By the late 1990s, the Providence movement had expanded its reach internationally. But when word got out about Jeong Myeong-seok abusing his “spiritual brides,” he fled. The prophet was exposed as a predator — but that didn’t stop the group from growing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
After cutting his teeth in the rapidly growing unification movement in South Korea in the 1970s, Jung Myung-seok began having grander ambitions — as the new messiah of a religious movement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In the 1960s, Faizrakhman Sattarov experienced a holy vision when sparks shot down from a trolley car in Russia. Having been raised a devout Muslim, Sattarov went against his upbringing by calling himself a prophet. His message attracted hundreds who eventually settled in a secluded underground compound in the city of Kazan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
By the late ‘80s, Stanton had fully embraced military metaphors in the Bible, mobilizing his Jesus Army to wage war against sin and save British souls. Their recruiting tactics earned them the nickname “kidnap cult.” But it wasn’t until four years after Stanton’s death that the true extent of the Fellowship’s wicked ways were revealed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
During WWII, while serving in the British Royal Navy, Noel Stanton had an encounter with an evangelist that changed his life. He started on a path toward Christian devotion that became increasingly divergent — featuring charismatic worship, communal living, and holy visions of expanding his radical message across the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
After amassing wealth and influence as a spiritual advisor in the 1980s, Adolfo Constanzo set his sights on the lucrative drug trade in Matamoros. To claim a piece for himself, he needed more power. And for that, he turned to one thing: human sacrifice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Schooled in the darkest corners of his family’s Afro-Carribean religion, Adolfo Constanzo decided to make his fortune using magic granted through animal sacrifices. In Mexico City, he grew his power and esteem — but he wanted something more. He wanted revenge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
For over a decade, a self-described rabbi ran a seminary in an orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem. From the outside, nothing seemed different about Aharon Ramati’s religious school for young women. But Ramati demanded complete devotion — and he was willing to break families apart to get it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Increased government scrutiny in the early 2000s didn’t stop Hermes Far Eastern Shining from growing into a small business empire. Attrill used his local influence to shield the organization, even as stories of manipulation, exploitation, and abuse began to spread. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A fast-growing cult in Australia absorbed hundreds of people into its fold in the late 1990s. Gerald Attrill promoted himself as an alchemist and the spiritual kin of Jesus Christ, attracting devoted followers with expensive products that claimed to purify energies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Deep in the heart of the Black Woods on the border between Switzerland and Germany, an eccentric spiritual medium named Uriella set up a commune for her growing community of fanatical followers. She claimed to receive messages from Jesus Christ and grew into a media sensation. But she also warned about the coming apocalypse, and told her followers that their only salvation would come from space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
In the 1990s, Ronald Weinland began issuing doomsday prophecies from his online pulpit. Despite being indicted for tax evasion, Weinland, now in his 70s, is still sermonizing to — and collecting tithes from — his followers on YouTube, where his videos have amassed hundreds of thousands of views. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
When Ben Klassen died by suicide in 1993, Matthew Hale picked up his mantle as leader of the sputtering Church of the Creator. Hale was a young college student from Illinois, whose own plans to enact a racial holy war erupted in violence in 1999. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
After a short but controversial run in politics, Ben Klassen founded the Church of the Creator in 1973. The avowed white supremacist used this new venture to spout racist rhetoric, foster hate amongst his followers, and attempt what he never could in office: igniting a racial holy war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From creating costly “healing instruments” to engaging in group sex activities, the Gentle Wind Project claimed to address traumas through spiritual energy work in the 1980s and ‘90s. When former members spoke out about the cult’s abuse, it disbanded, only to reemerge in 2007. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Known as “Babu” to locals, former pastor Ambilikile Mwasapile gained international attention after claiming in 2010 that he had found a cure for cancer, diabetes and AIDS. His alleged medical breakthrough was inspired by divine dreams — but it cost potentially thousands of people their lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Around 2007, a new miracle healer stepped on stage in Brazil, claiming to cure cancer, heart disease, and HIV. Followers flocked from all over the world… But the healer wasn't a traditional preacher, or even a flashy snake oil salesman. She was a 3-year-old girl named Alani Santos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Ukrainian psychotherapist Anatoly Kashpirovsky led hypnotic TV healing sessions in the late 1980s and ‘90s, drawing millions of viewers across Eastern Europe. He laid low after a series of controversies — but made his comeback in 2009, and is still allegedly healing the masses on his hit YouTube channel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Described as “hypnotic” and “disarming,” George Feigley used his silver tongue to convince countless people that he was a scholar and religious figurehead. In 1976, he was charged with statutory rape and imprisoned — but it was far from the end of his cultish offenses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In 1959, George King traveled to Los Angeles to complete his interstellar mission. He spent decades cultivating faithful followers as he traveled to astral planes, channeled alien entities, and battled against galactic beings beyond comprehension. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
When an angel appeared before him in a dark forest, George King knew his life would be special. That mystical meeting was just the start: Over the years, King began communicating with beings from other planets, all while building a devoted following. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In the 1980s, rigorous training and illegal weapons turned Ellison’s once peaceful commune into a murderous militia. As they carried out acts of terrorism and plotted attacks on the government, their actions did not go unnoticed — or unanswered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Expelled by Lincoln Bible College in 1962 for being too radical, James Ellison spent the next decade preaching about God’s judgment and establishing a commune in Arkansas, where he transformed his followers into a heavily armed white supremacist terror organization. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In 1947, a 31-year-old sign painter experienced a supernatural event that left him convinced he was the newly anointed savior of the world. Allen Michael spent the following decades creating a political party, compiling a gospel, and doing the will of the all-powerful “Galactic Logos.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
When her doomsday prophecies failed to materialize in the early aughts, Yuko Chino faded from the headlines. But after two unsettling deaths and another apocalyptic prediction, she announced one last out-of-this-world plan to her followers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
As a young woman in 1960s Japan, Hidemi Masuyama took nightly walks in the nude, talking to entities only she could see. Later, she changed her name and hatched a religious sect that obsessed over electromagnetic waves and extraterrestrials. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
For decades, family members and sleuths have tried to determine what really happened the night of the fire. As of yet, they have been unsuccessful. But the clues remain, the questions linger, and the case unofficially stays open… This episode is presented by Unexplained Mysteries, a Spotify Original from Parcast. For more of history’s greatest puzzles, follow Unexplained Mysteries free on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adch...
In the aftermath of the fire, a startling number of tips, twists, and witnesses came forward regarding the fate of the Sodder children. Their father, George, followed the clues for decades, driven by a suspicion of the “official” story and a belief that the blaze was no accident. This episode is presented by Unexplained Mysteries, a Spotify Original from Parcast. For more of history’s greatest puzzles, follow Unexplained Mysteries free on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn more a...
Early Christmas day in 1945, Jennie Sodder woke up to her house on fire. The blaze consumed her home, and five of her young children. Or did it? Strange events, prescient remarks, and a lack of human remains hinted at more nefarious — though no less tragic — outcomes. This episode is presented by Unexplained Mysteries, a Spotify Original from Parcast. For more of history’s greatest puzzles, follow Unexplained Mysteries free on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad...
In the late 1980s he claimed to be the final savior of the world, but behind Hogen Fukunaga’s grandiose claim was a shrewd businessman who scammed millions from loyal followers. His method? Detailed foot readings that cost hundreds of dollars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
