No matter how you look at it, cults are seriously creepy, but its no surprise that as a society, we are fascinated by them. With their secrets, strange quasi-religious beliefs and conspiracies, in both fiction and reality, these groups and their leaders like Jim Jones have been at the center of some major tragedies.
Despite them being super sinister, as a society, we are still weirdly fascinated by cults. If you're looking for something new to keep you up at night with some eerie fictional horror cult series as well as real-life true-crime stories, you can uncover the secret histories and peak behind the scenes of the carefully constructed mysteries inspired by some infamous and extremely twisted cults. These are the best TV series (including miniseries) about cults.
7 The Path
The Path is s a drama series created by Jessica Goldberg, which portrays members of a fictional religion known as Meyerism. While it was originally titled The Way, it was later changed to The Path due to the similarity to that of a real-life ministry and alleged cult, The Way International. In the show, Meyerists believe that all people are damaged, and that is the major cause of the world's suffering (something similar to the concept of 'original sin'). They seek to become aware of suffering in themselves and others, and through personal enlightenment, can heal the world. They believe that their efforts will be challenged by non-believers, whose selfish actions will damage the world; but those who ascend The Ladder of Enlightenment will live forever in The Garden.
The story follows Eddie Lane, who lives in New York with his wife and two children, who are all members of the Meyerist Movement. Eddie returns from Peru where he had undergone a spiritual retreat to enhance his beliefs, although instead he experienced something that has caused him to question his faith. The Path is a perfect example that not everything is sweet and lovely on the surface, and a cult really doesn't look like a cult at first. The Path is a confusing, shocking, yet brilliant insight into the workings of a cult.
6 Helter Skelter
Anyone interested in cults has surely heard of the infamous cult leader, Charles Manson. Fans will then be interested in the six-part documentary, Helter Skelter: An American Myth, which follows the untold story of Manson and his followers' heinous crimes. Their story is told through interviews with former members, archival footage and unseen images, all which provides a new and different angle to the events. While nothing new is shared through this documentary, using interviews and footage, it is a carefully executed telling of the events, the manipulative tactics Manson used to create his loyal following and serves as a reminder to the viewers of the genuine horror and tragic fallout that a cult can create. For fans, fictional shows are intriguing, but to hear of real-life cults and how they work is creepy on another level.
5 Wild Wild Country
In another documentary series, Netflix's Wild Wild Country follows the story of the controversial Indian guru, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, his personal assistant Ma Anand Sheela, and their followers (or in other words, their cult). Rajneesh was either known as a great guru, spiritual teacher, and mystic, or as a dangerous cult leader, criminal, and terrorist, depending on how you choose to look at it. Although this cult, based in Antelope in Wasco County, Oregon, was more than a bunch of hippies trying to spread love and freedom, it came along with attempted murder, biological warfare, bombs, drugs and a massive immigration fraud case.
The horror that took place here is shown through interviews, mostly with Sheela, who now out of jail (for attempted murder and assault) is living in Switzerland and working in a nursing home. Along with Sheela, there are interviews with Antelope residents who experienced the cult first hand, Rajneesh's followers, attorneys from both sides, politicians and even journalists. Viewers get to see obsession at its worst, true horror and how dangerously brainwashed we are able to become.
4 The Following
The Following is a crime thriller series created by Kevin Williamson, and right from the title we know it will be something eerie. The first season of the show follows former FBI agent, Ryan Hardy (a great Kevin Bacon), who is trying to help recapture serial killer Joe Carroll. Yet, Carroll's assembled cult captures his son from his ex-wife, and sends a message to the world. The second season then introduces Hardy's niece who helps to find Carroll after his faked death, along with dealing with a new cult. Let's be honest, a psychotic serial killer who communicated with other serial killers, activating a cult of followers following his every command, is guaranteed to cause nightmares, and the very dark series The Following captures it with grim seriousness.
3 Waco
The six-episode miniseries Waco dramatizes the 51-day standoff in 1993 between the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the religious movement, Branch Davidians, in Waco, Texas, which ultimately ended in a fatal fire and a deadly shoot-out. It investigates the tragedy before and after the standoff from a variety of viewpoints. While the cult was created by a man called Victor Houteff, who believed that the Christian messiah wasn’t Jesus and was yet to come, after his death, the movement had many leaders. Yet, the most memorable was David Koresh, but known as Vernon Howell.
He taught his followers that he was a messiah and that children born from his marriages would be sacred. He married multiple women in the community, including underage girls, and became a father to at least 13 children. In the years since, many children who grew up in the cult have reported that Koresh molested them. This series shows multiple angles of the dangers of cults and how difficult it is to stop them.
2 The Vow
In another true-crime documentary, The Vow explores the cult NXIVM and its leader Keith Raniere, who was eventually convicted of sex trafficking, among other crimes. The series reveals the unfolding of events and the emotional trial. It allows the viewers to gain an inside look into the legality of the crimes that many cult leaders commit, as well as the role Smallville actress Allison Mack played in the recruitment of new members, and a look into the inner circle and ongoing supporters of the cult. Former NXIVM members alongside journalists appear in the show to provide some sinister and eerie information on the workings of a cult.
1 American Horror Story: Cult
American Horror Story: Cult is the seventh season of the horror anthology television series American Horror Story. This season takes place in the fictional suburb of Brookfield Heights, Michigan, in 2017. Its focus is on a cult that terrorizes the residents during the aftermath of Donald Trump winning the 2016 U.S. presidential election. While this may be a fictional series, it is still extremely representative of real-life cults that take place, for example in episode nine, cult leader Kai Anderson discusses three cult mass suicides, which did in fact happen and were very real.
Kai also admires all the leaders mentioned from the various cults mentioned. He admires the loyalty they received and how they were able to inspire (or force) people to join. With a cult mass shooting, it definitely seems like viewers were getting a hint of what cults are really like, how it is to be a cult leader, and how things might turn bad pretty easily.