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Waterstones order, 11 June 2021, books for research (receipt filed for self-assessment): Cultish by Amanda Montell [pre-order as released 22 July] My Angel Diary, Books 1–4 by Jess Adesina Cults That Kill by Wendy Joan Biddlecombe Agsar Cults Uncovered by Emily G. Thompson White Wings by Mark Dunning Terror, Love and Brainwashing by Alexandra Stein
AB: Go on. In your opinion did Gabriel believe he was an angel? EBH: I don’t… I don’t know. But in those moments I spoke to him… I believed he
Everyone is familiar with the story by now: four men, who call themselves Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Elemiah, draw vulnerable teenagers into a cult-like existence by convincing them they are all angels sent to earth with a divine purpose—to kill the newborn Antichrist.
When you are forced into a place as dark as that, you spend the rest of your life on the return journey.
Cult leaders—influential, charismatic people—have an aura that attracts those who are insecure and vulnerable. A perfect psychological storm.
If I once believed I was an angel sent from heaven, I’d be embarrassed at the very least.
OM: What? So you haven’t spoken to him? AB: Not directly. OM: But he does know we’re coming today. AB: Not in the strict sense of that phrase.
UM: The wicked have waited for me, to destroy me. But I have understood your sayings. All that seems perfect has its limits. But the perfection of your commands is boundless.
“When you’re forced into a dark place, you spend the rest of your life on the way back.”
You know me, Mand, I’m an atheist. I don’t believe this shit, so why did I feel so weird?
AB: The Antichrist has been “at large” since 2003. The world is still here.
It’s when people are drawn away from their lives as individuals to immerse themselves in a separatist organization under a charismatic leader. Becoming part of a utopian community. Cults start with their own rules and philosophy, even if it seems they are creating an existence without either. This has a counterculture appeal for those who struggle to find a place in regular society, or who lack a conventional family.
But the psychological hold is the strongest factor. Members surrender their sense of self to conform to a new set of standards, routine, behaviors. All to please the leader or leaders.
Some mainstream organized religions operate in ways we associate with cults. Society itself… We tend to say “cult” when we mean a negative or toxic organization.
But do you know who I think are the most vulnerable? People who believe they can never be drawn in.
[Aren’t we all living in one big cult? From birth we’re conditioned to behave a certain way, believe prescribed things, and uphold society’s norms. Who’s to say all those beliefs and values are correct? EC]
He’s deranged, yet he’s spent his entire life fitting in with normal people. He knows how to behave and he knows what makes other people vulnerable.
[Tell him Bible verses are ancient, man-made scriptures, mistranslated many times and misinterpreted even more. They have nothing to do with murders in west London.
GABRIEL Her purpose is to look after a baby, so she chose to be a mortal female (he indicates Jonah) with a protector. JONAH You said my purpose is to protect the baby. GABRIEL We all have that purpose. Our energy forms a shield around it. HOLLY But protecting something so evil doesn’t make sense.
Friday 13 August 2021
She had the most beautiful necklace of angel wings.
She asked me to drop her off at the gates of a huge estate down in Surrey. AB: She was from an upper-class family? NS: Far from it. Her mum worked there as a groundskeeper.
AB: Nikki, this girl’s name was Holly? NS: She introduced herself as Holly at the police station, but as I dropped her off, she admitted her real name was Ashleigh. With an i-g-h.
