Screenshot of the trailer for HBO's anti-cult series Heaven's Gate: Cults in a Cult (Internet Image)
Entertainment media outlet rolling stone (Rollingstone.com) recently reported that HBO, a subsidiary of Time Warner, premiered four anti-cult documentaries "Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults" on its streaming platform on December 3.
This documentary provides a comprehensive look at this notorious cult that believes in UFOs. The "Gates of Paradise" cult was founded in 1975 when 20 people disappeared en masse in a small town in Oregon. Cult members believe that by following the cult's teachings and practicing them, they can use chemical and biological methods to transform their bodies into "next-generation aliens" and then sail on an alien ship to the "afterlife." "Heaven's Gate" ended with a nationwide mass suicide in 1997, when the remains of 39 believers were found in a house on the outskirts of San Diego, completely changing the perception of "emerging religions."
Following its December 3 premiere, the first episode of Heaven's Gate: Cult to evil began airing for free on HBOMax on December 4.
Heaven's Gate: Cult to Evil is a co-production by CNN Original Studios and Campfire, with the documentary directed and produced by Clay Tweel.
Background:
Gates to Heaven: The cult originally started in Los Angeles in 1975, when Marshall Herff Applewhite and Bonnie Lu Nettles, a former nurse, co-opted a group of fanatical meditators to form a cult called Heaven's Gate. They believed that the ship would one day come and take their souls with them. Applewhite and Knights persuaded the congregation to renounce sex, alcohol and tobacco and leave their families.
Applewhite and Knights originally established a base camp on the Rogue River in Oregon, with 20 to 30 adherents living with only limited personal items. Some of them even abandoned their toddlers. After a few weeks, the cult began wandering, living in some remote residences. Sometimes he also lives in the small town, working as a waiter and clerk to earn money. Protestant salaries and income are used to cover the cost of motorhomes for travel. They often carried out secret missions in case desperate religious relatives came looking for someone.
In the 1970s, the religion entered its heyday with hundreds of members and strict canon law. Believers leaving the parish must sign a driver's license and car keys. Applewhite and Knights had enforced "graveyard time": during this time, the faithful could not talk to each other for days. Sometimes, believers' heads are struck by forks to expel their "human minds." Knights is strict, and the daily schedule should be accurate to the minute. All believers are equipped with a companion who does everything together, including eating, sleeping, and working. In order not to be too close to the faithful, the master will regularly exchange companions. Applewhite also learned some methods of mind control. The cult leader also went against the grain to control the sexual desires of the believers, and it is said that 8 members of the cult (including the leader Apple white) were castrated.
On March 26, 1997, police in san Diego received an anonymous call to the police. There, police found the deceased lying neatly on bunk beds, wearing uniform clothing and identical Nike sneakers. A total of 39 (ages 26 to 72) "Gate to Heaven" believers, including Applewhite, committed suicide, leaving behind videos explaining the collective suicide: to go to heaven, they had to abandon their human shells and board an alien spacecraft that followed the comet.
In 1985, at the age of 57, Knights died of cancer.
The suicide of the "Gate of Paradise" cult was the cover story of People magazine in 1997 (Internet image)
The scene of the suicide of the "Gate of Heaven" cult