The Most Terrifying Cults to Ever Exist

Explore the chilling depths of some of the most terrifying cults in history. Uncover the mystique and horror surrounding The Russian Doomsday Cult, whose members secluded themselves in a cave for years. Delve into the disturbing practices of Aum Shinrikyo, a cult that unleashed deadly attacks, including the infamous Tokyo subway attack. Discover the tragic fate of the Branch Davidians, led by David Koresh, as their compound became the site of a disastrous siege.

The journey continues to the Order of the Solar Temple, where the promise of salvation led to their demise. Witness the eerie mysteries surrounding the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments, a Ugandan cult with a tragic end. Finally, relive the haunting story of the Peoples Temple and the infamous Jonestown Massacre.

Join us as we unravel the dark secrets, mind control, apocalyptic visions, and devastating consequences that defined these horrifying cults. Explore their origins, rituals, and ultimate tragedies in this in-depth exploration of the most terrifying cults to have ever existed.

0:00 7 - The Russian Doomsday Cult
3:44 6 - Aum Shinrikyo
6:01 5 - Heaven's Gate
9:06 4 - The Branch Davidians
10:57 3 - Order of the Solar Temple
12:38 2 - Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
15:38 1 - The Peoples Temple / Jonestown
19:18 Outro

[FlareFluff]

no intro, no fluff, no sponsor, pure bliss

[iamwhattheymademe-]

The terrifying thing about Jonestown is that they didn’t drink all at once, but one at a time. The poison they used began to kill off the first people to drink while others were still in line, and people had to watch as their loved ones die.

[angly.]

What I find most tragic about these cults is that most of them joined because they were afraid of dying and were attempting to escape death and the thing they thought would save them was ultimately what led to their demise. My heart goes out most to the poor children who had no idea what they got roped into.

[RideWithChrist-]

The sad part that you didn't talk about was in Jonestown, they found people with needle injection marks. Meaning, a lot of people refused to drink the kool aid, and were held down and inected with poison.

[Robarm]

That’s insane to me that there’s a human out there somewhere who remembers a day when he locked 500+ people in a church and burned it down. And he’s just out there living a normal life.

[martyrlogarius]

I actually talked to the Heaven's Gate cult a long time ago through email. Long after the group largely disbanded, they would still stay in contact with anyone who wanted to know about the group's teachings. Emailing with a cult is one of the stranger rabbit holes I've found myself in.

[kjs]

Why is this man so good at drawing pain

[mustang]

Correction: A lot of the Jonestown people knew that the Kool Aid was poisoned and they did not want to drink it but his more radical followers forced it down their throats. In fact we have tape recordings of children crying as they were being forced to drink the Kool Aid. Its a massive tragedy

[TaylorMitsuki]

With Jonestown, there were a large group that did not want to drink, and they were either force feed by using their children's deaths as leverage or forcefully injected. Not everyone there was blind, they were trapped. You can hear it in the final tapes of that service. Very, very sad. He also really rose to power using civil rights for minorities which was vulnerable pop, and how he got most of his following. It's actually really interesting and mirrors a lot of political tactics used today. It's very dystopian how many leaders in politics, education, medical, charities, and business have similar tactics of control to religious cult leaders but somehow we let it slide.

[iamashley]

"Managed to escape the country, and to this day...

they remain free."

that line LITERALLY sent chills down my body wtf.

[IsaiasOlguin-ilwz]

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves." - Mt 7, 15

[everybody_loves_me]

I genuinely love this channel. The simple animation style with grotesque features spliced in is very entertaining. I love that he has grown so popular in so little time. Keep up the good work!

[arcticbear]

One correction on Jonestown I must add: The followers knew they were drinking the flavor aid to die, and most of them refused and attempted to run. Those that ran, were shot. Infants and other young children were forced to drink the flavor aid via mouth medicine plungers. Very few people actually drank the flavor aid, mainly the elderly members. Jim Jones ended up being shot as well, likely being the only genuine suicide.

[christiangolda]

One thing I love about your videos is how you avoid unnecessary long intros and get straight into the video unlike many other YouTubers who draw it out for extra view time.

[MountainSoftware]

For the Branch Davidians, you got a few things wrong.

Firstly, all the guns and ammunition they stockpiled was legal,

Second, when they cops appeared with a search warrant, the cult happily invited them in, because they already knew there was nothing illegal on the premises.

Third, the gun fighting didn’t happen until a while after the first time they appeared with the warrant, multiple weeks of memory serves.

The branch dividians weren’t good by any means, but the government purposefully put them into a position of barricading themselves in, by shooting first. Also, it is very well known that that the tear gas that the feds used was flammable, and they shot incendiaries into the building.

The worst part is things like photos of federal agents smiling and messing with the burnt corpses of the branch dividians.

[vespine]

The shootout that occurred with the Branch Davidians was extremely messy and could’ve been avoided on the ATF’s part. Many people actually blamed the ATF for taking it a step further than it should’ve been.

[AYA_]

It's crazy, cause I'm Guyanese. I wasn't alive during the Jonestown murder/suicide, but my grandma was. Everyone across the country was shocked & dumbfounded because that was something unexpected for a quiet Caribbean country :(

[ykrdbbm]

The scariest thing about Aum Shinrikyou is that they were able to recruit the smartest elites in Japan and transform them into loyal members. At one point, the cult had the capacity to manufacture not only chemical weapons but nuclear weapons. The level of manipulation Aum Shinrikyo exercised was so dangerous that even to this day, newer Japanese religions are unable to practice freely, and public perception towards these religions are harsh.

[qasanoba]

the 90s were wild af regarding cults 💀

[garrytalaroc]

The darker part in Jonestown is: majority of the people know what they're drinking, they even let their kids drink first before taking it. In the audio tapes, you can hear the kids dying in the back ground as the parents feeding the drink.