The Horrorcraft Podcast

Faith, Fear, and Fatal Devotion: Exploring The Sacrament


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This week on the Horrorcraft Podcast, we’re turning down the camp and diving deep into one of the most disturbing intersections of horror and real-life tragedy: Ti West’s The Sacrament.Join your hosts Cass & Kylee and special guest co-host @CreepyConfidential as we unpack this chilling found-footage film inspired by the real-life horrors of the Jonestown Massacre. Together, we explore how The Sacrament blurs the line between fiction and true crime — tackling themes of manipulation, faith, isolation, and the terrifying power of charisma gone wrong. Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of cults, religious extremism, psychological abuse, mass suicide, and graphic violence. Listener discretion is strongly advised.The Sacrament is currently available for streaming on Tubi and other major VOD platforms — we highly recommend watching before tuning in. While we are a horror podcast that finds fun in fear, the real events that inspired this film involved unimaginable suffering and the loss of over 900 lives. We approach this episode with the utmost respect for the victims and their families.If you or someone you love is struggling with religious trauma, abuse, or suicidal ideation, please seek support: RAINN – National Sexual Assault Hotlinehttps://www.rainn.org 988 Suicide & Crisis LifelineCall or text 988https://988lifeline.org The Horrorcraft Podcast is a proudly women-led, LGBTQIA+ safe space — where horror meets heart.Find Creepy Confidential at: https://linktr.ee/creepyconfidential https://www.instagram.com/creepyconfidentialA HUGE shoutout to Tiki for our intro magic as always.Stay spooky, stay safe

Both Creepy Confidential and The Horrorcraft podcast are proud to be featured in the Talkin Tapes Summer Screams special, go check it out now:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzVRb1Np7KA


Sources:

1. “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple” (2006 Documentary)

Directed by Stanley Nelson and produced for PBS's American Experience, this documentary offers a powerful overview of the Peoples Temple and the tragedy in Guyana. Featuring survivor interviews and rare archival footage, it's widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive visual accounts of Jonestown.
Watch on: Amazon Prime Video, PBS.org

Written by journalist Tim Reiterman, who survived the attack on Congressman Leo Ryan, Raven is considered the definitive biography of Jim Jones. It provides an investigative deep dive into Jones’s rise to power, the workings of the Temple, and the events that led to the mass deaths in 1978.
Available on: Amazon (print, Kindle, audiobook), libraries via OverDrive/Libby

Hosted by San Diego State University, the Jonestown Institute provides a vast archive of primary documents, photographs, survivor accounts, and FBI files. It’s a key resource for researchers, educators, and anyone seeking detailed historical and psychological insight into the Peoples Temple.
Access at: jonestown.sdsu.edu

2. “Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People” (Book)

Written by journalist Tim Reiterman, who survived the attack on Congressman Leo Ryan, Raven is considered the definitive biography of Jim Jones. It provides an investigative deep dive into Jones’s rise to power, the workings of the Temple, and the events that led to the mass deaths in 1978.
Available on: Amazon (print, Kindle, audiobook), libraries via OverDrive/Libby


3. The Jonestown Institute (Academic Archive)

Hosted by San Diego State University, the Jonestown Institute provides a vast archive of primary documents, photographs, survivor accounts, and FBI files. It’s a key resource for researchers, educators, and anyone seeking detailed historical and psychological insight into the Peoples Temple.
Access at: jonestown.sdsu.edu


And go check out the book, The Road to Jonestown by Jeff Guinn:

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Road-to-Jonestown/Jeff-Guinn/9781476763835

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The Horrorcraft PodcastBy Cassandra Lee

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