On 26th March 1997, 39 people were found to have committed mass suicide in three consecutive days in a house in San Diego, California. They were members of a NRM called Heaven's Gate, which combined aspects of Christianity with UFOlogy.
The "cult" was founded in the early 1970's by two people called Applewhite and Nettles, who claimed to be the two witnesses named in the book of Revelation in the Bible. This was their main basis for obtaining followers, for many people believed that they were, and so wanted to fill the prophesy of "The Two."
Christianity believes in the ascension of Jesus Christ, whereby it is told that a cloud took him back up into heaven; Applewhite interpreted this “cloud” to mean “spaceship,” arguing that the ascension of Jesus was the space crew from the Next Level reclaiming him. He believed that the only way to reach this physical place, the Next Level, was to end one's life on this planet, then one would ascend in a spaceship as the Hale-Bopp planet crossed.
The group believed that the only way to gain access to the spacecraft was by death, followed by resurrection three and a half days later. This is extremely similar to the story told in the Bible of Jesus’ death and resurrection in three and a half days. They committed their mass suicide in 1997, 2000 years on from the year 4 B.C.E., a date commonly given for the birth of Jesus.
To people outside of the group, this all seems a little bizarre and far-fetched. It's no surprise that most of the followers were great believers in extra-terrestrials and devout followers of sci-fi programmes such as Star Wars. Some of their rituals whilst in the group included wearing cones on their heads to get used to what their bodies would be like once they ascended to the Level Above Humans. This suggests that the members wanted to live a supernatural life which resembled that of what they watched on TV, a life where all their problems on earth would be erradicated. Heaven's Gate also offered a means for people to cure addictions, such as alcoholism, as alcohol and other "earthly sins" were forbidden in the closed, secluded community they lived in. They had to cut all ties with friends and family, for fear that they would influence them away from the group and it's teachings, although unlike suicide "cults" such as Jonestown, members were free to leave at any time if they wished; they were not kept against their will.
When the inevitable occurred, it arose that most of the members were middle-aged, and thus not perceived as vulnerable or naieve, like many young members who follow such groups. Therefore, these members would have heard about similar mass suicide groups, and would probably not have been so easily influenced. Heaven's Gate did not appear to obtain members by deception; no information seems to be held from them during their time in the group, although like most of these groups, the teachings were inconsistent and subject to sudden change by the leader.
Looking at the bodies, there appears to be no signs of struggle or unwillingness to participate in the mass suicide, which suggests that people willingly wanted to end their lives and fulfil what they believed was their mission, following Jesus' teachings.
To find out more about the group's beliefs, from an insider's point of view, their original website which they set-up still exists:
Claire Lloyd.
0622669.
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