If you enjoy the stories told in Cults, check out this episode from our series Female Criminals: She was a turn-of-the-20th century medical practitioner who preached starvation as a method of curing disease. But it was Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard’s childhood exposure to fad remedies that shaped her interest in alternative medicine.

According to leader Pyotr Kuznetsov, the world would end in May 2008, so in November 2007 he proposed his group move to an underground cave and wait out the apocalypse.

Based on his belief that religious institutions had been sullied by modern practices, this apocalyptic cult aimed to cleanse themselves by abandoning their families and possessions, and living as a roving group of dumpster-divers.

In the late 60s, Charles Manson preached that the end of the world would come about due to an apocalyptic race war, which he dubbed "Helter Skelter."

What do UFOs, Abraham Lincoln, and God making his television debut have in common? They’re all strangely linked to the Chen Tao cult, and the imminent nuclear apocalypse prophesied by leader Hon-Ming Chen.

He gave numerous dates for the apocalypse, but none resulted in the end of the world. But it did result in the eventual formation of the Seventh-day Adventist movement.

He said that life on earth would end on May 21st, 2011. When it didn’t, he amended his date to October 21st, 2011. It didn’t end then either. Meet Harold Camping, a Christian radio evangelist

As society approached the year 2000, there was worry about a Y2K bug that might cripple technology. But there was also fear that cults with doomsday prophecies would do whatever it took to fulfill them.

Today we’re looking at the Sullivan Institute founded by Saul B. Newton and his wife, Dr. Jane Pearce in 1957. It was designed to be an alternative to the traditional nuclear family—part therapy center, part polyamorous commune.

Franz Edmund Creffield was the leader of theBrides of Christ church. Often referred to as the Holy Rollers, members wereknown to roll on the floor pleading, for God’s forgiveness.