The Intergalactic Cult That Met A Tragic Fate: Heaven’s Gate
One of the best-known cults of the “internet age,” Heaven’s Gate and its out-of-this-world gospel, resulted in a tragic mass suicide. Merle and Joyce interview a clinical psychologist to gain a better understanding of the rise and fall of Heaven’s Gate.
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VIDEO
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The clinical psychologist is so eloquent, she explains things really simply, learned a lot for this episode
Yup lizzo has destroyed fat shaming
What I love about this series is that they emphasis the humanity of those who fell victim to these cult leaders, which documentaries and media often gloss over. Bringing in experts/psychologists provide insight into the minds of the followers and make it hard for viewers to just write them off by saying “they’re all just crazy.” In short, thank you for these insightful videos. These videos wouldn’t be the same without Merle and Joice!
When you talk to God, it's called prayer... When God talks to YOU, that's called schizophrenia.
In my religious experience, I was a teenager being hassled to "hear God's voice" about my next steps in life, yet was told that everything I felt strongly positive about was "not God's will". People weaponize what God's will is and isn't to manipulate the vulnerable.
No sir it’s only schizophrenia if you talk back to the voices. 😂
@@bricksquadmonoply8835 nope. Auditory Hallucination is a symptom Schizophrenia, whether you decide interact with it or not, it's upto you
@@vjoo6219 no your wrong
@@bricksquadmonoply8835 I suggest if you have hallucinations do visit a therapist cause it's not going to away by simpley not talking to them
Bizarrely, I'm someone who doesn't actually remember the Heaven's Gate incident, and in fact, I never even *heard* of the group until the following decade. Despite my age, much of this info is actually new to me. I do, however, remember (and remember seeing) comet Hale-Bopp, and I feel the need to let younger audiences know about it: not just to lighten the mood, but also to provide some context. For those of us old enough to remember the EIGHTIES (to say nothing of the Nineties), one of the biggest letdowns of the era was when, after years of hype and merchandising, the much-touted Halley's Comet returned to Earth in 1986 . . . and was barely visible in the sky. It had lost a lot of its "tail" of icy particles, and you couldn't see it anymore without a telescope. So it offered a bit of closure when, over a decade later, the little-known Hale-Bopp comet came by and unexpectedly DID deliver some of the light show we'd been expecting before! I actually remember stepping outside of my college apartment one night with my brother, and easily seeing the comet with the naked eye. And that, my friends, is the sight that Heaven's Gate, apparently, took as a sign.
Tl;dr
@@Brandon-jl6cj Blocked for trolling.😆
Hale -bopp I've not heard of it
I need that class of recognizing emotional manipulation, especially in a religious setting
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
This always fascinated me. How people could misconstrue the love of God so severly
Lol you'd be surprised
I was a Christian teenager when this happened, and it disturbed me so much.
Not gonna lie watching the old unsolved mysteries like the zodiac killer ect gives me goosebumps, I hate watching it when I'm alone but I have a ball of steel and just watch it alone, it's like the feeling when you watch unsolved mysteries of the killers and you think that there is a man watching you on the window
Im watching you
Thank you for adding the psychologist's interview. :) She's doing a wonderful job.
100% true - One of the cult survivors (who left right before they all killed themselves) constructed the musical cremation urn I designed out of wood so I could take it to an artist for sculpting the artwork of flowers & butterflies, and then have the mold created. All I had to provide him was a drawing & measurements. Talented guy. The urns were then produced by Incolay, which sadly, is now out of business. But he could not & would not talk about his experience w/the cult. I think he'll be haunted by it until the day he dies.
@@crlody3045 you sound pretty bitter, which is odd considering you don't personally know that person. You're also stating your "belief" about who I'm referring to as a fact, which is also odd considering you stated that you personally know another former member, which clearly indicates Rio wasn't the only one who left. 🤔
Another great video
I thought I was younger than 18 when this happened? 1997? I would have been taking my gap year in the woods post high school. I was also highly religious (and a closet gay, but we didn't know that about Applewhite from the news reports?) and planning to attend Bible college in South Africa. When this story broke, I was, needless to say, deeply disturbed. It may have rattled my already shaky faith, too, that people could commit so completely and be so wrong.
“Today’s drama”…. Like ok people just literally died but call it drama.
Literally why is it so lighthearted
Love this
Quincee Gideon is such a cool name. And Merle, there's no reason why you can't wear that stuff if you want
8:50 same gurl i'd shave my hair too for namjoon
Love you ladies!!!!
Everyone seems to forget that the Phoenix lights happened at this same timeframe.. Coincidence? Probably..still interesting.
I love this series
Every couple of years our students will learn that he taught at our school for a time and it’s like a rabbit hole for them
RDR2 led me to this video. Great stuff. Always interested with stuff like this.
I can only hear a pink T-Rex referring to the sun as Big'Ol
Talk about the scientology cult next
This show was fun, those girls are great presenters, cheers...
I want to spend time with Namjoon too Joyce!!!💜💜
"RM I love you "girl same ❤️
Say what you want about heaven's gate but two weeks before they all killed themselves was the lights over Phoenix the largest UFO sighting ever recorded and it came at the tail end of the Hale-Bopp comet
Make a video about the unsolved case of nida blanca
I'd never be able to do it cause I'm just too skeptical and would have too much doubt in my mind
Talk about the Jehovah’s Witness cult next.
The only thing is, its not a deadly cult.
@@tonesdad0408 You should look at their suicide rates....
@@danielgyllenbreider I would also want to kill myself if I had to peddle their Watchtower every Saturday morning too!
I’m pretty sure they do that to them self after realizing they wasted they time following bs
@@tonesdad0408 nor is it a cult
Min 5:20, that's cause you two are smart and can connect on an deeper level. I wish I could find a girl for me like that!!!
Interesting case
the RM shoutout 💜
Bring back True Crime with the Cult Girls!
If you all ever want to learn about the group from within, I am available still. I'm known as Sawyer and can be seen on most every big media documentary though they hardly use much of what I give them.
Who's the host on the right?
I came for the text on the thumbnail "Heaven's Gate", thought it's Tekken, but little did I know I got baited
Crazy did it on my birthday ugh!
I watched The Alien Prophet. Now that is an amazing cult. Human cloning, nudity the works! Way better than Heavens Gate.
39 by design💫☄️
bruh coming from puppet history and seeing Joyce was a fuckin treat
Namjoon stan here too!
Is it just me, or are these women somehow trying to justify this dude's actions because he was gay? My God. How absolutely despicable, and disingenuous to the families, and harm caused by this mad man. Do better.
8:11 I think it’s funny that the next coming of Jesus was in prison for credit card fraud. Lol 😂
I’m unable to fully understand what the girl in green is saying.
It's so hard to watch them just read off a script with no emotions
I would mos def rock some heavens gate nikes
That BTS mention in the introduction made me happy. I see you army lol
Things missed or questionable in the video: "Regular ppl fall for cults" Lack of critical thinking skills, lack of adequate social connections, and going through a personal crisis of direction predisposes someone to join a cult. The Co-Founder The psychologist frames the co-founder as a passive actor in her environment and quickly implies the co-founder lacks any agency or responsibility for her actions. Dr. implies she had a noble desire for a better world when a quest for power and status is an equally valid analysis and doesn’t fall into a limited, traditional view of a woman. Also, she mentions that she found his beliefs “sexy” when all they had was a platonic connection. It’s more likely she had a maternal, parent-child relationship with him-especially considering her age and how women mature faster. Also, he sought her wisdom initially. This suggests a power differential in the relationship consistent with a parent-child relational dynamic. Dr only speculates about him “having the answers”, which again highlights the Dr.’s limited view traditional view of gender. Applewhite also thinks he can’t even lead the cult without her and was “looking for a way out” and wondered about “sending everyone home”. Again, consistent with her serving a more maternal, powerful role. There's a subgroup of women who, after moving past reproductive age, immerse themselves in bizarre spiritual practices to compensate for feeling like they lost power. I think a desire for power helps explain her behaviour better than she was swooped up by a manipulative man. Vulnerable Narcissism That sounds spot on, however, Dr. fails to provide any insight into how the condition developed. Just applying a label is helpful, but shallow without context about how that construct developed in the individual. Indoctrination It’s not really accurate to stay it pulls someone from how they saw themselves. It’s more accurate to say that it fosters already existing feelings of being “special” and “unique” and provides meaning where people failed to create or find it in their own life. Yes, they may sacrifice some values to have these feelings fostered and meaning engendered, but her statement is still very shallow. Finical Component Dr. misses the finical trouble he had and how he had a limited skillset to remedy the situation - except for extreme religious beliefs. Luckily, the lovely co-hosts elude to it. A large part of human behavior can be explained by trying to acquire resources. “Meat Sacks” This is not a belief unique to this cult. Many mainstream scientists make analogous statements. I don’t understand how this is a meaningful observation relevant to understanding what differentiated this cult from mainstream society. “People can be so evil” I can appreciate why the charming co-host said this, however, the Dr. should know better than to let Christian terminology seep into an analysis. It’s better to directly challenge the co-host than agree out of politeness or, frankly, one’s own possible cognitive banality. Sorry if this sounds harsh and the tl;dr. I just think we deserve better from people who study the human mind, and I see a lot of this type of analysis from psychologists on KZhead.
I feel like they rambled a lot about nothing too when we’re just tryna hear the psychology. Like I didn’t click on a podcast, did I ?
You need to revisit your inflammatory statement about women, especially your strangely specific notion that the passage of time that they are reproductively viable has a connection to immersion into any spiritual or religious practice, subgroup or no. Just...wow. That is, at best, a subjective notion based exclusively on gender. Present a paper on this to *any age* group of students,or better yet- put your comment where it will get to a larger audience,and people who are much better writers than I, who can express themselves much better than me- will tell you about how stating a notion like that is wholly incorrect from even the broadest of sociologically viewpoints is extremely, *pointedly* insulting to women,and to anyone who knows one. Saying what you did is at *best...* misinformation.
Matt, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it.
Obviously they were going to talk about people seeing their human bodies as only “meat sacks” because that’s part of why they were ok with committing suicide. Even though the idea isn’t rare, it’s an essential component of why they were willing to give up their lives- they felt they had something better coming up after
When you hit your toe on the table leg 2:20
can you guys do the family cult from australia
While listening I kept thinking about the dinosaurs in Puppet History
I *could not* separate her voice from that!! As dinosaurs would say,her voice was imprinted on me?? 😍 😁
How come these ladies don't know which camera to look at when speaking? Lol. Weird
😮😮😮
White chick narrating is pretty cute. She's explaining everything good.
Ya know. I'll keep saying it. Had heavens gate committed suicide in 2019... They would be considered geniuses today. 😆
man when u lost ryan n shane u didnt even try with new ones u could have done better from a wal mart parking lot
I really like you guys as hosts, but something seems a bit off. Like you're reading from a script? I'm not sure. It seems a bit unnatural.
Hello, psychologist was cool and love those chicks 👍🤠
That lady looks like Jessica Biel. A bit.
I miss Shane & Ryan
They have their own channel now, so there's really nothing to miss
is this a jojo reference
Nu subbie XOXO
Lol look what happens to your comment when you tap on "translate" 😂
I don't like this format
Buzzfeed Unsolved just can't catch lightning in a bottle like they did with the original hosts.
This is...not the unsolved series. Let this rest y'all.
I agree, but I have been enjoying this series specifically. It’s not the same as Unsolved, but it’s still quite good!
Why the big ones always act like that
Keep trying buzzfeed,you'll never replace Shane and ryan
I'd be outtie-odie
Why they got Cleveland Junior on here?
You had to *edit* your post? Why,would it have gotten you *actually* reported?? people can already tell what kind of person you are.
I'm sorry, your top was too distracting. And I couldn't really understand some of the things you said? Enunciation is so important for videos
I would never wear something that unprofessional for such a video. You're not at the beach
Who cares it’s a BUZZFEED video and inaccurate at that so who cares what the hosts wear
0/10 where’s Ryan 😢
Where is Shane
They started a new channel called Watcher.
Host with the tiny green shirt on is terrible at hosting. Let's be honest
Great topic terrible hosts🤮
Everyone else likes the psychologist’s phrasing, but I find it kind of vulgar, and it makes me uncomfortable
Nah just can’t watch
Lol so gross. You know what I'm talking about.
*Tight at the collar* turtleneck shirt... AND with a *sweater?!?* I'm literally yanking at my neck looking and her,and terribly overheated 🥵 But y'know what? It's 2023,and as someone else aptly pointed out- it's *BUZZFEED.*
Welp, I was enjoying the video right up until the casual racism. "Another whote guy pretending to be Jesus". Really?
Won’t someone think of the whites!?
Yeah i cringed, what do you know a white woman acting like she is superior to white men... surprise surprise
Haha, racisme towards white people, how fascinating of a concept. Racism = systemic. If it's not systemic, it's not racism, so there's no such thing as casual racism when it's a white person. Another thing, Jesus was a middle Easters (born from a Jewish mother, in the middle east, lived his whole life there etc. ) Which makes it super ironic that it's always white men that claim to be his reincarnation.
Middle eastern*
totally agree, people need to get over the skin colour crap ,Jesus was clearly not white ,but this is where you have to blame the church ,as they pushed the image of Jesus being white even though the pope bows down to an image of a Jesus of colour, its just sad that colour has to even come in to it imo
If I have a psychologist had a nose ring I would not want to be their patient
😂😂 oh nooo “woman with degree have ring in nose, cannot do job, waaahhh” 💀
How, exactly, does a nose ring stop a psychologist being good? This is probably the most idiotic reason I’ve ever heard.
Because they are so TRASHY! I wouldn’t want any psychiatrist of mine with a neck or face tattoo either.
next you'll be saying they can't have tattoos
I like the guys better
It's ok
Yoo for real, I just gandered through all the recent videos they've made and they are all , these girls on their couch. Ryan and Shane actually went to places and were waaay more interesting. These videos don't have anywhere close the old views.. that says something