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The largest cult massacre in history -

On November 8, 1978, 909 American citizens, including 300 children, lost their lives in a settlement deep in the Guyanese jungle known as Jonestown. This massacre, the largest cult suicide in modern history, was the culmination of more than a decade of cult activity, brainwashing, violence, and secrecy.

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How did we get here? -

From an outside perspective, it can seem incomprehensible that nearly 1,000 people could be convinced to leave their homes, travel to South America to build a utopian settlement from scratch, and all either lose or sacrifice their lives within minutes of each other. To understand how this dark day in history could possibly occur, we must start from the beginning, with a man named Jim Jones.

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Who was Jim Jones? -

Jim Jones was the mastermind, leader, and perpetrator behind the Jonestown massacre and the Peoples Temple cult to which its victims belonged. From his humble origins in small-town Indiana, Jones became one of the most powerful and influential individuals in the United States, and remained virtually untouchable until his dying day.

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Destitute origins -

Born James Warren Jones on May 13, 1931 in Crete, Indiana, Jim Jones was neglected by his parents (not pictured) from a young age. His father was a severely disabled veteran of the Great War and his mother, according to biographers, possessed "no natural maternal instincts." Living in a shack with no plumbing or electricity, Jones was regularly forced to forage for food and rely on the kindness of neighbors.

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Early obsessions -

Those who looked after Jones, including neighbors and the wife of the local preacher, thought fondly of the boy but were deeply concerned with Jones' inability to make friends and his intense, religious obsession with death. Multiple residents interviewed recalled hearing rumors of young Jones frequently holding funerals for dead cats and dogs found around town, and even stabbing one cat to death before conducting its funeral service.

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Early obsessions -

As a young adult, Jones became paradoxically obsessed with the teachings of the Bible and typically atheist communist literature. As he continued to work towards becoming a preacher, he began attending Communist Party USA meetings, for which both he and his mother were investigated by the FBI. Jones was infuriated by the harsh treatment of communists during the post-World War II Red Scare. His distrust of the US government would persist throughout his life.

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Neighborhood preacher -

After a move to Indianapolis, Jones briefly served as a preacher for various Methodist and Pentecostal churches before discovering the Independent Assemblies of God (IAoG) movement, a branch of Pentecostalism that embraced racially integrated congregations and divine healing events. As an ordained preacher of the IAoG, Jones began to garner a loyal following of churchgoers who would trail Jones from sermon to sermon.

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A progressive preacher -

Jones successfully presented himself as a man of the people. He frequently touched on his poor upbringing and was fervently committed to issues of social and racial justice. While these views were looked down upon by many in the conservative Midwest, it drew a considerable crowd of Midwestern progressives who had, until Jones, nowhere to go.

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The first Peoples Temple -

By 1956, Jones had made a name for himself not only as a preacher, but as a prophet and a healer. Crowds for his healing events regularly numbered around 1,000. With a solid congregation behind him, Jones bought his first church building and officially opened the Wings of Deliverance church, quickly renamed the Peoples Temple Full Gospel Church.

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Jim Jones' Trojan horse -

Most experts agree that by this time Jones had privately fully renounced Christianity and was, in fact, a staunch atheist. No longer simply trying to relay the word of God, Jones was trying to, in his own words, "infiltrate the church" in order to "demonstrate his Marxism."

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Tightening control -

With the Peoples Temple firmly established, Jones preached the tenets of socialism under the guise of what he called "religious communalism." Pushing what he considered a socialist agenda, Jones stressed to his congregation the importance of community and equality. To eager ears, this was a noble agenda, but through these sermons, Jones quietly began to tighten his grip on his followers.

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Tightening control -

In the years following the foundation of the Temple, Jones began demanding more and more from his congregation in the name of community. It was required for all Temple members to spend holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas with their "Temple family" as opposed to their family outside of the church. Additionally, Jones started to offer a sort of trade deal in which Temple members would donate all of their possessions to the church, and in exchange the church would care for all of their needs.

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Visions of destruction -

Despite his success in Indiana, there were only so many people in the Midwest that were open to Jones' ideas. Knowing it was necessary for the survival of his infant cult to move on, Jones claimed to receive visions of imminent nuclear annihilation, and insisted that the church relocate to somewhere safer.

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The move to California -

After spending a year attempting to establish the Temple in Brazil, during which time the Temple's congregation shrunk to hardly 200 members, Jim Jones returned to his dwindling Indiana church. Acting quickly, Jones convinced 140 members of the Temple to move with him to a property in the Redwood Valley of Northern California.

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A rising force in California -

Removed from their families, the Peoples Temple congregation now relied on Jones more than ever in their new forest home. Jones recruited new members through his job teaching at an adult learning center in the nearby town of Ukiah. By 1969, the California Temple boasted more than 300 members.

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Apostolic socialism -

With his congregation now dependent on him alone, Jim Jones began preaching more honestly regarding his views and goals. He began preaching what he called "apostolic socialism." This novel ideology retained notions of messiahs and prophecies, but renounced conventional Christian views and claimed that "those who remained drugged with the opiate of religion had to be brought to enlightenment." According to Jones, that enlightenment was apostolic socialism.

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Apostolic socialism -

Jones began tearing down common Christian ideals one by one and painting the Bible as an oppressive tool against the members of the Peoples Temple. Jones referred to the Bible as a "paper idol," and claimed the King James Bible was a corrupted bastardization of the gospel created as a tool of oppression.

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Jim Jones, messiah -

Eventually, Jones began painting the Christian god as a "sky god," insinuating belief in such a being was barbaric and outdated. Instead, he insisted that he himself was God. Specifically, "God Socialist." A survivor of Jonestown famously quoted Jones as saying in one sermon, "What you need to believe in is what you can see.... If you see me as your friend, I'll be your friend. As you see me as your father, I'll be your father, for those of you that don't have a father.... If you see me as your savior, I'll be your savior. If you see me as your God, I'll be your God."

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Life in the Peoples Temple -

By 1971, the Peoples Temple had gained a strong foothold in the metropolitan centers of California and was headquartered in San Francisco. Temple membership grazed 3,000, with an additional 33,000 individuals subscribed to the Temple's newsletter.

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Life in the Peoples Temple -

The life of a Temple member was becoming increasingly controlled by Jones and his inner circle, known as the Planning Commission. No longer offered as an option, all members who moved to the Ukiah commune were required to hand over all of their worldly possessions, and members living in metropolitan areas were often required to relinquish most, if not all, of their income.

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Tools of control -

It was during these first years in San Francisco that secrecy amongst the inner circle and abuses carried out by or on the behalf of Jones became commonplace. Members perceived as critical of Jones were denied proper food rations and were often publicly humiliated by Jones and other Temple members. Jones was also reported to have required sexual favors of numerous male and female members of his congregation to show their loyalty, and also, for reasons unknown, claimed that he was the only true heterosexual on Earth.

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Jones' absolute authority -

As these types of occurrences became more commonplace, Jones, through his sermons and with the help of the Planning Commission, disseminated a feeling of paranoia through his followers, claiming that mysterious enemies outside of the Temple were coming to bring down their community, and that he prophesied death for any defectors. As an added precaution, Jones employed some of his most loyal followers as armed guards, acting as a de facto militia.

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Public services, care for the needy -

A major aspect of the Temple's agenda that saved them from public scrutiny for so long was their outward commitment to social justice. Temple members regularly participated in rent strikes, food drives, and even operated a number of old folks homes. These acts of public service ensured that Jones and the Temple stayed in the good graces of the public and local politicians.

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The first defectors -

But of course, it was only a matter of time before the ugly insides of the Temple started to seep through the cracks of its philanthropic facade. In 1973, eight young member of the Temple ran from San Francisco towards Montana, avoiding major highways under the assumption Jones would give chase. Jones did, in fact, send out multiple search parties, including a chartered plane, but the "Gang of Eight" were never found. This failure apparently threw Jones into fits of anger and violence directed towards the Planning Commission.

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The bane of investigative reporting -

There were many in the public who suspected something dastardly was going on behind the scenes, and local California publications soon began to investigate the inner workings of the Temple. On numerous occasions, Jim Jones' miracle working was proven to be a hoax, and one particularly scathing exposé penned by one Lester Kinsolving alluded to the heretical teachings and patterns of abuse that occurred behind closed doors.

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The tides change -

By the mid 1970s, the Temple was under fire from multiple sides. Journalists were swaying public and political opinion away from what was being seen more and more as cult. Additionally, the Concerned Relatives group, made up of defectors as well as the friends and family of Temple members who worried that their loved ones were being subjected to abuse but felt unsafe to speak out, started picketing in front of Temple sites demanding to see their loved ones and accusing Jones and his inner circle of human rights abuses.

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The formation of Jonestown -

Jim Jones had become increasingly paranoid over the course of the 1970s, and with the help of the Planning Commission concocted an escape plan. They sourced and procured a patch of land in the northern jungles of the small South American country of Guyana and began planning their "socialist paradise." By 1978, nearly 900 Temple members had made the move to Jonestown.

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Worsening drug abuse -

Haunted by the allegations closing in on him, Jim Jones fell further and further into the drug abuse that he had been struggling with since the Temple's move to San Francisco. By many accounts, Jones had already lost half his mind by the time he arrived in Jonestown.

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Life in Jonestown -

Jonestown was a far cry from the socialist utopia Temple members were promised. Members worked 12 hours a day, six days a week, and were required to attend Jones' increasingly rambling and paranoid sermons every evening. Food and clean water was scarce, and Jones' paranoia seeped into the atmosphere of the entire settlement. Everyone spied on everyone else, terrified of possible defectors who could bring the always vague "enemy" to their doorstep.

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Physical and psychological abuse -

In his drug-induced hysteria, Jones required more and more from his now-captive cult congregation. Members suspected of faltering in loyalty were made to fight in seemingly endless boxing matches with other members. Jones also took to rambling constantly, either live or over recorded tape, nearly 24 hours a day over the settlement's speaker system, driving members close to exhaustion and madness.

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Practice rituals and white nights -

The infamous "white nights" also became a common part of life in Jonestown. White nights were spontaneous drills carried out by Jones and his inner circle to test the preparedness and loyalty of the cult's captives. More than once, Jones convinced his cult to line up and drink what they were told was poisoned Flavor-Aid, a Kool-Aid knockoff. Only after 45 minutes had passed would Jones tell his weeping congregation that it was only a test, there were no "mercenaries" at their door, nor was there poison in their cups. Not yet, at least; Jones was sure to keep the people of Jonestown on their toes.

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Congressman Leo Ryan -

Humoring the incessant requests of the Concerned Relatives and other members of the community, California congressman Leo Ryan (pictured) agreed to visit Jonestown to gather a firsthand account of conditions in the commune.

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Journey to Jonestown -

On November 17, 1978, Congressman Ryan arrived at the Port Kaituma airstrip in northern Guyana, about six miles (10 km) from Jonestown, along with reporters, cameramen, and four members of the Concerned Relatives. While initially resisted, the group was allowed into Jonestown and were met by a dazzling show of happiness and freedom, including dancing, feasts, and music.

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The facade falls apart -

The charade seemed to be a success, until two children, Vernon Gosney and Monica Bagby, passed a note to one of the visitors they had mistaken for the Congressman, begging for help escaping Jonestown. After that, everything changed. Ryan confronted Jones about the note, who chalked it up to "liars playing tricks." This brazen admission of terror and captivity sent Jonestown into a frenzy, with other individuals pleading to Ryan for rescue. The Congressman took Gosney, Bagby, and a select few other captives with him as they rushed back to the airstrip for evacuation.

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Murder in Port Kaituma -

Jones immediately sent out members of his armed militia after the Congressman's party. Once back at the airstrip, Ryan, the press crew, and the escapees found themselves under heavy gunfire coming from the trailer of a tractor, filled with Temple militiamen. Congressman Ryan, cameraman Greg Robinson (pictured right), reporter Don Harris, escapee Patricia Parks, and cameraman Bob Brown were all killed on the airstrip. Nine others, including journalist Tim Reiterman (pictured left), were seriously injured.

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The final ritual and the death tape -

While the massacre on the airstrip was taking place, Jim Jones gathered his captive congregation under the pavilion where his lectures and sermons usually took place. As was the case for all of Jones' lectures, the tape recorder was rolling, and Jones can be heard telling the people of Jonestown that they were reaching the end of their journey. The outside world would never let them get away with the murder of a congressman, he told them, and it was time for them to commit the ultimate "revolutionary act." On the tape, numerous members can be heard protesting and trying to reason with Jones, insisting that there must be some other way.

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The "Kool-Aid" -

Jones assured his victims that there was no other way, and ordered over 900 cult members to line up and drink the now-infamous "Kool-Aid" laced with cyanide. Children were administered the concoction first, and adults afterwards. Some drank their fate willingly, others had to be restrained and injected.

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The end of the tragedy -

It didn't take long for the cyanide to pull the life out of the bodies of the 907 victims of the Jonestown massacre. The last two to die were Jim Jones himself, and his personal nurse and lover Annie Moore, who had been administering Jones' extensive daily drug cocktails. By all accounts, Moore shot Jones in the head before turning the gun on herself, bringing the final death toll to 909.

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The aftermath -

The massacre at Jonestown has gone down in history as one of the most harrowing events of the 20th century, the most destructive cult tragedy in history, and one of the single largest instances of the loss of American lives. It made the world at large reconsider the definition of a cult, the danger of hero worship, and the fragility of the human mind in the face of evil.

Sources: (History) (Rolling Stone) (Britannica)

See also: The weirdest and most shocking cults of all time

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