Heaven’s Gate was a group in the 1970’s led by Marshall Applewhite in a suburb of San Diego, California. Applewhite went by the name of Do (pronounced dough) and led the people alongside Bonnie Lu Nettles who went by Ti until she died in 1985. In 1975 the pair convinced a group of 20 adults from Oregon to move to Colorado to leave behind their families and material possessions. Life in the cult was very regimented, what they watched and read was censored and approved by Do. The preachings of this cult were that the human body is just a container and the Earth is just a garden to grow souls. The people were told if they abandoned their bodies, they would finally be released and get to an alien spacecraft behind the Hale-Bopp comet through suicide. After the spaceship never came and Ti died, membership of the group fell significantly.
Do pictured above
The cult resurfaced in the early 90’s when Do began recruiting more members. With the discovery of the Hale-Bopp comet in 1995, came a resurgence of the previous belief that suicide was the best way to save their souls. In the fall of 1996, Do rented a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, a suburb of San Diego, explaining to the owner that his group was a Christian sect. In March 1997, Hale-Bopp was at its closest point to Earth when the group commenced their mass suicide. Inside the mansion, 39 members drank a mixture of phenobarbital and vodka. A distant member entered the house to find all of the members laying on beds in their usual attire, black shirts and pants with black nikes, with dark purple cloths covering their faces. The house had many bunk beds to accommodate the various inhabitants, but Do of course was found alone in the master bedroom.
The setting for this mass suicide was an interesting selection. Why would Do want to be in an affluent neighborhood to die rather than on their own compound, similar to other cults who have committed mirror acts. Do’s believers genuinely believed that he was the second coming of Jesus and would set them free. There are still some members today, who continue to believe and preach what Do taught. “Our 22 years of classroom here on planet Earth is finally coming to conclusion — “graduation” from the Human Evolutionary Level. We are happily prepared to leave “this world” and go with Ti’s crew.” This quote is found directly from their website, I would encourage you to check it out, their site is very colorful and has an interesting aesthetic.
Sources:
History.com Editors. “Heaven’s Gate cult members found dead.” History, A&E Television Networks, 9 Feb. 2010, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/heavens-gate-cult-members-found-dead.
NN, producer. “CNN: Heaven’s Gate suicides remembered.” CNN, CNN, 25 Mar. 2011. youtube.com, uploaded by CNN, www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzWpfq103q4.
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Austin Hepburn says:
Reading this article, I have realized that there are very messed up people, who are even confused or are taken advantage of, that are convinced to kill themselves to go to a higher place.
February 21, 2019 — 5:12 pm
Tiara says:
Heavan’s Gate is a very interesting cult and definitely one of the more famous ones. I always found it strange that people stayed behind and continue to run the website. It baffles me that people continue to follow these leaders even though time after time they prove to be a sham.
February 21, 2019 — 5:30 pm
Kristin Reed says:
I’m still shocked to hear how so many people were able to be brainwashed into joining the cult and going along with Do. I think what surprised me the most though was how it’s still a prominent cult, and that there’s members dedicated enough to run a website about it.
February 21, 2019 — 5:45 pm