Cult Behavior: The Charles Manson Story
Born to a broken home and family on November 12th, 1934 Charles Manson had dreamed
of having a family on his own. Manson was born to Kathleen Maddox when she was 16 years
old. She was not a very good mother as she had been in and out of prison for strong-armed
robbery and prostitution multiple times. Manson was moved to his aunt and uncle’s home where
his grandmother took him to church. When Manson turned 9, a discussion with his uncle begging
him not to go to a ‘Yankee’ school inspired him to set his school on fire. This was the beginning
of Manson’s history of crime. Subsequently, Manson was in and out of reform schools, running
away within a short amount of time. He began breaking into stores and stealing cars at a very
young age. It was his time in prison in which he learned that society was a mask of lies and he
believed he knew the only truth. He also admitted that he enjoyed his stay in prison because
“there [was] a certain amount of truth in prison”.
At 19 years old, Manson was finally out on parole and met his wife Rosalie Jean Willis.
Soon after, he held up a store and was sent to Los Angeles Federal Prison. Upon his release, he
went to create a family of his own. This was the beginning of the formation of his cult. Charles
would tell “complete truths” to abandoned and desperate young adults just like him self to lure
