America's Craziest Cult Sites

Did you know that Naples, FL was founded by a cult? Well, sorta. But not really. In 1894, the "Hollow Earth" cult of the Koreshan Unity Foundation, which founded the Koreshan Cult State Park, settled near what's now Naples. The cult believed the Earth was hollow and humans lived inside it...and there's also a sun at its core, obviously.

Members would walk Naples' beaches and measure the ground's curvatures with a machine they built called the "rectilineator." Today, you can visit the cult's homestead, complete with Koreshan unity buildings, houses and a general store.

Cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh fled India (after his original cult there got a nasty reputation for prostitution and drug running) and landed in our great land of opportunity... to start another cult.

After a brief stay in NJ Rajneesh took to the west coast for greener pastures for cult building. His 10 followers, heavily armed guard, and 1.5 million dollars headed to Oregon, where he started buying up the town of Antelope. His followers quickly took political power and renamed the town to “Rajneesh.” Oh, and they legalized nudity in the city parks, because, cult.

The “town’s” population swelled as did Rajneesh’s bankroll. His 5,000 followers lined his pockets with roughly 100 million dollars. Despite spending thousands on a massive movie collection and enough nitrous oxide to put down a horse (he even bought a $12,000 dentist chair) Rajneesh still had enough money to buy 2 Rolls Royces a month.

To no one’s surprise, Rajneesh’s commune came crashing down in the mid-80s as the cult attempted to rig a county election. Rajneesh was arrested and deported back to India. He changed his name to Osho and finally kicked the bucket in 1990 in Poona, India.

Manson and the early members of his "family" of drugged-up, runaway hippies lived at this house while trying to get more recruits. However, he found it hard to compete with other hippie cults and later moved the Manson Family to Southern California, where things took a turn for the deadly...

NOTE: The home is now a private residence, so please don't be disruptive or trespass.

Manson convinced more to join his "Family"... and eventually murder 7 people in the late 1960s, including the wife of Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate. Today you can visit the former location of the Manson Family ranch here at the former Spahn Movie Ranch.