Heaven’s Gate

One of the most tragic organizations, the Human Individual Metamorphosis was founded in 1975 by former music teacher Marshall Applewhite and his wife Bonnie Nettles after they read the Book of Revelation and thought the reference to two witnesses to the end times in Chapter 11 Verse 3 ("And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth") was referring to them. They convened that year in Oregon and California because they thought a UFO would take them to a higher realm of existence. When that didn't happen, they relocated to Texas and lived as a commune for a few decades. They got active in early web development in the 1990s.

In his writings as of 1994, Applewhite made it clear that he did not think suicide would be required for ascension. However, the gang had developed certain routines, such as purging on tea, pepper, and maple syrup. They also believed in acting in unison, which is why one of their final actions in public was going out to eat and having everyone order the same thing. They were all wearing similar black shirts and black shoes when they committed mass suicide in three waves in 1997 because they thought their souls would be transferred to bodies in a spaceship after the Hale-Bopp Comet.

We'd like to close by making a few observations about the infamous fact that Applewhite and other men were castrated. First off, just eight of the 18 male members had consented to the procedure. In addition, a former member claimed that at the time of the operation, even the members were giggling and laughing. Maybe there are some celibate (or not) people who can relate to the feeling.