In the dim twilight of March 26, 1997, a chilling wind swept through the quiet suburbs of Rancho Santa Fe, where an enigmatic presence shrouded a seemingly ordinary house. It was a house like any other, nestled beneath the watchful gaze of Heaven’s Gate. A peculiar name associated with an American new religious movement that had captured the imaginations of many.
The journey to this ominous night had begun over two decades earlier when two individuals, Bonnie Nettles and Marshall Applewhite, embarked on an otherworldly quest. They declared themselves the two witnesses of Revelation, their calling resonating with seekers of spiritual enlightenment.
As the movement’s founders, they bore the names Ti and Do, and in their wake, they amassed a devoted following that swelled into the hundreds during the mid-1970s.
But as time passed, the movement evolved, or perhaps devolved, into something far more cryptic and chilling. In 1976, a core group emerged from the midst of their believers, shunning recruitment and embracing a monastic existence. It was as if the doors to Heaven’s Gate had been sealed, and only the chosen few would be privy to the celestial secrets held within.
Scholars attempting to decipher the enigma of Heaven’s Gate discovered a complex tapestry of beliefs woven from threads of Christian millenarianism, New Age mysticism, and ufology. This amalgamation gave rise to a belief system that defied conventional understanding. The central tenet of the group asserted that followers could transcend their humanity and become immortal extraterrestrial beings. Their ultimate destination was a realm they referred to as the “Next Level” or “The Evolutionary Level Above Human.”
Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles started the Heaven’s Gate cult in the early 1970s.
The death of Bonnie Nettles in 1985 cast a shadow over the group’s esoteric doctrine. With their spiritual guide gone, the faithful grappled with an altered perspective. The once-held belief in ascending to heaven aboard a UFO while alive waned, replaced by a notion that the human body was nothing more than a “container” for the soul.
The followers now clung to the hope that their consciousness would be transferred to new “Next Level bodies” only in the throes of death.
The culmination of this extraordinary journey lay in a quiet suburban house on that fateful night in 1997. Deputies from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department stumbled upon a scene that defied imagination.
In the dimly lit interiors, the lifeless bodies of 39 individuals, disciples of Heaven’s Gate, lay in repose. Among them was the charismatic Marshall Applewhite, whose once-piercing eyes now held a vacant stare.
The house had become the setting for a meticulously coordinated series of ritual suicides, an eerie culmination that coincided with the celestial ballet of Comet Hale–Bopp. The comet’s luminous presence overhead mirrored the group’s solemn departure from this earthly realm.
It was as if the heavens witnessed this strange and unsettling act.
In the moments preceding the mass suicide, the group’s website was updated with an ominous message that sent shivers down the spines of those who encountered it: “Hale–Bopp brings closure to Heaven’s Gate…our 22 years of classroom here on planet Earth is finally coming to a conclusion—’graduation’ from the Human Evolutionary Level. We are happily prepared to leave ‘this world’ and go with Ti’s crew.”
What Was The Heaven’s Gate?
Marshall Applewhite, a man of intriguing contradictions, found himself on an extraordinary path in the early 1970s. The son of a Presbyterian minister and a former soldier, his life took a peculiar turn after a controversial exit from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. The allegations of an improper relationship with a male student cast a shadow over his academic career, pushing him into the realm of biblical prophecy and spiritual exploration.
It was in March 1972 that he crossed paths with a woman who would forever alter the course of his life. Bonnie Nettles, a 44-year-old married nurse with a fascination for theosophy and biblical prophecy, entered his world. The circumstances of their first meeting remain shrouded in mystery, with conflicting accounts. Applewhite’s writings suggest a chance encounter in a hospital, where she worked and he was visiting a sick friend. Some speculated it was a psychiatric hospital, while others believed Nettles substituted for a nurse in a nursery for premature babies. Applewhite, in later recollection, felt an uncanny familiarity with Nettles, a sense that they had known each other in a past life. She claimed that extraterrestrials had foretold their meeting, convincing him of a divine mission.
Each body found in the mansion was draped in a purple cloth and adorned with black and white Nike sneakers.
As they delved deeper into the mysteries of existence, Applewhite and Nettles immersed themselves in the teachings of visionaries such as St. Francis of Assisi, Helena Blavatsky, R. D. Laing, and Richard Bach. They pored over the King James Bible, focusing on passages from the New Testament that explored Christology, asceticism, and eschatology. Their quest for knowledge extended to the realms of science fiction, with works by Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke providing fuel for their imaginations.
By June 19, 1972, their beliefs had crystallized into a conviction that they were chosen to fulfill biblical prophecies. In a pamphlet, they boldly declared the reincarnation of Jesus as a Texan, a cryptic reference to Applewhite himself. They also asserted their identity as the two witnesses described in the Book of Revelation, often addressing themselves as “The Two” or “The UFO Two.” Their grand vision included a belief that they would be killed, resurrected, and then transported onto a spaceship in an event they cryptically referred to as “the Demonstration.”
Their revelations, however, were met with skepticism and rejection by other religious groups, leaving Applewhite and Nettles to tread a lonely path. In May 1974, they found their first follower in Sharon Morgan, who left her children behind to join their cause. A month later, Morgan departed, returning to her family, but not without legal entanglements. Applewhite and Nettles faced charges of credit card fraud for using Morgan’s cards, despite her consent. The charges were eventually dropped, but a past crime resurfaced—Applewhite had stolen a rental car from St. Louis nine months prior, which he still possessed. This led to his six-month incarceration primarily in Missouri, where he had time to reflect on their extraordinary journey.
Upon his release in early 1975, Applewhite rejoined Nettles, and they decided to embark on a mission to contact extraterrestrial beings. With their newfound purpose, they sought like-minded followers, often using advertisements to attract those willing to partake in a cosmic experiment. In April 1975, a meeting with a metaphysical group in Los Angeles proved pivotal, as they revealed their divine status as the two witnesses in the Bible’s end-time story. This charismatic display swayed around 25 individuals to join their cause.
In September of that year, Applewhite and Nettles preached at a motel in Oregon, where they encouraged their followers to renounce their worldly possessions and say farewell to their loved ones. Approximately 20 people vanished from the public eye, having committed to the group’s unorthodox beliefs. As the disappearances made headlines, with Walter Cronkite reporting on CBS Evening News, the mystery surrounding their fate deepened.
With the group now underground, Applewhite and Nettles led nearly one hundred members across the country, living in tents and sleeping bags, while surviving by begging on the streets. Their quest focused on helping their followers attain a “higher evolutionary level,” a state they claimed to have already reached.
As their group evolved, they adopted various aliases, including “Bo and Peep” and “Do and Ti,” before settling on the name Heaven’s Gate. Their belief system was a complex blend of millennialism, Gnosticism, and science fiction, with Applewhite perceiving himself as the “Present Representative” of Christ on Earth. He believed that he was directly linked to Jesus, a notion that resonated deeply within the group.
Comet Hale-Bopp, which the Heaven’s Gate cult members believed was their ticket to an alien spaceship.
Throughout their journey, Applewhite and Nettles used a variety of recruitment methods, gathering followers who sought a communal path to higher existence, free from the constraints of institutionalized faith. They preached the gospel of higher-level metamorphosis, proclaiming that they represented beings from another planet—the Next Level.
By April 1976, the group ceased recruitment and became reclusive, instituting strict behavioral guidelines that included abstinence from sexual activity and drug use. Applewhite and Nettles solidified their authority as temporal and spiritual leaders, and their movement transformed into a centralized religious entity akin to a roving monastery.
During this period, a cultural milieu of spiritual seekers and those seeking alternatives to traditional faiths facilitated the growth of new religious movements. This trend, often referred to as “Sheilaism,” allowed individuals to meld their diverse religious backgrounds into a shared, generalized faith, which attracted followers like those in Applewhite’s group.
With “UFO followers” joining from various backgrounds, a sense of communal belonging fueled their quest for a higher existence, guided by the enigmatic leaders, “Do and Ti.” This collective pursuit of transcendence was the crucible in which Heaven’s Gate was forged.
Their journey, guided by this unconventional belief system, would ultimately culminate in an extraordinary act tied to the appearance of Comet Hale–Bopp. Rumors swirled that the comet held the key to their salvation and ascent into the kingdom of heaven, setting the stage for the final, enigmatic chapter of the Heaven’s Gate saga.
Although Heaven’s Gate remained largely obscure in mainstream media, it gained recognition within UFO circles. Its beliefs and practices piqued the interest of sociologist Robert Balch, who conducted a series of academic studies on the group.
In January 1994, the LA Weekly featured an article about the group when they were still known as “The Total Overcomers.” Richard Ford, who would later play a pivotal role in the group’s 1997 mass suicide, discovered Heaven’s Gate through this article. Eventually, he joined their ranks and adopted the name Rio DiAngelo.
The presence of Heaven’s Gate in the public consciousness increased as Art Bell, the host of Coast to Coast AM, discussed the theory of a “companion object” alongside Comet Hale–Bopp on his radio programs as early as November 1996. Some have speculated whether Bell’s broadcasts influenced the group’s decision to carry out their mass suicide. However, it’s worth noting that Dan Friesen, the host of Knowledge Fight, attributes more blame to Courtney Brown for Heaven’s Gate’s actions rather than Art Bell.
Louis Theroux, a BBC2 documentary series host, contacted Heaven’s Gate for his show “Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends” in early March 1997. In response to his inquiry, Heaven’s Gate informed him that they could not participate in the documentary because they needed to focus on other matters. This enigmatic group remained elusive, even when faced with media attention and inquiries.
The Disturbing Beliefs of the Heaven’s Gate Cult
Scholars have debated whether the theology of Heaven’s Gate is primarily rooted in the New Age movement or Christianity. Benjamin Zeller has argued that the group’s theology was primarily rooted in Evangelicalism but incorporated New Age elements and a hermeneutic interpretation of the Bible read through the lens of extraterrestrial contact.
Initially, Heaven’s Gate believed that they would undergo biological and chemical transformations to become extraterrestrial beings. They anticipated being transported to heaven aboard a spacecraft that would come to Earth. This heavenly realm was referred to as the “Next Level.” However, when Bonnie Lou Nettles (Ti) passed away from cancer in 1985, the group’s doctrine faced a challenge. Nettles was believed to have been chosen by the Next Level as a messenger on Earth, yet her physical body had died instead of ascending to outer space. Consequently, their belief system was revised to include the concept that leaving one’s physical body was equivalent to leaving Earth in a spacecraft.
The group declared that they were against suicide, defining “suicide” in their context as “turning against the Next Level when it is being offered.” They believed that their human bodies were merely “vehicles” meant to assist them on their journey. According to their perspective, suicide meant not allowing their consciousness to leave their human bodies to join the Next Level, and remaining alive instead of participating in the group suicide was considered “suicide” of their consciousness. When referring to a person or their body, they routinely used the term “vehicle.”
Members of the group adopted three-letter names with the suffix -ody, which signified “children of the Next Level.” All members were required to give up all human-like characteristics, including family, friends, gender, sexuality, individuality, jobs, money, and possessions, in order to be eligible for membership in the Next Level.
Heaven’s Gate believed that the “Evolutionary Level Above Human” (TELAH) was a physical place in another world in our universe where residents lived in a state of pure bliss. They nourished themselves by absorbing pure sunlight and did not engage in activities such as sexual intercourse, eating, or dying, which were considered “mammalian” characteristics. The group believed that the entity referred to as God in the Bible was, in reality, a highly developed extraterrestrial.
A body of a victim of Heaven’s gate
The group’s theology also included the belief that evil space aliens, known as Luciferians, falsely presented themselves to Earthlings as “God” and conspired to hinder human development. These aliens, described as technologically advanced humanoids, possessed spacecraft, space-time travel, telepathy, and increased longevity. They used holograms to stage false miracles and were considered carnal beings with gender. Heaven’s Gate believed that all existing religions on Earth had been corrupted by these malevolent aliens.
While the core beliefs of the group remained relatively consistent, “the details of their ideology were flexible enough to undergo modification over time.” They made adjustments to their beliefs, such as altering the way to enter the Next Level, changing how they described themselves, emphasizing the concept of Satan, and incorporating various New Age ideas. One such concept was the belief in extraterrestrial walk-ins, where they transitioned from claiming to be extraterrestrial beings to describing themselves as extraterrestrial walk-ins. The idea of walk-ins is similar to the concept of being possessed by spirits.
These beliefs aided Applewhite and Nettles in starting afresh, shedding their human histories, and adopting a new life. Over time, Applewhite revised his identity within the group, promoting the idea that the “walk-in” inhabiting his body was the same entity that had done so to Jesus 2,000 years ago. This concept asserted that the personage of Jesus and the spirit of Jesus were separable, with Jesus being the name of the body of an ordinary man that held no sacred properties, taken over by an incorporeal sacred entity to deliver “next-level” information.
Another New Age belief embraced by Applewhite and Nettles was the ancient astronaut hypothesis, which suggests that extraterrestrials visited Earth in the distant past. The group adapted this concept, believing that aliens had seeded humanity’s development and would return to harvest spiritually evolved individuals who would join the ranks of flying saucer crews. According to Heaven’s Gate, only a select few would be chosen to escape human suffering through their membership and sacrifices.
Heaven’s Gate outlined four methods for individuals to enter or “graduate” to the Next Level once they had perfected themselves:
- Physical pickup onto a TELAH spacecraft and transfer to a next-level body aboard that craft.
- Natural death, accidental death, or death from random violence.
- Outside persecution that leads to death.
- Willful exit from the body in a dignified manner.
In a group exclusively open to adults over 18, members relinquished their possessions and embraced an ascetic lifestyle. The group was closely-knit, with communal sharing of everything. In public, each member carried a five-dollar bill and a roll of quarters. Eight male members voluntarily underwent castration as an extreme means of maintaining their ascetic lifestyle. The group initially attempted castration in-house but later sought medical assistance for subsequent procedures.
Heaven’s Gate generated revenue by providing professional website development under the business name Higher Source.
The cultural theorist Paul Virilio characterized the group as a cybersect, noting its heavy reliance on computer-mediated communication before the collective suicide. Still interested in heaven’s gate? Check them out here! Then, continue reading below.
Why Did the Heaven’s Gate Cult Commit a Mass Suicide?
In October 1996, Heaven’s Gate found a new residence, a sprawling 9,200 square feet mansion they affectionately called “The Monastery.” Nestled near 18341 Colina Norte (later renamed 18239 Paseo Victoria) in Rancho Santa Fe, California, this was to become their final sanctuary. They paid $7,000 per month in cash for the property.
Around the same time, they took a unique precaution and purchased alien abduction insurance, covering up to fifty members and offering a payout of $1 million per person in the event of abduction, impregnation, or death by extraterrestrials. This move reflected their deeply held beliefs in UFOs and the otherworldly.
Their journey had taken them through various locations, including the purchase of land near Manzano, New Mexico, in June 1995. They began constructing a compound using rubber tires and concrete but left abruptly in April 1996.
The culmination of their beliefs and preparations came to a head in March 1997. Marshall Applewhite recorded a videotape titled “Do’s Final Exit” on March 19-20, speaking about mass suicide and “the only way to evacuate this Earth.” The group saw the presence of Comet Hale–Bopp as a long-awaited sign, with speculation that an unidentified flying object (UFO) might be following the comet.
The followers of Heaven’s Gate believed that, through ritual suicide, their souls could ascend to the “Next Level” before the closure of “Heaven’s Gate.” They were convinced that after their deaths, a UFO would transport them to a higher state of existence, which Applewhite described as both physical and spiritual. In preparation, each member videotaped a farewell message.
To carry out their mass suicide, the group ingested phenobarbital mixed with applesauce or pudding, washing it down with vodka. After taking the lethal mixture, they secured plastic bags around their heads to induce asphyxiation.
The bodies of two apparent mass suicide participants lie on bunk beds on March 27, 1997 at the Rancho Sante Fe, CA residence where 39 people died by drug overdose.
The bodies of all 39 members were found dressed in identical black shirts and sweat pants, brand-new black-and-white Nike Decades athletic shoes, and armband patches reading “Heaven’s Gate Away Team,” a nod to the fictional universe of Star Trek, which the group often referenced.
Each member also carried a five-dollar bill and three-quarters in their pockets. This was a symbolic gesture, as it was customary for members to carry these amounts when leaving home for jobs, signifying that they had left the planet for good.
The group had a saying, ‘Just Do It,’ echoing the Nike slogan. Applewhite was a fan of Nike, and so, within the group, everyone was expected to wear and appreciate Nike products.
On three successive days between approximately March 22 and March 26, 1997, the 39 members, comprising 21 women and 18 men aged between 26 and 72, carried out their suicides in groups of fifteen, fifteen, and nine.
Those remaining were responsible for cleaning up after each prior group’s deaths. Thomas Nichols, brother of the famous actress Nichelle Nichols, known for her role as Uhura in the original Star Trek television series, was among the deceased.
Marshall Applewhite was the third-to-last member to die, with only two individuals found after him, both still wearing plastic bags over their heads and without purple cloths covering their top halves. These final acts of the group suicide transpired as they had meticulously planned.
Before their suicides, Heaven’s Gate had prepared packages that were sent to various individuals associated with the group or the media. Among the recipients was Rio DiAngelo, who received a package containing two VHS videotapes, one featuring Do’s Final Exit and the other containing the farewell messages of group members, along with a letter explaining their actions.
DiAngelo, who had once been a member and left the group, informed his boss about the contents of the packages. His boss gave him a ride from Los Angeles to the Heaven’s Gate residence in Rancho Santa Fe to verify the letter’s authenticity. Finding the back door intentionally left unlocked, DiAngelo entered and used a video camera to document what he discovered. He then left the house and, encouraged by his boss, contacted the authorities.
On March 26, 1997, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department received an anonymous tip through the 911 system, urging them to “check on the welfare of the residents.” This tip, made by DiAngelo, set in motion the discovery of the group’s mass suicide.
When deputies arrived, they were met with a harrowing scene, with bodies in advanced stages of decomposition due to the Southern California spring heat.
The investigation unveiled the full extent of Heaven’s Gate’s tragic end, with all 39 members ultimately cremated.
Gurneys are shown in front of the Southern California mansion where, in 1997, members of the Heaven’s Gate cult killed themselves by ingesting poison.
The tragic events surrounding the Heaven’s Gate deaths became widely publicized in the media, and it was portrayed as a harrowing example of mass suicide. The group’s association with Comet Hale–Bopp drew particular attention, and Alan Hale, one of the Comet’s co-discoverers, found himself thrust into the story.
His phone was constantly ringing on the day the news broke. However, he chose to withhold his response until the following day when he held a press conference, having taken the time to research the details of the incident.
In a speech at the Second World Skeptics Congress in Heidelberg, Germany, on July 24, 1998, Dr. Hale discussed the scientific importance and common myths associated with comets. He also shared a personal account of his comet discovery.
However, he didn’t mince words when condemning the combination of scientific illiteracy, willful delusions, a radio talk show’s promotion of an imaginary spacecraft following the comet, and a cult’s strange aspirations for ascending to a higher level of existence, which had culminated in the Heaven’s Gate mass suicides.
Hale revealed that he had foreseen the possibility of suicides related to the comet before the Heaven’s Gate tragedy. He expressed sadness that his prediction had come true and emphasized that comets, despite their beauty, do not possess apocalyptic significance. He underscored the importance of reason and critical thinking.
The news of the 39 deaths in Rancho Santa Fe even prompted a copycat suicide by a 58-year-old man living near Marysville, California. The man left a note dated March 27, indicating his intent to join the spacecraft accompanying Hale–Bopp to be with those who had gone before him. His actions imitated some of the details of the Heaven’s Gate suicides as reported at the time. The man was discovered dead by a friend on March 31, and there was no known connection between him and Heaven’s Gate.
Tragically, at least three former members of Heaven’s Gate also succumbed to suicide in the months following the mass suicide. Wayne Cooke and Chuck Humphrey attempted suicide in a hotel on May 6, 1997, like that used by the group.
Cooke did not survive, but Humphrey did. Another former member, James Pirkey Jr., took his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound on May 11. Humphrey, who had survived the earlier attempt, ultimately ended his life in Arizona in February 1998.
While the event was widely labeled as a mass suicide, sociologist and former cult member Janja Lalich referred to it as “murder,” highlighting the psychological manipulation and control exerted by the group’s leaders.
Even after the mass suicide, two former members, Marc and Sarah King of Phoenix, Arizona, operating under the name TELAH Foundation, were believed to have maintained the group’s website. However, there was no evident growth or resurgence of the group, and it largely remained obscure, relying primarily on its website for any form of recruitment.
RIP Victims.
Next, read about the Unsolved Disappearance of Asha Degree, and then, if you’re interested in Dark History, about the Disturbing Deaths of the Radium Girls!
