In this month’s series, we’ll take a look at the fascinating phenomenon of narcissistic family cults - a family unit that exhibits all the hallmarks of a traditional cult group but is led by a narcissistic family member - usually a parent. 

In this episode, a couple with thirteen children spend decades isolating themselves from the outside world. The public would be shocked when it was discovered their children had been subjected to long-term ritualistic abuse, neglect, and deprivation in one of the worst cases of child abuse ever recorded in California. 

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Resources: 

The Family Next Door by John Glatt, St. Martin’s Press, 2019. 

 David Turpin Biography: 13 Things About Perris, California Engineer

Turpin Trial: Couple Jailed for Life for ‘Inhuman’ Child Abuse

All That’s Interesting: Louise Turpin

California Torture House: Louise Turpin’s Sister Said Sibling Experimented with Religion, Sex

People: Couple Accused in Calif. House of Horrors Case ‘Ran Away’ to Marry When She was 16 and He Was 23

David and Louise Turpin Eloped - Daily Mail

Inside the Turpin “Horror House” as Young Survivors Reveal Ongoing Struggles

ABC 20/20, S44/E7 - Escape from a House of Horror - A Diane Sawyer Special Event

Classmate Says Oldest Turpin Sibling Was Bullied, Frail During Grade School in Viral Facebook Post

Turpins: 1 Sibling’s Desperate Escape Attempt Foiled When Police Forced Her Back to the House

California Torture Case Raises Questions About Home School Regulation

People: I Lived with the House of Horrors Family: What Relative Says She Saw Years Before Child Torture Case Came to Light 

CNN: Judge Bars Turpins from Contacting Children

People - From a Desperate Escape to Revelations of Shocking Abuse: How Abuse of Horrors Case Unfolded

Huffpost - Turpin Children Speak Out About Life in California ‘House of Horrors’

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