Charles Manson: the story of the leader of a murderous cult

Throughout history, many murderers are remembered for their macabre acts and the brutality of their crimes, but there are few who have the charisma and influence of Charles Manson.

This man, better known for being the founder and leader of the sect known as "The Manson Family", managed to get his followers commit a series of crimes with the idea that his acts would accelerate a race war that would break out any day soon. moment. Among his victims is actress Sharon Tate, who was also the wife of the well-known film director Roman Polanski.

To this day, despite being incarcerated, Charles Manson continues to have a large following. His popularity is such that the singer Marilyn Manson was inspired by him to obtain his artistic name, which is the union between the names of Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson.

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A life marked by those of crimes and crime

Charles Manson was born on November 12, 1934, in Cincinnati, Ohio (United States), and his mother was only 16 years old when she gave birth.

His life was always marked by crime and robberies, and he did not have an easy childhood. His mother was an alcoholic and, according to Manson himself, one day he handed him over to a childless waitress in exchange for a mug of beer. It was his uncle who had to get it back a few days later.

Both Manson's mother and brother have criminal histories., and were sentenced to 5 years in prison for robbing a service station in Charleston (Virginia) in 1939. This caused Manson to end up in a home for homeless children. Later, Manson would try to return home, but his mother rejected him.

Manson began to commit crimes at a very young age, and At the age of 13, his first arrest was made for robbing a grocery store; but he was a clever boy, and after 4 days he escaped from the correctional facility. After several arrests and escapes for stealing vehicles, in 1967 he returned to prison for check forgery. In jail, Manson began to study esotericism and oriental philosophy. At that time, Manson had already been married and divorced twice. He had two children with two different women.

The Manson Family: A Murderous Cult

Manson was released from prison in 1967 and moved to San Francisco, where he practically lived as a beggar until he met Mary Brunner, a 23-year-old girl who worked as a UC Berkeley library assistant. Her power of seduction and manipulation were such that he went to live with her. Manson's personality aroused praise among his future followers, who referred to him as "the magician". Perhaps for this reason, a few months after settling in Brunner's house, both shared a flat (Brunner's flat) with 18 women.

In those years, the city of San Francisco was the base of the "Hippie" movement, and Manson quickly established himself as a guru that, thanks to his persuasive power, she would soon have her first group of followers. They received the name "The Manson Family." It is important to note that most of these followers were women. That same year, Brunner became pregnant with Manson, which would be his third child.

The following year, Charles Manson established his lair at Spahn Ranch, in the California Valley. the manson family he did not pay rent because he ordered his followers to have intimate relations with the owner, almost blind.

The Manson Family Murders

This apparently harmless group of individuals would go down in history for the murder of several people under the orders of Charles Manson. Despite Manson didn't get blood on his hands, his ideas were the reason why La Familia decided to take the lives of its victims.

manson he believed a race war was coming, just as he interpreted in a song by The Beatles, “Helter Skelter”. That was the name of the song and also its prophecy. Manson thought that the black men would rebel against the whites, and win the battle. But since blacks couldn't keep power, because he considered them inferior, then Manson would be the leader of the world.

Over time Charles Manson grew impatient. Since he saw that the black individuals did not make a move, decided to advance the race war by committing a series of murders in which they would leave evidence at the crime scene to frame the "Black Panthers"

The most prominent murder committed by The Manson Family is that of actress and model Sharon Tate, only 26 years old, who was also pregnant. She was only two weeks away from having her child with film director Roman Polanski.

Interestingly, that day, she was having dinner with a group of friends when they decided to go to her mansion. It was there that the crime was committed. Four members of "La Familia" stormed the house and perpetrated a terrible multiple murder. The murderers were: Charles Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, Susan Atkins and Linda Kasabian.

How the events occurred

A few months before this mass murder, Bobby Beausoleil, a member of The Family, murdered musician Gary Hinman after trying to get him to hand over money he had inherited. At the scene, members of the sect wrote on the wall, with the victim's own blood, "Political piggy" and they drew a panther paw, symbol of the Black Panthers movement.

Beausoleil was arrested a few months later. This prompted Manson to tell The Family that it was time for him to act. And although it is not known with certainty, it seems that he ordered the murder of Terry Melcher, a producer of music that Manson had come into contact with thanks to his brief relationship with a Beach drummer Boys. Manson wanted to show that he had musical talent, but Melcher did not give him the opportunity.

So the four murderers they went to the supposed house of Melcher, but he no longer lived there, it was the new home of Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate. Tate was in the house with some friends (Polanski was in London shooting a movie). In that place they ended the lives of 4 people, and especially sad was the murder of Sharon Tate, who after asking that she was kidnapped and murdered after the birth of her child, she was murdered by Susan Atkin, who struck her several times. stab wounds Atkins, with a towel soaked in Tate's blood, wrote the word "Pig" on a door of the house.

A few days later, Manson ordered the murder of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. When they arrived at the couple's house, Manson tied them up and Leslie Van Houten took charge of killing them.

You can learn more about the history of Charles Manson in this video:

a charismatic assassin

Charles Manson is undoubtedly one of the most notorious murderers. He is currently serving time, but still has a large following. In addition, Manson has inspired different series or movies because of his history and his personality.

SThere are few people in the world who are capable of indoctrinating normal individuals and turning them into murderers.. His charisma and his manipulation and persuasion skills are a reality. His popularity has been such that an album with his songs even went on sale while he was in jail.

On the other hand, it has also been notorious that, even after he was sentenced and a vision about him spread Explained from the point of view of the police and justice, Charles Manson has continued to generate admiration, especially among people youths.

It must be taken into account that part of this phenomenon can be attributed simply to the fact that it is known by millions of people, but that does not mean that It is disturbing to what extent we are capable of idolizing people who break all the minimum social norms to ensure coexistence. There are certain contexts that can be interpreted as justifications for criminal conduct, making it positively valued and a reason for devotion or even falling in love.

You can listen to his music in this audiovisual content: