THE WORLD'S MOST SHOCKING CULTS

After chilling footage emerged of children being rescued from a US cult, we take a look at some of the most infamous groups

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Community, connection and meaning. As human beings, these are all normal things we crave, but they are also desires that can be played upon to lure ordinary and intelligent people into the ironically isolating and dangerous world of cults. Recently, shocking footage was released of two girls, aged seven and four, being rescued from a cult in the Utah desert in 2017. Wearing very little, they had been left in barrels in freezing conditions by cult leaders for more than 24 hours. But far from being just a US problem, experts believe there are around 2,000 cults operating in the UK. Woman’s Own asks why people join these groups and looks at some of the world’s most infamous cases…

THE MANSON 'FAMILY'

It was against the backdrop of the hedonism and antiestablishment rhetoric of the 1960s that Charles Manson unleashed his campaign of influence over mainly young girls in San Francisco, recruiting them as lovers and members of his cult, dubbed the 'Family'. The group of about 100 men and women eventually moved to a ranch in the San Fernando Valley where Manson convinced them he was Christ reincarnated.

To prove their commitment, the Family carried out several murders on his orders, including that of pregnant film actor Sharon Tate and four of her friends in 1969. It's not known exactly how many people were ultimately killed, but Manson spent the rest of his life in prison for murder, dying of natural causes aged 83 in 2017.