On March 26, 1997, police officers found the bodies of 39 men in a Rancho Santa Fe mansion. The authorities were tipped off by an anonymous 911 call. But there was something odd about it. All of the deceased wore identical outfits, which included new black Nike shoes, black workout pants, and shirts, and covered with a purple shroud. They also had plastic bags tied over their heads to cause suffocation.

There were no signs of struggles; those who wore glasses had them neatly placed next to them. They had identical haircuts, giving them a similar appearance, and each had a patch next to them, saying, “Heaven’s Gate Awaiting.”

An autopsy discovered more: the time of death among the group suggested that they died in shifts; 15, then another 15, followed by the final 9. This led officials to believe it was an aided suicide with one group helping the other. Their similar outward appearance misleads the officials in thinking that they were all men, when in fact, there were 21 women and 18 men in the group ranging in age from 26 to 72. Seven of the men were castrated. Their stomach content revealed that they had consumed a deadly mixture of phenobarbital and vodka.

This was the result of a cult following of Marshall Applewhite. The suicides were a method of leaving their “vessel” and drift up to an alien spaceship, hidden in the tail of the Hale-Bop comet, visible in the skies during that time. If you think this was a bunch of oddball kooks, think again. He and his flock are referred to as a “UFO religion.” There are many of them, including: The Seekers, Cosmic Circle of Fellowship, Ashtar Galactic Command and the Order of the Solar Temple.

In fact, some, from other UFO religions, declared that Applewhite was right in his ideas but he just went about it wrong. One former member of Heaven’s Gate stated later in an interview that he wished he could have been with them.

Cult leaders are God-like and dangerous. They’re seen as infallible by their flock.