Charles Manson

Why did I choose to write about Charles Manson?
I hadn't heard that much about Charles Manson. The only thing I knew,
was that the famous singer Marilyn Manson, took his artist-name as a
combination between the murder Charles Manson and the actress Marilyn
Monroe. I considered a lot before I fi gured out what I was going to
write about. After some researches on the internet I had found enough
facts to start writing. The more I studied Charles Manson, the more
fascinated I became. It is hard to believe how one man can make someone
kill that many people. I think that Charles Manson have much in
common with the Swedish pastor Helge Fossmo, also known as "Knutby-
pastorn". Both Charles Manson and Helge Fossmo, was both front
fi gures in their own sect. Helge Fossmo had his "Knutby församling",
a Whitsun-church (Pingstkyrka in Swedish) that strayed off and became some kind of sect, while Charles
Manson had his "family", a little gang of boys and girls, that he had manipulated to make them kill, just like
Helge Fossmo did with his sect. Why? That's a question that you can ask yourself. Well, who knows. He was a
madman. He was addicted to drugs. He had a bad growth. All of this can have helped to make him a fanatical
psycho. His madness was what I got fascinated by. How somebody can be so sick. How somebody can sink
so deep into his own sick faith...
Viktor Mossbäck Nordström
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Charles Manson
Charles Manson is most known as a serial killer and a sect leader. His sect most famous murder is the murder
of the actress Sharon Tate, Roman Polanski's wife at the time. Charles Manson was born on November the
12th in 1934, in the little town Cincinnati, Ohio, as Charles Milles Maddox, but the name was changed to
Manson, after his (vary absentee) father. At the age of thirteen, Charles' mother, Kathleen Maddox, who was
an alcoholic and a prostitute, attempted to put him in a foster home. When she couldn't fi nd any, she put him
in boarding school for boys, a reform school in Terre Haute, Indiana. Charles Manson escaped from the school
in within a year. He ran back to his mother, but she still wanted nothing to do with him. That made him very
sad. He started living on the streets, supporting himself by stealing. In 1954, after some arrests and escapes,
Manson was sent to federal prison for driving a stolen car across state lines. By the end of 1952, he had eight
assault charges against him. He was transferred to another facility, but was released in 1954.
In January, of the year 1955, he married the 17 year old girl Rosalie Jean Willis. Together they moved to California.
Not long after the wedding, Manson stole a car and was arrested. Rosalie Jean Willis got pregnant in April
the same year. At the time of the birth of Charles Manson's son, Charles himself was arrested so he couldn't be
present. Manson son, Charles M. Manson Jr. committed suicide in 1993, at the age of 38. However. Not long
after the birth of their son, Willis left town with a truck driver and their son. 'Of course' Manson was arrested
again not long after this. Two years later, 1958, he was released from the prison. But in 1959,
he was arrested again. This time, it was for passing stolen checks. This time he was given a
9 months probation. During the probation, he met a woman named Leona. They got married.
On June the 1st in 1960, Manson was arrested for buying sex from prostitutes. As he only had
a 9 months probation, he was arrested and put in prison. He was supposed to stay in prison for
ten years. Soon after his arrest, Leona gave birth to his second son, Charles Luther Manson.
McNeil Island in Washington, was the place for the prison that manson was put in. Manson became
cell mate with a famous bank robber, named Alvin Karpis. Karpis taught Manson how to
play the guitar, and how to read music. Manson was fi nally released March 21, 1967. He didn't even want to be
free. He wanted to stay in prison, but was released against his wish. Manson now moved to the Haight Ashbury
section of San Francisco, California. It was here he started to create his "family" aka "The Manson Family".

He started to look for weak and searching young men and women, well, he gathered a group of younger followers,
a commune bound together by fanatical loyalty to Manson. Soon, he moved to San Francisco and
made it the "base" for him and his gang. It was this gang, who later on became "The Family". At this point, he
changed his name from Charles Milles Manson to Charles Willis Manson. The reason was so that he's name
could be read as Charles' Will is Man's Son. Manson started to say to the
family that he was Jesus. LSD was a important part of the family, and they
had a "weak" mind, so they believed him. Manson and his family moved
at this time in to an unused ranch in San Fernando Valley. This ranch was
from the beginning used for making western movies. The name of the
ranch was Spahn Ranch.
Manson got very inspired by The Beatles song Helter Skelter.
He became convinced that a nuclear war was near, based on
the Biblical prophecy and, The Beatles album "The White Album"
including Helter Skelter. He also was strongly infl uenced by the Scientology, Process Church,
Church of Satan, Circle Order of Dog Blood and The Four Pi Movement. All strange cult's end sects.
When the family was as biggest, it was about 100 people in it. But the core of the family was only 30 persons.
Manson fi rst started to manipulate the family to do some small crimes; physical abuse, car thefts etc. This
became more "dangerous" crimes and as you may have fi gured out now, it in the end became respectless murders.
The Manson Family

Some of the family members
Susan Atkins Charles Watson
Susan Atkins Leslie Van Houten
Patricia Krenwinkle
These are the family members that appeared the most in American newspaper and TV during the court proceedings
towards Manson and his "family".
The Killings
On the night of August 9, 1969, Manson told some members of the family to go kill the famous actress Sharon
Tate, the wife of Roman Polanski. They did.
The members who were instructed to do this, was Charles "Tex" Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Susan
Atkins. Sharon Tate was pregnant at the time, and some friends had stayed with her that night. At or around
midnight, the family members entered the grounds of the Beverly Hills. Before entering the house, they
killed Steven Parent, an 18 years old friend of Tate. Then they broke into the house. Jay Sebring, a noted
hairstylist and friend of the Polanskis' was visiting, and when he attempted to defend Tate, he was shot by
Watson who then kicked him several times in the face. Then they killed Sharon Tate. The last thing Tate
heard in her life was Susan Atkins saying: "Look bitch, I have no mercy for you. You're going to die and
you'd better get used to it"
With her blood, they wrote the word "Pig" with blood at the front door. On a wall in the house, they wrote
"Helter Skelter".
This was just the beginning...
They also killed:
Leno LaBianca
Rosemary LaBianca
Gary Hinman
and maybe more!
The motive of the murders are still today unclear.

The Other SIdes Of Manson
Manson was also a musician, a poet and an artist. He had, as mentioned, learned to play guitar
in jail. Charles Manson even wrote a song for the Beach Boys. Actually, he was a friend of
Dennis Wilson of Beach Boys. He ...