It’s a real puzzle for the world of psychology. Understanding why the cult and dark fascination surrounding the figure of Charles Manson is one of the great challenges that behavioral and personality science has long sought to unravel. Charles Manson, who was the fanatical leader of the “Family”, saw his following increase again after his death.
It’s certainly disconcerting. However, the subject is not new; Since the media trials took place in the early 1970s, something was immediately warned by the psychologists, psychiatrists and journalists who followed the case: Manson managed to orchestrate a kind of psychological fascination with which he managed to get his students to kill for him, and through which he managed to get a group of faithful around his figure.
- “My father is a prison.
- My mother a system.
- I am what you have made of me.
- I look at you and tell you.
- You want to kill me and I’m already dead.
- All my life I’ve been dead.
- “-Charles Manson-.
In 2014, Charles Manson obtained a license to marry while serving his life sentence. The bride was Afton Burton, a 26-year-old girl who has been in correspondence since she was 16. Although the wedding was never held, images of both can be seen, including the aesthetic transformation of the girl when she chose to look more like her idol, shaving her head and tattooing the famous cross on her forehead.
This fact, the circumstances of the murders themselves and the entire incomprehensible and unjust cult around Manson, now find a new spark of energy after his death, the weight of his name continues to grow, creating doubts that experts seek to clarify.
Throughout the history of criminology, there is one thing that repeats itself: evil attracts, the killer seduces and, more obviously, the great killers or instigators, as in Manson’s case, continue to sell and inspire paths to the world of film and television.
What criminologists agree on is that misconceptions about Manson’s figure are still maintained today. When we think of the most obvious example of a serial killer, for most of us, his face immediately comes to mind. However, in the history of the criminal world that represent the clearest example in this category, there are two much less media names: Ted Bundy and him?Clown Killer? John Wayne Gacy.
Charles Manson was not a serial killer and, in fact, never entered that category. From a psychological point of view, the case of the?Family? It is certainly one of the most striking for several reasons. Manson incited, persuaded and manipulated his followers into committing a series of murders guided by a very specific secret code: “Helter Skelter. “
These terms form only the title of a Beatles song, a song that spoke of the difficulties of love, but this for him was something else, it was the justification for an apocalyptic racial war, and it was his obsession and inspiration. The crimes occurred for two nights, that is, it was not an impulse, it was not an act motivated by a momentary illusion.
There was planning, and most impressing the experts, Manson led his followers to commit more murders, did not let them reflect on the acts they had committed and their power of persuasion and manipulation was absolute and perfect. absolute emotional coldness in them.
Subsequently, once in prison, attempts to understand the psychological aspects of Manson’s personality were almost constant, it can be said that there was never a clear and objective diagnosis of the types of disorders he suffered, however, what many analysts agree on was that it had two very different dimensions: frustration and conflict.
The childhood of abuse, deprivation and social services that neglected him completely led him to try to survive prematurely through crime. Constant defiance and contempt for authority have been a constant in his life. Later, megalomania, the formation of a psychopathic personality and Kakon Syndrome or Great Anguish.
However, there was one thing psychiatrists noticed in Charles Manson: his great ability to emotionally control people. A resource through which he nurtured his ego, he constituted a reference group (family) to which he adhered and faced, in turn, a society he despised.
Sheila Isenberg was one of the first psychiatrists to find the reasons for this fascination with a character as dark as Charles Manson; someone who, on the other hand, called himself “satan’s prophet. “Isenberg proposed several psychological theories in his book, “Women Love Men Who Kill. “Are:
A first explanation concerns “hyper empathy syndrome. “It occurs in women with very low self-esteem who connect only with relevant characters, people of notoriety who offer them a sense of worth. In this case, connect with a known killer. Whoever has had an impact on society is a way to feed your void and feel safer, and also more importantly.
In addition, their over empathy allows them to connect more deeply with the person, to the point of justifying the killer’s guilt.
“Homicidol” consists of two terms “homicidal idols”. This is something that certainly represents the figure of Charles Manson, as well as Jack the Ripper, Hannibal Lecter, etc. Sometimes, some people experience an attraction/admiration for people (real or fictional) who are known to perform acts of great violence, far from rejecting their actions, turn them into idols and figures to be revered.
This phenomenon, according to psychiatrists Micael Dahlén and Magnus Saderlund, usually occurs in successful women with good academic training and good social status, however, it must be said that this is quite common in our society, remember that the figure of Charles Manson inspired bands like Guns N?Roses or Marilyn Manson.
Hibristophilia is a term in forensic psychology that defines people who are attracted, both psychically and erotically, by “dangerous” individuals. Far from being normal behavior, this desire and this kind of attraction, unusual and above all unreasonable, certainly falls into the category of paraphilia.
In conclusion, if there is one thing we are sure of, it is that the figure of Charles Manson will endure (to our surprise) a long time enshrined in the social, criminal and cultural spheres. In fact, today’s name? Charles Manson continues to make a profit and his heirs expect his memory to remain present for a long time in order to enjoy it, in that sense it seems that it will not be difficult: recently Tarantino has already mentioned a film and new books are also expected.
Will the cult of evil or curiosity continue on the darker side of the human being and continue to attract us indefinitely?