From a Spanish ranch in Southern California to two innocent-looking townhouses in New England, all of these American properties have a chilling link.
While they may have new owners or sit empty today, they were once home to members of the darkest and most notorious cults in the US.
Mass suicide, murderers in hiding, and sex trafficking are just some of the horrors that went on behind the doors or within close proximity to these properties.
Some of the homes are where cult leaders lived before going on to do unimaginable things – others are where they escaped to after committing heinous crimes.
Here, MailOnline lists some of the places that were once stalked by the most horrific cults in the US, and what the properties and land are being used for now.
Spahn Ranch
Spahn Ranch was home to cult leader Charles Manson and his followers, the ‘Mansion family’
During the infamous ‘Manson Family’ slayings, the group resided on the ranch, however Spahn was never accused of a role in the murders
A $4.8 million property hit the South California market back in February and it comes with some terrifying previous neighbours.
The land, which is located in the West Hills, sits adjacent to none other than Spahn Ranch, which was home to cult leader Charles Manson and his followers, the ‘Mansion family’.
They lived rent-free in exchange for chores and the ranch was owned by George Spahn who was in his 80s when he let the group stay there.
During the infamous ‘Manson Family’ slayings, the group resided on the ranch, however, Spahn was never accused of a role in the murders.
Manson was 83 years old when he died and had been behind bars for more than four decades, since 1969, after he ordered members of his cult – which he dubbed ‘the Family’ – to go on a murderous two-day rampage.
Three of his followers, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkle, and Leslie Van Houten, killed seven people: pregnant actress Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, Steven Parent and Jay Sebring.
He had ordered his family members to slaughter Tate, who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant, and three of her friends at her home above Beverly Hills.
Stephen Parent was a fifth unfortunate victim that night. He had driven to the property to see if caretaker William Garreston wanted to buy his AM/FM Clock radio, and had stayed on for a beer at the guest house. He was shot multiple times when he wound down the window at the electric gate as he left.
Pictured: Interior view of a living room at the Spahn Ranch in 1969
The buildings on the ranch burned down in 1970 and the land is now part of the Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park (pictured in 1969)
Pictured: Interior view of the kitchen at the Spahn Ranch in 1969, where Charles Manson and his followers lived
The following night the Family butchered small business owners Leno and Rosemary La Bianca, in their home in Los Angeles.
The murders were carried out in upscale, mostly white neighborhoods of Los Angeles in order to blame the crimes on African Americans, in the hope of sparking what he termed a ‘Helter Skelter’ race war.
Manson was also later convicted of the slayings of musician Gary Hinman and stuntman Donald ‘Shorty’ Shea.
During the trial, he was convicted of leading a cult in which disaffected young people living in a commune followed his orders and were ultimately turned into killers.
The buildings on the ranch burned down in 1970 and the land is now part of the Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park.
However, the property next door which is the one on sale, includes both structures and caves where the cult members are said to have hid after carrying out horrific murders
What’s more, the Mansons were not the only cult to establish themselves in the Spahn Ranch area.
A man called Krishna Venta created the Fountain of the World cult nearby, declaring himself to be Jesus Christ.
However, in 1958 he was killed in a suicide bombing by some of his disgruntled followers.
NXIVM New England townhouses
Smallville actress Alison Mack, who was part of the cult, lived in a three-bedroom townhouse near Cliffton Park
Another home linked to the cult was last sold for $64,500 in 2018 and is now on the market for $148,000
The HBO true crime documentary The Vow, revolves around the NXIVM cult and its leader Keith Raniere.
Described as a pyramid scheme, sex-trafficking operation, and sex cult, victims of the group told of how Raniere and other leaders brandished them with a burning piece of metal.
The horrors first caught the attention of the public in 2017, when several former members shed light on what was going on behind closed doors.
The NXIVM cult leader, Raniere, is currently serving a 120-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, forced labor conspiracy, human trafficking, and multiple counts of racketeering — including sexual exploitation of a child.
However, what many people won’t know is that two of the properties used by the notorious cult are being rented out and sold in New York state.
Smallville actress Alison Mack, who was part of the cult, lived in a three-bedroom townhouse near Cliffton Park.
According to the New York Post, it had been rented out for $1,800 per month before being sold for $270,000 in 2022.
Mack pleaded guilty over her role in a sex-trafficking case tied to the cult group and served a prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, in September 2021.
Best known for her role as a young Superman’s close friend on Smallville, Mack, 40, pleaded guilty in 2019 to charges that she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for NXIVM leader Keith Raniere.
She was released from prison a year early in 2023.
Another home linked to the cult was last sold for $64,500 in 2018 and is now on the market for $148,000.
The two-bed house in Halfmoon features a room nicknamed ‘The Library,’ which is allegedly where Raniere had sex with a trafficking victim, according to the Times Union and Realtor.
Muddy Ranch in Oregon
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his 7,000 followers, who were known as Rajneeshees, created their own village in Muddy Ranch (pictured in 1983)
At first glance, Muddy Ranch in Wasco County, Oregon, looks like a normal expanse of land.
Nowadays, it is owned and operated by a Christian youth camp called Young Life, who run an outdoor summer camp program where youngsters help to maintain the 64,000 acres of land.
But, back in 1981, the ranch had a very different purpose. It was sold to an Indian spiritual leader who relocated to Oregon.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his 7,000 followers, who were known as Rajneeshees, created their own village in Muddy Ranch.
Rajneesh presided over the New Age sex cult that was second to none in its embrace of ‘free love’, unorthodox meditation techniques and sheer outrageousness.
In India, he was known as the ‘Sex Guru’ and attracted tens of thousands of followers from all over the world, including celebrities, from the venerable British journalist Bernard Levin to film star Terence Stamp.
In the U.S. he was dubbed the ‘Rolls-Royce Guru’ given that he owned 93 of the luxury cars.
When it was realized that they were a cult, the nearby town of Antelope began to raise alarm bells about the group.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his 7,000 followers, who were known as Rajneeshees, created their own village in Muddy Ranch
Because the ranch was agricultural land in a rural part of Wasco County, creation of a new city violated state laws.
They were also trying to gain political control and feared they would not get enough votes, so they carried out a bioterror attack in The Dalles in an attempt to incapacitate voters.
The cult deliberately contaminated salad bars at ten local restaurants with salmonella – 751 people contracted it 45 of whom were hospitalized, but none died.
It was the largest bio-terror attack in U.S. history. The Rajneeshees leaders were accused of various crimes and fled the country in 1985.
The guru agreed to a plea deal and was deported. He returned to Pune, renamed himself Osho, and died aged 58 of heart failure in 1990.
In the years since the cult’s heyday, former members have exposed ugly truths about the free-love culture: some women were raped, abortions were sometimes enforced and nearly 90 per cent of disciples had a sexually transmitted disease.
According to the New York Post, a property adjacent to Muddy Ranch is on the market now for $2,375,000.
Tomales Bay Marconi Convention Center
In the 1960s, the property was the headquarters for Synanon – a drug rehabilitation program that escalated into an ‘alternative lifestyle community,’ and eventually became a cult
The group became the Church of Synanon in 1975 and faced various allegations of violent activity
Marconi Convention Center in Tomales Bay, Northern California, is now a luxury hotel following a multi-million dollar renovation.
Lodge at Marconi is described as a place ‘where history meets the healing power of nature’.
The modern hotel offers a: ‘Sanctuary to explore, unwind, and connect with the timeless beauty of West Marin’.
Some holidaygoers won’t know it has a dark and disturbing history – the center notably used to serve as a clubhouse for a New Age Cult.
In the 1960s, the property was the headquarters for Synanon – a drug rehabilitation program that escalated into an ‘alternative lifestyle community,’ and eventually became a cult.
The group became the Church of Synanon in 1975 and faced various allegations of violent activity.
It infamously forced its male members to have vasectomies, its women to shave their heads, and some to get abortions.
It disbanded in 1991 after several members were convicted of multiple crimes, including attempted murder.
The cult hit national news headlines in 1978 when two members placed a rattlesnake into the mailbox of attorney Paul Morantz who was representing several former members in a lawsuit against the cult.
The Church of Synanon is now widely viewed as one of the most dangerous and deadly cults to form in the US.
Mount Carmel Center in Waco
More than 70 agents reportedly entered the compount which led to a shootout and a confrontation – four agents and six Branch Davidians died
Thirty years ago, Mount Carmel Center, a large group of buildings near Axtell, Texas, were used by the Branch Davidian group.
Branch Davidians are a religious sect that believe in the imminent return of Jesus Christ – they were led by proclaimed prophet David Koresh.
They built their community at the center, which served as headquarters for their movement.
In February 1993 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms executed a search warrant of the compound as authorities suspected that weapons were being stockpiled there illegally.
More than 70 agents reportedly entered the compount which led to a shootout and a confrontation – four agents and six Branch Davidians died.
Following this, the buildings remained under siege until April 1993 when a fire started, which killed 76 of the cult members. The events later became known as the Waco siege and massacre.
Now, a chapel is located on the grassy floodplain and 81 trees have been planted to commemorate the dead.
Heaven’s Gate ‘suicide cult’ home
A mansion in the tiny suburb of Rancho Santa Fe sent shockwaves around the world in March 1997 when it was revealed that a mass suicide had taken place there
First responders arrived to find 39 bodies in identical black clothing were carefully staged in bunk beds
A mansion in the tony suburb of Rancho Santa Fe sent shockwaves around the world in March 1997 when it was revealed that a mass suicide had taken place there.
First responders arrived to find 39 bodies in identical black clothing were carefully staged in bunk beds. Their heads were shaved but neatly covered with purple shrouds.
They wore matching black tunics and fresh out-of-the-box Nike ‘Decade’ sneakers. Each had exactly $5.75 cash in their pocket and a travel bag next them on the floor. Triangular arm patches on all the bodies read: ‘Heaven’s Gate Away Team.’
The founder of the cult, Marshall Applewhite, told his followers that the world was due to be ‘wiped clean’ by the alien founders and that they needed to leave the Earth.
Police uncovered video manifestos explaining that disciples of the Heaven’s Gate cult were ‘exiting their human vessels’ to enter the ‘Next Level’ via an extraterrestrial-piloted spaceship that was apparently, zipping along the wake of comet Hale-Bopp on its close cruise over planet Earth.
In 2020, HBO released a four-part docuseries titled Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults, which examined how the bewitched UFO death cult ended in the largest mass suicide event on American soil.
The mansion where the horrific deaths took place has since been demolished and the property built on the land has a new address to cut any ties with its past. It was last sold back in 2010 for $4.6 million.
