Modern Cults

The History of Slasher Films: From Cult Classics to Modern Horror Icons is your ultimate guide to one of cinema’s most enduring—and thrilling—genres. Whether you're a longtime horror fan or just discovering the thrill of the Final Girl, this engaging and in-depth book traces the evolution of the slasher film from its early roots in the 1930s to its 21st-century reinvention. Packed with fascinating film history, cultural analysis, iconic characters, and must-watch movie recommendations, this book explores how slasher movies reflect our fears, challenge social norms, and continue to ...

One-on-one with Satan. A chilling and highly convincing account of possession and exorcism in modern America, hailed by NBC Radio as "one of the most stirring books on the contemporary scene."

As a secular exorcist, Rachel H. Stavis has cleansed thousands of tormented people, from small children and Hollywood moguls to stay-at-home moms and politicians. But for many years, the horror screenwriter and novelist denied her gift. As a little girl, she began to see "monsters" floating around her bedroom or attached to other children. Told it was only her imagination, Rachel learned to ignore the things she saw. But a series of events in adulthood forced her to acknowledge her unique ability and embrace her power to heal.

Utilizing the linguistic insights of her “witty and brilliant” (Blyth Roberson, author of America the Beautiful?) first book Wordslut and the sociological explorations of her breakout hit Cultish, Amanda Montell now turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases in her most personal and electrifying work yet.

LYRICS EDITION: Features all-new original lyrics and music from the Wynter Wild series “Life is currently on hold while I read the series” - Goodreads reviewer The past taints everything. Wynter has helped to create a safe home with her family. Her music career is taking off with an overseas recording opportunity and a new all-girl rock band. Her brothers could use some help. Indio returns from London and there's a room waiting for him if he'll take it, as well as an old flame in the wings. Caleb has a new chance at love, and Jesse continues his search for the perfect girl. Out of the ...

In 1993, David Koresh and a band of heavily armed evangelical Christians took on the might of the US government. A two-month siege of their compound in Waco, Texas, ended in a firefight that killed seventy-six, including twenty-five children. America is still picking up the pieces, and we still haven't heard the full story.

Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong, to find a deeper meaning in life, to live everyday with divine purpose. Their existence creates a sense that any one of us, at any time, could step off the cliff’s edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause. Perhaps it’s this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more, or it’s that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick.

Ayn Rand and her philosophical school, Objectivism, have had a considerable influence upon American popular culture, yet the true story of her life and work has yet to be told. In this book, Jeff Walker debunks the cult-like following that developed around the author of the classics Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead - a cult that persists even today.

The History of Body Horror Films: From Grotesque Origins to Modern Mutation is the ultimate guide for horror lovers, film students, and pop culture enthusiasts who want to dive deep into one of cinema’s most disturbing and thought-provoking subgenres. This comprehensive, 6000-word book explores the evolution of body horror movies from their eerie beginnings in early cinema to their grotesque peaks during the golden age of gore, all the way to their reemergence in today’s era of prestige horror. Discover how visionary directors like David Cronenberg, Shinya Tsukamoto, and Julia Ducournau...

What do we really know about modern practicing polygamists - not fictional ones like the Henrickson family on HBO’s Big Love? We’ve seen the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the news, the underage brides in pioneer dresses on a Texas ranch. But the FLDS is just one of many groups that have broken with mainstream Mormonism to follow those parts of Joseph Smith’s doctrine disavowed by the LDS Church. Gaining unprecedented access to these communities, journalist Sanjiv Bhattacharya reveals a shadow country....

Grounded in investigative research and real survivor stories, Surviving Modern Yoga uncovers the physical and sexual abuse perpetrated by Ashtanga yoga leader Pattabhi Jois—and reckons with the culture, structures, and mythos that enabled it.

Ellen has two lives. A single artist living alone on New York’s Upper West Side in the 1970s, she periodically descends into episodes of what she calls “radiances.” While under the influence of the radiance, she becomes Princess Esmeralda, and West 72nd Street becomes the kingdom over which she rules. Life as Esmeralda is a colorful, glorious, and liberating experience for Ellen, who, despite the chaos and stigma these episodes can bring, relishes the respite from the confines of the everyday.

Belief and Cult argues that belief isn't uniquely Christian but was central to ancient Roman religion. Drawing on cognitive theory, Jacob Mackey shows that despite having nothing to do with salvation or faith, belief underlay every aspect of Roman religious practices—emotions, individual and collective cult action, ritual norms, social reality, and social power. In doing so, he also offers a thorough argument for the importance of belief to other non-Christian religions.

Something is wrong with the children along the Mississippi and it might have something to do with the mothers of KANT. Tatiara has never been closer to a case than when her sister Aliyah shows up with a foreboding fear that her new girlfriend might be tangled up in a pyramid scheme--or worse, a supernatural cult. Tatiara and Charlotte pack for a trip up the Mississippi, taking their investigation agency on the move to Memphis, Tennessee. With a cult of blonde-haired, blue-eyed Karens trying to keep her from the truth, Tatiara will need all of her quick problem-solving--and a little bit of ...

What do self-help culture, influencer branding, therapy-speak, and political polarization have in common? They all reflect a deeper crisis: the rise of hyper-individualism. In this provocative and timely book, The Age of Hyper-Individualism explores how the modern obsession with the self—its improvement, expression, and protection—has reshaped nearly every aspect of contemporary life. Drawing on philosophy, psychology, politics, spirituality, and pop culture, Daniel Kirrin examines how we got here and what it’s costing us. From the commodification of identity to the marketization of ...

A lonely roadside park on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula shouldn’t exist. No entrance, no exit. Just rusting swings, decaying picnic tables, and a faded softball diamond cut off from the world. Horror writer David Mercer thought it would be the perfect curiosity to explore with his wife Rachel and their young son Tyler. He was wrong. The moment they set foot past the shifting, crumbling fence, they’re trapped in a nightmare of blood and ritual. The paths twist back on themselves. Cell phones die. The highway is visible, but unreachable. And when the sun sets, the Keepers come. ...

The strange and sinister world of cults is a source of endless fascination. Their secrets, rituals and shadowy hierarchies make for some of the most disturbing and shocking revelations in history. Most chilling of all is the fact that many of their followers forfeit all independence in order to carry out the often sadistic bidding of a mysterious master manipulator - and continue to defend their leader to this day.

They Were Watching Me: True Encounters with the Digital Abyss is a chilling anthology of first-person horror stories from those who wandered too deep into the code, clicked the wrong link, or accepted the wrong friend request. Told with eerie realism and paranoid intimacy, these tales of online stalker cults, cursed livestreams, and identity-fracturing AI blur the line between digital safety and modern damnation. What begins as a DM, a strange forum invite, or an archived username quickly unravels into something far more sinister—something watching. Something remembering. Something ...

Elliott Smith’s life was not a cautionary tale—it was a complicated, relentless search for meaning inside a body and world that often seemed hostile to both. Needle in the Hay traces the unvarnished history of one of the most quietly influential singer-songwriters of the modern era, charting his trajectory from a turbulent Texas childhood to cult stardom, major label disillusionment, and his tragic, still-disputed death in 2003. Through thirty intricately detailed chapters, this biography reveals a man who never courted fame, yet found himself at its uncomfortable center. From lo-fi ...

Utilizing the linguistic insights of her “witty and brilliant” (Blyth Roberson, author of America the Beautiful?) first book Wordslut and the sociological explorations of her breakout hit Cultish, Amanda Montell now turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases in her most personal and electrifying work yet. Montell delves into a cornucopia of the cognitive biases and argues that in the modern information age, our brain’s coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven.