Documentaries On Cults?

Sean Trane wrote: SteveG wrote: The thing that is disturbing to me how close a cult is to the "safer" organized religions. There is only a small step between the two in some instances. Religions are cults & sects that succeeded to the upper echelon of deceptiveness of gullible souls.

I don't like to tar all religions with the same brush. That's acting no better than those of the most intolerable of religions.

One particular occult related story that is not covered on a YouTube video..is the story of the Bahia Vista...The Sandcastle in Egg Harbor Township N.J. It's structure was like a mansion /castle combined . F.W. Woolworth left the place to his sister Grace Hutton Middleton and his granddaughter Barbara Hutton used to visit ..spending time there....although this is the basic information you'll find everywhere on the internet...some people dispute this information.


In the 70s and 80s it was a night club. For a time it was called "Fire & Ice". One night I pulled in to check the place out. When I walked in I saw the staff dressed in black hooded cloaks and immediately thought it was some kind of gimmick or sales attraction pitch ...but at that moment I realized it wasn't Halloween ..so I had to rule that out.


I thought.." Why are these people dressed like this?" "How would this be a way of doing business?" One of the staff members conversed with me about Barbara Hutton. He said that the room at the top of the castle was the "Spirit Room " and that Barbara Hutton spent hours in the Spirit Room communicating with the dead. I had heard this story before and people have said it's merely an urban legend.

I noticed black mirrors throughout the castle . Probably no more than 5 or 6. ..but this has been disputed by others. About an hour later I in the parking lot loading instruments into my car when this strange girl showed up. She just stood there stroking a rodent. She was wearing a black cloak and holding a rat. Not something so uncommon to see when you attend "Mystery School "...

I just wanted to get out of there. Everyone was wearing occult jewelry...symbols..I thought it was mysterious, but I never believed in the Easter Bunny..so why should I believe in this.


These people acted delusional. It wasn't Halloween. It wasn't a Metal Club..so if it wasn't a gimmick..what was it ? A cult? It wasn't good and I left quickly. It was a nightmare

Hugh Manatee wrote: verslibre wrote: CosmicVibration wrote: Saw several but do not remember the names of most of them.  Last one was the documentary on Scientology. Never thought Scientology as a cult until I saw that documentary.  If even half of what was portrayed is true, then yea, it’s a cult. Scientology is ultimate proof of how vulnerable some minds are. That organization is a malignancy on the human landscape. Sadly, some exceptional musicians (like Stanley Clarke, and Chick Corea) have been Scientologists. ...and Beck and Isaac Hayes and Johhny Winters and Leonard Cohen(!)...

Sean Trane wrote: SteveG wrote: The thing that is disturbing to me how close a cult is to the "safer" organized religions. There is only a small step between the two in some instances. Religions are cults & sects that succeeded to the upper echelon of deceptiveness of gullible souls.

CosmicVibration wrote: Saw several but do not remember the names of most of them.  Last one was the documentary on Scientology. Never thought Scientology as a cult until I saw that documentary.  If even half of what was portrayed is true, then yea, it’s a cult.

SteveG wrote: The thing that is disturbing to me how close a cult is to the "safer" organized religions. There is only a small step between the two in some instances.

Hi,

Atavachron wrote: I don't understand cults (even though I was kind of in a small one)--  much like religion or extreme politics, it seems to attract people most in search of a direction and cause.   It's sad.   You can make your own cause, and it will be far better than some group with a hierarchy of misled misfit whack-offs.

The problem I have with occult documentaries is basically the mistrust I have in journalism. Newspapers are the main source for occult related crimes, ritualistic killings, yet much of the history is covered up and with several documented cases. Perhaps to protect the reputation of a town? ...or someone rich with power had a son or daughter that got mixed up with a cult and as it turns out...the only way to protect their family's reputation is to not reveal a certain theory and settling for an easier one which places the blame on the times we were living in. LSD, Rock Music, and Horror films lured our youth into the occult.


This is what I experienced in the early 70s: My friends and I went camping at Menantico , Crystal, and other wooded areas in Vineland NJ..or we just went there to party. To feel free. First we would hear chanting. Then we would hear drums..but they were actually oil barrels. We would hide and watch them. They wore robes and masks and were beyond creepy.

About a year later I read in the Vineland Times Journal that a young man asked his two closest friends to bound his hands and feet...walk him into "Clear Pond " at Menantico and die violently so that he could return as a captain to rule over 40 leagues of demons.

His two friends admitted right away to the killing. The defense went for "suicide with assistance " and the newspapers attributed it to the influence of LSD, Rock Music, and Horror films. Charles Pangburn, chief of police confiscated evidence that he refused to reveal at the inquest. The inquest into widespread cultic activity in the Vineland area.


Somewhere he had information or an idea that a large group of people witnessed the young man's sacrifice. He began interrogating a group of people who belonged to the Chestnut Assembly Of God church. There was "Duo Worship " tied into their beliefs. They worshipped God and Satan. He continued to hammer on them but he couldn't prove they were present during the ritual with physical evidence.


The newspapers continued to report that Charles Pangburn refused to divulge his evidence. He then interrogated people living in Vineland who had revolted against the Church Of Satan. Supposedly they were part of a group that Lilith Sinclair was forming..which in 1972 became the "Temple Of Set" on the East coast of the U.S.


One of the victim's friends when advised of his rights stated that the victim belonged to a Satan worshippers sect. It doesn't make sense. A sect is a small group. Charles Pangburn was after a large group...which makes more sense to me because I saw from a distance a large gathering wearing masks. In the summer of 1971 , shortly after the sacrifice at Menantico...an amount of 80 to 90 teenagers belonging to different Satan cults had been converted to Christianity and they gave their testimonies in Landis Park in Vineland. They denied knowing the victim from the Menantico cult and several of them belonged to other Satan cults. This is briefly covered in the N.Y. Times and is attributed to LSD


Many of the newspaper articles on this case are obsolete and only two newspaper articles are accessible on the internet. The ritual has been referred to in the past as the "One Hundred Year Ritual " and it had been stated by people I knew that the exact same ritual took place in the Cumberland County area in 1871. Although..I've never been able to confirm this.


Charles Pangburn was persistent in his belief that a wealthy organization was behind the young man's sacrifice at Menantico. A Christian community moved to Vineland and Christians followed us when we walked home from school. They were very clear and persistent in warning us. They would ask if anyone had tried to talk us into joining a cult. They asked us if we knew anyone in a cult. They kept warning us and insisting that we reveal it to them so they could report back to the police. Now why do you think they'd be so determined to know that? Everyday they approached us and questioned us. Why?


This is why I have a problem with the publications industry. Most of what I experienced has never been covered by a newspaper. It was only hinted. The day the newspapers hit the pavement..a few of my friends called me on the phone and said that a lot of it was being covered up. I tend to agree. This is why I can't possibly put faith in occult documentaries. They don't mean to hide the truth necessarily but they do perpetuate what certain characters are paid to say and that's quite imposing to me.



Edited by Jacob Schoolcraft - April 05 2022 at 18:47

Wild Wild Country is the other one I liked.