In the 1990s, Ronald Weinland began issuing doomsday prophecies from his online pulpit.

When Ben Klassen died by suicide in 1993, Matthew Hale picked up his mantle as leader of the sputtering Church of the Creator.

After a short but controversial run in politics, Ben Klassen founded the Church of the Creator in 1973.

From creating costly “healing instruments” to engaging in group sex activities, the Gentle Wind Project claimed to address traumas through spiritual energy work in the 1980s and ‘90s.

Known as “Babu” to locals, former pastor Ambilikile Mwasapile gained international attention after claiming in 2010 that he had found a cure for cancer, diabetes and AIDS.

Around 2007, a new miracle healer stepped on stage in Brazil, claiming to cure cancer, heart disease, and HIV.

Ukrainian psychotherapist Anatoly Kashpirovsky led hypnotic TV healing sessions in the late 1980s and ‘90s, drawing millions of viewers across Eastern Europe.

Described as “hypnotic” and “disarming,” George Feigley used his silver tongue to convince countless people that he was a scholar and religious figurehead.

In 1959, George King traveled to Los Angeles to complete his interstellar mission.

When an angel appeared before him in a dark forest, George King knew his life would be special.

In the 1980s, rigorous training and illegal weapons turned Ellison’s once peaceful commune into a murderous militia.

Expelled by Lincoln Bible College in 1962 for being too radical, James Ellison spent the next decade preaching about God’s judgment and establishing a commune in Arkansas, where he transformed his followers into a heavily armed white supremacist terror organization.

In 1947, a 31-year-old sign painter experienced a supernatural event that left him convinced he was the newly anointed savior of the world.

When her doomsday prophecies failed to materialize in the early aughts, Yuko Chino faded from the headlines.

As a young woman in 1960s Japan, Hidemi Masuyama took nightly walks in the nude, talking to entities only she could see.

For decades, family members and sleuths have tried to determine what really happened the night of the fire.

In the aftermath of the fire, a startling number of tips, twists, and witnesses came forward regarding the fate of the Sodder children.

Early Christmas day in 1945, Jennie Sodder woke up to her house on fire.

In the late 1980s he claimed to be the final savior of the world, but behind Hogen Fukunaga’s grandiose claim was a shrewd businessman who scammed millions from loyal followers.

He’s not your typical cult leader: Lord RayEl doesn’t have a large church, or host large gatherings.

After starving his infant son in 1999, Jacques Robidoux and his followers went to drastic lengths to bury the evidence.

Shunning mainstream religion, school systems, and science, this small Massachusetts sect withdrew from secular society in the ‘70s.

Deep in the heart of the redwood forests is a 2,700-acre plot of land that’s home to an exclusive gentleman’s fraternity.

Deep in the heart of the redwood forests is a 2,700-acre plot of land that’s home to an exclusive gentleman’s fraternity.

Branded religious deviants by local leaders and the Malaysian government, Ayah Pin and his followers argued for their freedoms in Syariah Court.