Heaven's Gate Mass Suicide

Heaven's Gate was a UFO religious movement founded in the early 1970s by Marshall Applewhite (known as 'Do') and Bonnie Nettles (known as 'Ti'). The group believed that human bodies were containers for souls, that Earth was about to be 'recycled', and that salvation lay in leaving the planet aboard a spacecraft.

In March 1997, as the Hale-Bopp comet made its closest approach to Earth, Applewhite and 38 followers participated in a carefully planned mass suicide in a rented mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, California. Members were found in matching outfits with purple shrouds, having consumed phenobarbital mixed with applesauce. Each had packed a bag for the journey they believed they were taking.

The event remains the largest mass suicide on US soil. Surviving members, who were not at the house that night, have continued to maintain the group's website and beliefs. The case raises profound questions about religious freedom, the psychology of belief, and how ordinary people enter high-control groups. Glynn Washington's podcast Heaven's Gate, featuring interviews with surviving members, is widely considered the definitive audio account.