For my birthday this year, my mother gave me her copy of the book Helter Skelter. A chilling true account of the Tate/LaBianca murders and the trial of Charles Manson and members of the Manson family, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, Leslie Van Houten and Tex Watson. The four followers I mentioned committed these crimes under the influence of Manson, believing he was Jesus Christ. He brainwashed them with drugs and sex and persuaded them to kill mercilessly and fight the white establishment, or as Manson called them — Pigs.
The young group of killers entered the home of Sharon Tate-Polanski (wife of director Roman Polanski, and actress best known for her role in Valley Of The Dolls) on August 8th 1969 and brutally murdered the 8 month pregnant Sharon, her friend and famous hairdresser Jay Sebring, two friends that were staying at the house and a teenage boy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. They even went as far as to write “pig” in Sharon’s blood on the front door. The next night, they struck again… only with a slightly different cast of characters. Leslie had not been involved in the Tate murders, however she was present and active in the LaBianca murders. Again, penning in blood, things like “helter skelter,” “piggy,” and “rise” on the walls. It is a very dark and twisted story… I highly recommend reading this book.
Would you ever try this look?
orchid / 105 posts
It’s a fantastic book. It places you right there for every horrifying detail. You can also watch the movie based on the book in its entirety on YouTube.
Also – creepy story…
I live in Denton, Texas, about 30 minutes from where Tex Watson was captured in McKinney. I used to live in this very old house that was later converted into 4 apartments. After reading that Watson lived in Denton for some time, I decided to find out where he lived and… it was in the room that was directly upstairs from mine in that house! I was actually reading Helter Skelter at the time and was pretty freaked out. I guess it makes sense, the neighbors that lived in that room had a dog named Tex (not a very uncommon name for a pet here in Texas) but it made a lot more sense when I found that out.
daisy / 626 posts
@misswheeler - Whoa!!! That’s crazy!
guest
When I was in high school, every year during term paper time there would be one kid who would choose the Manson Family as their subject, and become creepily obsessed. My kid brother’s best friend wound up buying one of Charles Manson’s albums, and did an extensive study on mind control and cults. Your fascination with this seems wayyyyy less creepy.