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

In the mid 1990s, a strange compound sat hidden amongst the hills of northern Malaysia — a wonderland complete with themed buildings and a giant teapot.

In the years since the Satanic Panic, it's become obvious that the crimes people were accused of never really happened.

Emboldened by power- and money-hungry conmen, Evangelical doomsdayers set the stage for an epic showdown of biblical proportions.

From Adolfo Costanzo and the Narcosatanists to the gruesome Chicago Rippers, these horrific groups showed that fears of murderous devil-worshipping cults weren't entirely unfounded.

In the 1980s, “Satanic Panic” was a mass hysteria that consumed communities and ruined lives—all over things that never even happened.

In the 1980s, “Satanic Panic” was a mass hysteria that consumed communities and ruined lives—all over things that never even happened.

In the late 1960s, a listless young man craving significance began claiming he could see and hear messages from the Virgin Mary.

At the height of his power in 1983, John-Roger Hinkins hosted a star-studded awards show for his “movement.”

After waking up from a nine-day coma in 1963, Roger Hinkins claimed his body was housing a spiritual personality named John.

In 1990s Everett, Washington, a charismatic man named Chris Turgeon started a small group Bible study with a few of his friends.

In 1972, self-appointed bishop Douglas Metcalf had his followers build a new heaven on earth in New Zealand.

In the early 1980s, Satanist Robin Gecht and his three followers terrorized the women of Chicago.

In the early 1980s, contractor Robin Gecht recruited three of his employees to join a violent cult.

When Whitewind Swan Fisher founded Friends Landing in 1985, it was marketed as a safe space for spiritual healing.

In 1985, Monte Kim Miller was an anti-cult activist, speaking at churches to warn against brainwashing and manipulation—until he began using the same tactics he preached against to extort, coerce, and compel his own followers into radical behavior.

In 2017, news of Keith Raniere’s predatory sorority finally hit the airwaves.

By 2006, 46-year-old Keith Raniere had made NXIVM alluring enough to attract billionaire heiresses and Hollywood actresses.

In 1999, after the collapse of Consumers Buyline, 39-year-old Keith embarked on a new business venture.

After acing an IQ test in 1988, 28-year-old Keith Raniere was able to brand himself “The Smartest Man in the World.”

Founded in New Zealand in the late ‘60s, Gloriavale was supposed to be a sin-free utopia.

In 2004, Swedish Pastor Helge Fossmo used “spiritual shunning” to alienate and manipulate the congregation at his Pentecostal church.

In the mid-’90s, Pastor Helge Fossmo was hand-selected by the so-called “bride of Christ” to help lead a Swedish Pentecostal church.

By the mid 1950s, Bruno Gröning was famous.

In 1949, faith healer Bruno Gröning was thrust into the limelight after German newspapers reported he had cured a young boy of muscular dystrophy. However, with fame came increased scrutiny from the legal authorities...