Heaven’s Gate - 10 Years Ago Today
Someone once said that cults are merely nascent religions without enough followers. UFO contactees and their fans are not usually known for killing themselves en masse, but the flying saucer religion founded by Bonnie Lu Nettles and Marshall Herff Applewhite survived for over twenty years in various guises until thirty-nine remaining stragglers went out with a very loud whimper in northern San Diego County on March 22nd, 1997. It remains the biggest mass-suicide in United States history.
Applewhite was the overachieving son of a Presbyterian minister, and discovered early in life that he possessed a magnetic personality which could make almost anyone accept his ideas. In his late thirties, he was dismissed from his teaching post at an Alabama university for having an affair with a male student. His marriage broke up soon afterwards, and in 1972, he admitted himself to a psychiatric care facility in Houston. While there, he met Bonnie Lu Trousdale Nettles, whose marriage was also on the rocks. Ultimately, the record of Applewhite’s psychological ups and downs was to form a sort of road map of the Heaven’s Gate saga.
Some time in 1973, they left Houston to hit the road and start harvesting souls. They told prospective followers that they (Applewhite and Nettles) would be persecuted for their beliefs and murdered, but would rise after three days and be taken up on a UFO. The only way to guaranteed salvation was to follow “The Two†and leave dreary lives of unsatisfying work, families, and sex. This is sort of appealing, except for the sex part—and another UFO cult, the Raelians, actually enticed prospective adherents with openly horny recruitment tactics. They still do.
Throughout the 1970s and ‘80s, Applewhite and Nettles changed their earth-bound space alien names whenever inspiration struck. “The Two†first became “Guinea†and “Pig.†It appears that Nettles was saddled with “Pig,†which had to have been at least a little disconcerting for her. Imagine Nettles’ relief when the names were changed to “Bo†and “Peep†and finally, “Do†and “Ti†(referring to notes on the musical scale.) In 1985, Do (Nettles) lost a bout with liver cancer, which is not generally considered the proper path for an ascended master to ascend. Applewhite had to explain to the flock that Do had “gone on to the next level to prepare the way.†Still, the membership barely dwindled.
In 1993, the group, now calling themselves Total Overcomers Anonymous, produced a short series of television programs entitled “Beyond Human—The Last Call” which was broadcast on various satellite networks. A few long-lost wanderers returned and some new recruits joined. Though their contributions, as well as a lucrative web-design business, the foundation, which had now changed their name to “Heaven’s Gate†rented a mansion in the secluded and exclusive Rancho Santa Fe area of San Diego County, and waited.
In late 1996, the world was poised to witness one of the most spectacular celestial events of the late 20th century. A comet, named after co-discoverers Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp would become clearly visible in the northern hemisphere in the summer of the following year. Enter maverick (or publicity-seeking) amateur astronomer Chuck Shramek, who appeared on the Art Bell radio program to announce that he had detected a “companion†object of massive size pacing Hale-Bopp as it made it’s approach to Earth. Maverick (or publicity-seeking) remote-viewer Courtney Brown and his assistant Prudence Calabrese confirmed that an “alien ship†was following the comet. Bell denied any complicity in the subsequent events, saying he was not responsible for anything people chose to do with the information.
The Heaven’s Gaters thought that Nettles was either riding the mystery object, or at least had sent the comet as a sign to “just do it.†Another interesting fact that seems to have escaped the media and hundreds of post-mortems scattered though cyberspace and elsewhere is that the very name “Bopp†contains the names “Bo†and “Peep†(pp.) This synchronicity must have sent the cult into paroxysms of religious ecstasy. “Hail BO-PP!†Applewhite’s term for heaven was “Evolutionary Level Above Human†(ELAH), which spelled backwards is of course, HALE.
On March 21st, the shaved-headed residents of 18241 Colina Norte Drive descended on the local Marie Callender’s restaurant for a last supper of iced tea, turkey pot pie and salad, followed by blueberry cheesecake. Between March 22nd and the 24th, 39 people helped each other step into identical crisp new black jumpsuits emblazoned with colorful “Away Team†logo patches. Each then ate a bowl of phenobarbital-laced applesauce, chased with vodka to control any side-effects. Some put plastic bags over their heads as insurance. They had done their homework according to the instructions of the Hemlock Society’s book Final Exit. The dying was done in shifts over two days—Applewhite was the last to go, making sure that no one backed out at the last minute.
On March 25th, former member Richard ford received two copies a videotape featuring the “last statements” of members, which were to be replayed ad nauseum in the days to follow on countless news shows. Ford entered the house to find 18 women and 21 men lying on freshly laundered sheets in cheap bunk beds, covered with purple shrouds. In a move that took the shoe company months to live down, all were wearing brand new black Nike track shoes. Everyone held their passports clutched in one hand and $5.75 cash in the other. Amongst the Heaven’s Gate “exit crew” was Thomas Nichols, brother of Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols.
What in the heavens did they need with passports and money? One creepy and remarkable clue is found in a 1907 story entitled “Extract from Captain Stormfield’s Trip to Heaven†by none other than Mark Twain. In this tale, the protagonist leaves for “an extended excursion among the heavenly bodies†on the tail of a comet. Captain Stormfield takes along his passport and $5.75 in cash for the fare.
A fascinating study of a millennial UFO cult from the 1950s, When Prophecy Fails, chronicled the experiences of graduate students from the University of Minnesota who infiltrated a religious study group that centered around a woman known as “Mrs. Keech.†Keech channeled messages from aliens that were discussed and interpreted by the members. When the appointed time for salvation from hovering saucers came and went not once, but two times, one of the followers said “I’ve burned every bridge. I’ve turned my back on the world. I can’t afford to doubt. I have to believe.†Many of the surviving members of Applewhite’s gang later expressed similar tragic delusions.
Adapted from my book, Weird California - copyright 2006 by Sterling Publishers. Thanks to Loren Coleman for reminding me of this strange anniversary.
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Mar 22 2007 
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:54 am
Greg, presumably you’ve picked up on the development of Richard claiming he was left behind to tell the world Marshall Applewhite was the Second Coming of Jesus, making him, presumably, the Second Coming of Paul?
And maybe he was - in which case we’re all doomed, because all he had to teach us was to get the hell out of the world, and who amongst us hasn’t at some time or other felt degrees of the sort of despair were we could’ve easily dreamed up this ’solution’ for ourselves?
At least with his First Coming, Jesus had a certain classiness about him.
With his Second Coming, alas, he wasn’t so much Do as DOH!!!
March 23rd, 2007 at 7:55 am
Here’s an interview with Rio DiAngelo that deals with what alanborky refers to in the last comment: http://www.laweekly.com/general/features/heavens-gate-the-sequel/15930/
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:05 pm
“Maverick (or publicity seeking)remote-viewer Courtney Brown” was, of course, trained as an rv by the infamous maverick (or b.s. spreading) “Major Ed” Dames (sounds like “Mister Ed”, doesn’t it?)…a seeming idol of Art Bell’s, although next to none of the old Stargate viewers (McMoneagle, Atwater,Buchanan, Smith, Riley or the others) will have much of anything to do with him since he abused/abuses the Swann/Putoff/Targ protocols right and left. Termed a “front loader”, Dames tends to “lead” viewing sessions in the same way many hypnotherapists tend to “lead” so-called abduction-memory-recovery sessions. To me, Brown being Dames-mentored is a real “back off” motivator. I think, if I’m not mistaken, he’s also Icke-oriented, so that makes his pronouncements doubly suspect to this ol’ boy.
That whole business was a ghastly mess, but filled with enough weird ironies to really give you the willies.
March 24th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Alan,
As I said in an earlier post on Heaven’s Gate, I have little problem with cult memebers killing themselves, as long as they are not forced into it, and the “leader” goes along with them. I feel sorry for them, and especially the friends and relatives they leave behind.
TOA/ Heaven’s Gate was a screwed-up bunch to be sure, but they pretty much kept to themselves. This sort of thing will happen again, to be sure, but let’s hope that less people are involved.
March 24th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Mick,
I haven’t read that story yet, partly because I wish I’d written it! This week I”l take a look at it for sure, then go to the back of the L.A. Weekly and look for music show listings.
March 24th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Bill,
Every remote viewer I’ve interviewed has a dim view of Dames. Most are polite, but I’ve heard some stories! One told me that Dames subscribes to scientific journals and makes his “predictions” based on stories that the scientific community is aware of months or years before it hits the general press. It’s a strange way to scrabble for a living, but there are chralatans galore in the psychic business–unfortunately, they are the most vocal, and the only ones we ever really hear about.
March 25th, 2007 at 8:42 am
In a analogy I think anyone familiar with cryptozoology…such as Loren Coleman or Craig Woolheater…would understand, I would submit that Ed Dames is the “Tom Biscardi of the RV Field”.
March 25th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Anyone remember that an old SciFi/vampire-horror movie (based on a Colin Wilson novel) called “Life Force” began with a space mission to intercept a comet traveling the outer edge of the solar system, and that the astronaut team discovered an alien spacecraft traveling in the comet’s tail. The team boarded the craft and found humanoid bodies in suspended animation onboard and took one back to earth with them…a very naked, very nubile, very dangerous vampiress that started a pile of trouble on good old planet earth. back when the Heaven’s Gate “philosophy” of Bo and Peep were being extolled by the media, I couldn’t help but flash onto “Life Force” when I started hearing the comet-and-spacecraft scenario. Did somebody get any ideas there from Colin Wilson, or this movie?
May 18th, 2007 at 4:29 am
There are new converts to Heaven’s Gate believe it or not. On top of survivors there is an estimated 14 fresh believers in the doomsday cult. Their website is http://webspawner.com/users/heavensgatetng2/
I spoke with one of them on their address posting. I asked them who their leader was and they said that God was with Applewhite as the updated message of “the mind of Jesus”. So, in turn what they are saying is the same mind that was in Jesus, not named Jesus (???), was in Applewhite. (???)
These new converts don’t have a compound or base or mansion. I was told that some new believers exist in Canada and the US and across the world not including prospects. I was told that they are “self temples” and are here to claim that the information has truth in it. When I asked them if they are encouraging people to commit suicide, they responded by saying “No. We aren’t telling people to stay or leave. We’re just asking people to read the information and decide for themselves what best course of action they should take if they believe it is true.”.
On their links area on their main page, I discovered that a documentary called “Heaven’s gate: A Decade later” is being filmed. Hoooookay…!
BLOGMAN