Heavens Gate March 1997

 

Marshall Applewhite founded a cult when he said he had telepathy. He was a closet homosexual but also was sexually incompetent. Coined the term:

HUMAN INDIVIDUAL METAMORPHOSIS

He got vulnerable people isolated and away from their support networks by controlling their free will. They were forced to give up sex and relationships. He wanted his members to be castrated and used websites to recruit members calling them the "higher source." He told members he was the "representative of the Kingdom of Heaven." He inspired awe in them with his alien-like energy. He told them that they were being picked up in an alien craft and taken to"The Next Level" and told them to cleanse themselves for this "pick up." 

All 38 members packed a bag and went to sleep after eating a lethal poison in applesauce and drinking vodka when they were found they all were wearing an identical set of Nike trainers. They believed they were going to leave their physical bodies behind to embark on a better metaphysical journey. The crux of the issue was of people connecting stellar personalities with interstellar phenomenon.