Manhattan Cult Story

“We were invisible. We had to be. We took an oath of absolute secrecy. We never even told our immediate families who we were. We went about our lives in New York City. Just like you. We were your accountants, money managers, lawyers, executive recruiters, doctors. We owned your child’s private school and sold you your brownstone. But you’d never guess our secret lives, how we lived in a kind of silent terror and fervor. There were hundreds of us.” Right under the noses of neighbors, clients, spouses, children, and friends, a secret society, simply called School—a cult of snared Manhattan professionals—has been led by the charismatic, sociopathic and dangerous leader Sharon Gans for decades. Spencer Schneider was recruited in the eighties and he stayed for more than twenty-three years as his life disintegrated, his self-esteem eroded, and he lined the pockets of Gans and her cult. Cult members met twice weekly, though they never acknowledged one another outside of meetings or gatherings. In the name of inner development, they endured the horrors of mental, sexual, and physical abuse, forced labor, arranged marriages, swindled inheritances and savings, and systematic terrorizing. Some of them broke the law. All for Gans. “During those years,” Schneider writes, “my world was School. That’s what it’s like when you’re in a cult, even one that preys on and caters to New York’s educated elite. This is my story of how I got entangled in School and how I got out.” At its core, Manhattan Cult Story is a cautionary tale of how hundreds of well-educated, savvy, and prosperous New Yorkers became fervent followers of a brilliant but demented cult leader who posed as a teacher of ancient knowledge. It’s about double-lives, the power of group psychology, and how easy it is to be radicalized—all too relevant in today's atmosphere of conspiracy and ideologue worship.

During Thanksgiving vacation of her freshman year at Swarthmore College (1977), Elizabeth, at her mother's insistence, attended a "stress-reduction" session with a biofeedback technician on staff at a Manhattan psychologist's office. During that first visit, this man filled her ears with prophetic visions of a glorious future--the inheritance of those fortunate few who might choose to accompany him. His confidence and charisma entranced her, and she soon recruited two of her college roommates. When the psychologist fired his assistant two years later, Elizabeth and her mother followed. Over the next decade, this man, a malevolent genius and master of manipulating metaphysical concepts to benefit a self-serving agenda, organized a small, dedicated band of followers. "The Group" evolved into an incestuous family--a cult. Their brainwashed minds became fused with a distinctive, New Age doctrine. A coterie of spiritual "Navy Seals", they scrambled in terror, training to survive the inevitable cataclysm--one man's divine vision of Armageddon. Subsequent to a momentous event in August 1994, with the guru as high priest, "The Black Dog Religion" was born. Elizabeth sank into a pit of despair, darker than she ever could have imagined was possible. From the adolescent gullibility which seduced her astray, to the enlightenment which led her to freedom, you will travel an incredible journey. For anyone who has ever been trapped by a person who would not let them go, within this book lies a message of hope.

Misunderstanding Cults provides a uniquely balanced contribution to what has become a highly polarized area of study. Working towards a moderate "third path" in the heated debate over new religious movements or cults, this collection includes contributions from both scholars who have been characterized as "anticult" and those characterized as "cult-apologists." The study incorporates multiple viewpoints as well as a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives, with the stated goal of depolarizing the discussion over alternative religious movements. A prominent section within the book focuses explicitly on the issue of scholarly objectivity and the danger of partisanship in the study of cults. The collection also includes contributions on the controversial and much misunderstood topic of brainwashing, as well as discussions of cult violence, children brought up in unconventional religious movements, and the conflicts between alternative religious movements and their critics. Unique in its breadth, this is the first study of new religious movements to address the main points of controversy within the field while attempting to find a middle ground between opposing camps of scholarship.

Blue Öyster Cult On Track is a song-by-song analysis of the discography of Long Island’s greatest sons, the Blue Öyster Cult. Dubbed 'the thinking man’s heavy metal band' and celebrated by critics, fans and musicians since their debut album in 1972, the band carved a unique path in hard rock history by combining chops, humour, occultism, poetry, jazz chords and pop sensibilities. Best known for their FM radio hits '(Don’t Fear) The Reaper' and 'Burnin’ For You', Blue Öyster Cult’s discography is in fact a treasure trove of fascinating, ever-evolving music by a band that was never afraid to explore, and never had the slightest respect for genre boundaries. The band's influence stretches from seminal metal bands like Metallica to cult act like Current 93 and their music has been heard in movies like Scream and Halloween and has been quoted by Stephen King. This book combines the author’s analyses of Blue Öyster Cult’s songs with insights from band members and people who worked with the band through the years. It is the ultimate companion for a deep dive into the catalogue of a band whose music is both inscrutable, fascinating and rewarding. From the canonized first four albums through their controversial 80s output and all the way to their revitalization and comeback in the late 90s, this book treats every era of the band with equal respect. Jacob Holm-Lupo is a Norwegian musician and journalist. He has covered culture, music and movies for magazines since 2001, and he has been a recording artist with, among others, his own progressive rock band White Willow since 1995. He runs his own recording studio from his home on a small island in the Oslo fjord where he lives with his wife, two children, several Italian cars and a dog. He has been Norway’s no. 1 Blue Öyster Cult fan since 1984.

What’s scarier than a murderer? Someone with the charisma to compel others to kill for them . . . or to kill themselves. Meet these cult leaders—and get an inside look at their beliefs and how they controlled others. Some cults, led by leaders like Charlie Manson, Jim Jones, and David Koresh, are notorious. But others are less well known, such as Shoko Asahara and his doomsday cult, Aum Shinrikyo, who orchestrated the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. Or Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret, who founded the Order of the Solar Temple, a doomsday cult that led to the death of 51 members by murder or suicide. Then there is Marshall Applewhite, leader of Heaven’s Gate, who, along with 38 followers, killed themselves in the belief that the Hale-Bopp comet signaled the arrival of a spaceship that would transport them to a higher plane of existence. What makes cult leaders so compelling is their often-unfathomable power over their adherents. Why do people kill others or themselves for a questionable set of beliefs? Killer Cults tells the stories behind both famous and unfamiliar cults, and the people behind them. Across a series of profiles, we learn the jaw-dropping truth behind some of the most mystifying and deadly cults, and their leaders, all of whom led their followers down a dark, murderous path.

The Secret Behind Our Perceptions Finally Revealed! Why do we gravitate to products endorsed by celebrities? Why does time seem to go by faster as we get older? Why are some athletes perpetual winners and others losers? Exploring the brain’s ability to interpret and make sense of the world, Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler describes how your perception can be reality or fantasy and how to separate the two, which is the basis of improving your Perceptual Intelligence (PI). With concrete examples and case studies, Dr. Brian (as he’s known to his patients) explains why our senses do not always match reality and how we can influence the world around us through perceptions, inward and outward. By fine-tuning your PI, you can better understand what’s really going on and make more insightful decisions in your life.

How much money is enough? How powerful do you want to be? And what price will it extract from you? An intriguing, powerful and hard-hitting novel set in the world of big money and big deals, written by a leading business insider. Charles lives in the testosterone-driven, high-powered, brutal world of investment banking. It is a world dominated by deals, bonuses, bravado and savagery. Charles is a master of this world. Each day he shrugs on a metaphorical suit of armour and goes out into a dog-eat-dog world to accumulate power and make money. He's a man who is familiar with casual brutality - his childhood saw to that. But there is a price to pay. Now, at the peak of his career, his armour is rusted and bloodstained and no longer protecting him the way it once did. He finds himself empty. Always cold. No friends. A family that is falling apart. Over the course of two days, everything in Charles' life comes into question. His carefully constructed world is starting to splinter - and he's splintering too. Shocking and at times immensely moving, Man in Armour is a compelling story of a man at the end of his tether, written with a sharp-eyed, incisive focus that also carries real emotional - and moral - resonance. Written by an ultimate business insider - a woman who knows intimately and at first hand this world of power, money and deal-making - this novel carries an undeniable authenticity and force. 'The detailed setting of the finance world - the highs and lows, cutthroat practices and relentless pace -is vividly rendered ... Man in Armour is very readable' Bookseller+Publisher 'There's no doubt McKenna can write a page-turner' Sydney Morning Herald

After her dad suddenly dies, teenage Saskia gets a crash course in growing up in the gritty glamour of 1970s New York. Her now downwardly mobile family moves to the seedy Upper West Side. Their mom becomes increasingly nihilistic and embarks on a sexual walkabout, which costs her the trust of her two eldest kids who run away to join the Sullivanian cult. Ex-communicated by her siblings, Saskia becomes her mom's mom. High school becomes all about getting high at school as Saskia struggles with grieving, hapless crushes, fixing her family and the desire to be loved. This witty, heart-breaking but ultimately affirming coming of age novel doubles as a love letter to a Manhattan of an edgier era, that speaks to the chaos of closure and the satisfaction of self-determination.