At the height of his power in 1983, John-Roger Hinkins hosted a star-studded awards show for his “movement.” But behind his glitzy veneer was a dark secret. He was coming unhinged… and within five years, his image was destroyed.

After waking up from a nine-day coma in 1963, Roger Hinkins claimed his body was housing a spiritual personality named John. John-Roger went on to found one of the largest spiritual movements of the 1970s and '80s. But behind closed doors, Hinkins preyed on young members of his staff and claimed if they didn't comply, a dark spirit would corrupt them.

In 1990s Everett, Washington, a charismatic man named Chris Turgeon started a small group Bible study with a few of his friends. In only a few years, he had turned the group into a cult that followed his every command… even when he ordered them to commit murder.

In 1972, self-appointed bishop Douglas Metcalf had his followers build a new heaven on earth in New Zealand. He called it Camp David… But while the group found peace behind the gates to their compound, they prepared for battle with the outside world.

In the early 1980s, Satanist Robin Gecht and his three followers terrorized the women of Chicago. They attacked, maimed, and tortured at least five victims in an attempt to summon a demon known as "The Dark One."

In the early 1980s, contractor Robin Gecht recruited three of his employees to join a violent cult. Using a mixture of intimidation and coercion, Gecht led his followers on a murderous rampage that shocked the city of Chicago.

When Whitewind Swan Fisher founded Friends Landing in 1985, it was marketed as a safe space for spiritual healing. Instead, it was her personal lion's den where she took advantage of the very people she promised to help.

In 1985, Monte Kim Miller was an anti-cult activist, speaking at churches to warn against brainwashing and manipulation—until he began using the same tactics he preached against to extort, coerce, and compel his own followers into radical behavior.

In 2017, news of Keith Raniere’s predatory sorority finally hit the airwaves. After disavowing any connection to the group, the 57-year-old cult leader read the writing on the wall and fled to Mexico. But authorities weren't going to allow him to avoid consequences that easily...

By 2006, 46-year-old Keith Raniere had made NXIVM alluring enough to attract billionaire heiresses and Hollywood actresses. But as women began defecting, he feared he was losing control—and in a bid to reassert dominance, created a predatory group known as DOS.