103 And I walk into the investigator's office, 643 00:34:02,206 --> 00:34:05,000 and he looked at me and said, 644 00:34:05,103 --> 00:34:06,793 "There's no need to tell me who you are. 645 00:34:06,896 --> 00:34:08,482 I know why you're here." 646 00:34:10,413 --> 00:34:12,793 SHATNER: As the number of missing children 647 00:34:12,896 --> 00:34:16,172 continues to climb, the authorities are unable 648 00:34:16,275 --> 00:34:19,793 to identify who, or why, the children of Guaratuba 649 00:34:19,896 --> 00:34:22,413 are being targeted. 650 00:34:24,137 --> 00:34:27,655 But then they receive a significant clue 651 00:34:27,758 --> 00:34:29,793 when the body of one of the missing children 652 00:34:29,896 --> 00:34:33,137 is found in the field near the local sawmill. 653 00:34:33,241 --> 00:34:36,068 When these young children were executed, 654 00:34:36,172 --> 00:34:39,137 when they were slain, it was done with a skilled hand, 655 00:34:39,241 --> 00:34:41,620 indicating that this was a medical person 656 00:34:41,724 --> 00:34:44,068 and that they did not act alone. 657 00:34:44,172 --> 00:34:47,965 The state in which they found the remains of this young boy 658 00:34:48,068 --> 00:34:53,000 indicated to the police there was a madness behind this. 659 00:34:54,379 --> 00:34:56,103 The precise incisions, 660 00:34:56,206 --> 00:34:58,413 the places of the incisions... 661 00:35:01,655 --> 00:35:05,275 ...this led police to believe that 662 00:35:05,379 --> 00:35:07,344 there was a... 663 00:35:07,448 --> 00:35:09,068 darker purpose here, 664 00:35:09,172 --> 00:35:11,344 that perhaps a cult had been involved. 665 00:35:15,344 --> 00:35:17,586 SHATNER: Police suspect the owner of the sawmill, 666 00:35:17,689 --> 00:35:19,517 a man named Aldo Abagge, 667 00:35:19,620 --> 00:35:23,034 who, shockingly, happens to be the town's mayor. 668 00:35:23,137 --> 00:35:26,689 Abbage is soon arrested in connection with the killing 669 00:35:26,793 --> 00:35:29,241 and accused of being a cult member, 670 00:35:29,344 --> 00:35:31,172 along with seven other well-regarded members 671 00:35:31,275 --> 00:35:33,034 of the community. 672 00:35:33,137 --> 00:35:35,000 LEWAN: It was a bit of a shock. 673 00:35:35,103 --> 00:35:38,137 But the most chilling thing about this was 674 00:35:38,241 --> 00:35:41,827 he'd actually been played by the leader of a satanic cult, 675 00:35:41,931 --> 00:35:43,896 a Brazilian woman 676 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:45,551 whose name was Valentina Andrade. 677 00:35:47,310 --> 00:35:49,206 MORET: Valentina de Andrade was 678 00:35:49,310 --> 00:35:52,034 this almost mystical occult leader 679 00:35:52,137 --> 00:35:55,310 who merged religion and UFOs 680 00:35:55,413 --> 00:35:59,344 and espoused the belief that Jesus Christ was an alien. 681 00:36:00,827 --> 00:36:02,482 LEWAN: On the surface, 682 00:36:02,586 --> 00:36:05,206 Valentina Andrade cut the figure 683 00:36:05,310 --> 00:36:09,482 of a sweet, genteel kindergarten teacher, 684 00:36:09,586 --> 00:36:11,551 complete with a pretty smile. 685 00:36:13,241 --> 00:36:15,724 It turned out that she was actually 686 00:36:15,827 --> 00:36:19,034 the ringleader behind a cult... 687 00:36:19,137 --> 00:36:22,517 called the Superior Universal Light. 688 00:36:24,172 --> 00:36:26,413 LALICH: Another part of her belief system 689 00:36:26,517 --> 00:36:29,862 was convincing her followers that all boys 690 00:36:29,965 --> 00:36:33,000 who were born after the year of 1981, 691 00:36:33,103 --> 00:36:35,551 uh, were evil and were to be murdered. 692 00:36:37,793 --> 00:36:39,655 LEWAN: You have to wonder, 693 00:36:39,758 --> 00:36:43,034 how could experienced politicians 694 00:36:43,137 --> 00:36:46,689 be taken in by a Valentina Andrade. 695 00:36:46,793 --> 00:36:51,655 Was it because she had done such a good job presenting herself 696 00:36:51,758 --> 00:36:55,586 as a... woman of love and family? 697 00:36:55,689 --> 00:36:59,310 MORET: She would lure people into her religion 698 00:36:59,413 --> 00:37:03,827 and convince them that they had to sacrifice young children 699 00:37:03,931 --> 00:37:06,931 in order to gain and maintain their power 700 00:37:07,034 --> 00:37:09,724 and their level within the religion. 701 00:37:11,310 --> 00:37:13,310 Federal investigators were stunned 702 00:37:13,413 --> 00:37:16,551 when they realized that this cult had 2,000 members 703 00:37:16,655 --> 00:37:19,896 not just from within Brazil but from around the world. 704 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:22,275 SHATNER: Of the 19 children 705 00:37:22,379 --> 00:37:24,724 that the members of the cult were accused of abducting, 706 00:37:24,827 --> 00:37:27,172 six were found dead, 707 00:37:27,275 --> 00:37:30,862 their remains badly mutilated. 708 00:37:30,965 --> 00:37:33,551 The rest were never found. 709 00:37:33,655 --> 00:37:38,034 Valentina was ultimately arrested and accused 710 00:37:38,137 --> 00:37:42,206 of coercing her followers by promising them good fortune 711 00:37:42,310 --> 00:37:45,172 if they agreed to commit the murders. 712 00:37:45,275 --> 00:37:48,344 When the case went to trial, the mayor and his accomplices 713 00:37:48,448 --> 00:37:50,344 were found guilty, 714 00:37:50,448 --> 00:37:53,137 but not Valentina. 715 00:37:53,241 --> 00:37:56,206 Unlike Charles Manson, she was able to convince a jury 716 00:37:56,310 --> 00:37:57,896 that she shouldn't be held responsible, 717 00:37:58,000 --> 00:37:59,620 because she wasn't even there. 718 00:37:59,724 --> 00:38:02,068 LEWAN: Her alibi was that 719 00:38:02,172 --> 00:38:05,206 she was not at the scene of the crime for these killings. 720 00:38:05,310 --> 00:38:08,000 It was almost too horrific to consider that a woman 721 00:38:08,103 --> 00:38:10,586 with this matronly appearance 722 00:38:10,689 --> 00:38:15,068 could be leading such a vicious, barbaric group. 723 00:38:16,551 --> 00:38:19,448 And I think that's why she was not convicted, 724 00:38:19,551 --> 00:38:22,413 and then she was able to slip away from justice. 725 00:38:22,517 --> 00:38:26,620 That, to me, is deeply, deeply unsettling. 726 00:38:26,724 --> 00:38:29,758 SHATNER: It may be one thing to convince cult followers 727 00:38:29,862 --> 00:38:32,586 to do harm to themselves, 728 00:38:32,689 --> 00:38:35,965 but it's quite another to harm others, 729 00:38:36,068 --> 00:38:38,896 especially innocent children. 730 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:42,310 So when does the strange ideology of a cult 731 00:38:42,413 --> 00:38:47,000 pose a deadly threat not only to its members 732 00:38:47,103 --> 00:38:48,827 but to us all? 733 00:38:48,931 --> 00:38:51,000 The answer... 734 00:38:51,103 --> 00:38:54,689 may be more disturbing than you think. 735 00:39:04,379 --> 00:39:06,896 SHATNER: After interviewing former cult members, 736 00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:10,448 researchers from the Addictology and Psychiatry Department 737 00:39:10,551 --> 00:39:15,310 at Nantes University publish the results of their study. 738 00:39:15,413 --> 00:39:19,862 Their conclusion: What makes someone want to join a cult 739 00:39:19,965 --> 00:39:23,551 is a feeling of deep dissatisfaction with life 740 00:39:23,655 --> 00:39:26,793 and a need for personal development. 741 00:39:26,896 --> 00:39:29,413 Although this may sound obvious, 742 00:39:29,517 --> 00:39:31,517 it is also a bit frightening, 743 00:39:31,620 --> 00:39:33,413 especially since those same traits 744 00:39:33,517 --> 00:39:36,172 apply to millions of people-- 745 00:39:36,275 --> 00:39:39,310 perhaps even you. 746 00:39:39,413 --> 00:39:42,827 You can have political cults, you can have therapy cults, 747 00:39:42,931 --> 00:39:45,413 you have new age cults, you have channeling cults, 748 00:39:45,517 --> 00:39:48,068 you have karate cults-- probably you could find 749 00:39:48,172 --> 00:39:50,758 [laughs]: a chocolate chip cookie cult if you wanted to. 750 00:39:50,862 --> 00:39:54,137 So cults can be built around any type of belief system, 751 00:39:54,241 --> 00:39:56,275 and we see that not only in our country 752 00:39:56,379 --> 00:39:58,517 but around the world today 753 00:39:58,620 --> 00:40:01,620 with the rise of this sort of push for hatred and violence. 754 00:40:01,724 --> 00:40:04,344 So it's something that, uh, 755 00:40:04,448 --> 00:40:06,068 is very prevalent. 756 00:40:06,172 --> 00:40:07,827 Unfortunately, this will not stop. 757 00:40:07,931 --> 00:40:09,862 I don't want to be naive. 758 00:40:09,965 --> 00:40:12,620 In our organization, we receive 759 00:40:12,724 --> 00:40:16,275 about five to ten cult-related complaints a day 760 00:40:16,379 --> 00:40:17,965 from families of the victims, 761 00:40:18,068 --> 00:40:20,310 and they all surround the same place. 762 00:40:20,413 --> 00:40:22,517 And we find out 763 00:40:22,620 --> 00:40:24,448 that seven percent of our society 764 00:40:24,551 --> 00:40:27,413 are psychopaths and sociopaths. 765 00:40:27,517 --> 00:40:30,172 And worse than that, 25 to 30% 766 00:40:30,275 --> 00:40:31,965 of our society, families, 767 00:40:32,068 --> 00:40:35,689 somehow, directly or indirectly, are suffering 768 00:40:35,793 --> 00:40:38,344 from cult abuses. 769 00:40:38,448 --> 00:40:41,172 WHITEHEAD: Each one of us could be susceptible 770 00:40:41,275 --> 00:40:44,172 to falling prey to many of these cult-like groups, 771 00:40:44,275 --> 00:40:46,310 because every single one of us is seeking meaning. 772 00:40:46,413 --> 00:40:48,655 We want to understand the big questions of life. 773 00:40:48,758 --> 00:40:50,482 We want to know why we're here. 774 00:40:50,586 --> 00:40:52,137 We want to have a sense of direction. 775 00:40:52,241 --> 00:40:53,793 We want to have a sense of community. 776 00:40:53,896 --> 00:40:55,551 We want to be a part of something. 777 00:40:55,655 --> 00:40:57,758 And that's what a cult offers you. 778 00:40:57,862 --> 00:41:00,103 It offers you all of the things that you're looking for, 779 00:41:00,206 --> 00:41:02,448 except it's... 780 00:41:02,551 --> 00:41:04,206 a wolf in sheep's clothing. 781 00:41:07,172 --> 00:41:08,862 One of the difficulties is pulling yourself out. 782 00:41:08,965 --> 00:41:10,827 Because if you look in long enough 783 00:41:10,931 --> 00:41:13,896 and you're in deep enough, you don't have a way out. 784 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:15,862 And so I-I encourage people to be supportive 785 00:41:15,965 --> 00:41:17,689 of former members, try to be sympathetic. 786 00:41:17,793 --> 00:41:19,310 Don't be judgmental. 787 00:41:19,413 --> 00:41:22,931 People join cults because they wanted to improve themselves. 788 00:41:23,034 --> 00:41:26,137 They had no idea they were falling into these traps 789 00:41:26,241 --> 00:41:29,241 or vortexes of-of pain and... and torture. 790 00:41:32,724 --> 00:41:36,482 So could you be a member of a cult right now, 791 00:41:36,586 --> 00:41:38,413 even as we speak? 792 00:41:38,517 --> 00:41:40,827 No, not you? [chuckles] 793 00:41:40,931 --> 00:41:43,000 Don't kid yourself. 794 00:41:43,103 --> 00:41:45,206 Anyone who joins others in the collective demonstration 795 00:41:45,310 --> 00:41:49,344 of shared needs could find themselves in a cult. 796 00:41:49,448 --> 00:41:53,241 But whether that cult is benign or deadly 797 00:41:53,344 --> 00:41:55,068 is the bigger question. 798 00:41:55,172 --> 00:41:59,413 Hopefully, you or someone else won't have to die 799 00:41:59,517 --> 00:42:01,448 before you learn the answer. 800 00:42:01,551 --> 00:42:04,655 Till then, you'll just have to let the matter remain... 801 00:42:04,758 --> 00:42:06,896 UnXplained. 64192

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