Top 10 Creepiest Cults in Modern History

1.

Order of the Solar Temple - Started by Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret in 1984 in Geneva, the cult’s beliefs are based on Free Masons rituals, UFO religions and new age philosophy. The cult is most famous for it’s murders and mass suicides in 1994-95 where a members three-month-old child was stabbed to death with wooden spikes due to the fact that the leader thought he was the anti-Christ. The cult later had a Last Supper ritual and took their own lives.

2.

Aum Shinrikyo - Known as a doomsday cult, it was founded in Japan by Shoko Asahara. Its core beliefs revolve around The Book of Revelations, yoga and the writings of Nostradamus. The leader Shoko declared he was "Christ" and was put on earth to take on the sins of the world. The cult is most popularly known for the sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995 which left 13 commuters dead and 58 seriously injured.

3.

The Movement for the Restoration of The Ten Commandments of God - This group in Uganda believed that the end of the world was going to happen on January 1, 2000. The cult strictly followed the guidelines of The Ten Commandments, even using sign language so as not to bear false witness. After January 2, 2000 rolled around, the group lost many members. The leader then predicted the end would come in March and 500 followers gathered in a chapel to prepare. And then the chapel exploded. Mass suicide was considered in the deaths, however test showed poisoning and strangulation as the primary cause of death for most.

4.

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh - Self-proclaimed guru Rajneesh lead a cult with devout followers, estimated at around 2000, in Oregon. The mansion he owned was known as “Rajneeshpuram” and he also owned 93 Rolls Royces, the largest collection in the world at the time. He taught that a lavish lifestyle, sex and debauchery were the keys to a happy life. He forced his follower to share houses in order to sway local elections and committed the first bioterrorism act in U.S. history. Along with his followers he poisoned the town of Dalles, Oregon with salmonella in order to keep people away from the polls.

5.

The Unification Church (Mooneyism) - Started by Sun Myung Moon a North Korean defector, the cult is an off shoot of the Prebyterian Church. They believe that Christ’s mission was not completed while he was on earth and that God still needs “perfect children.” The group became famous for their mass wedding ceremonies, where followers mates were chosen for them. Moon died in 2010 although the church is continued today by Moon’s children.

6.

The People’s Temple - Started in the 1950s by radical preacher Jim Jones, the cult really picked up steam in the 1970s when it was relocated to The Fillmore district in San Francisco. The group was brainwashed into moving to Guyana to start the people’s commune. Congressman Leo Ryan went to visit the commune and meet with Jones. However on his way out of the country he was executed by Jones’ followers. Knowing the end was near, Jones committed suicide with 900 of his followers by mixing poison with kool-aid. Many people drank it at gunpoint.

7.

Heaven’s Gate - Based in Rancho Santa Fe, California, Heaven’s Gate was a cult based on a astronomical belief system. Thinking that a UFO would appear with the Hale-Bopp comet of 1997, the cult committed mass suicide in which they ingested barbiturates and alcohol while their heads were covered with plastic bags. Thirty-nine people died that night, including the cult’s leader Marshall Applewhite. The cults website is still up and operational. www.heavensgate.com

8.

Aggressive Christianity Missionary Training Corps - With its headquarters in Sacramento, CA, the Aggressive Christianity Missionary Training Corps (ACMTC) used military training, brainwashing and humiliation to train its followers. Jim and Deborah Green, often referred to as "The Generals" would regularly wake followers up at early hours for prayer. They would yell in their ears,try to perform exorcisms and encouraged church members to beat their children.

9.

Children of God - David “Moses” Berg founded the group in the late 1960s. He denounced most religions which he considered morally corrupt, this also included the ideas of evolution, the Jewish people and the act of sex with children being considered a crime. Actors Joaquin Phoenix and Rose McGowan were both raised in the cult and described acts of beatings, exorcisms and isolation

10.

Branch Dividians - Probably the most recognizable group on the list, The Branch Dividians are an offshoot of Seventh-day Adventist Church which was started in 1935, just west of Waco, Tx. The group became widely known in 1993 when off-shoot leader David Koresh barricaded his followers from law-enforcement in their Waco compound and set it ablaze. Seen by millions on live TV, the fire was thought to be set by law-enforcement, however an investigation in 2000 revealed that sect members themselves started the deadly fire.