Top 5 Charles Manson Facts

It's called “murder by proxy.” Manson was convicted of seven counts of first degree murder for his role in driving his devoted followers to homocide. That being said, Manson wasn't directly involved in the events which took place on August 9th and 10th in 1969, although he did accompany his group on the second night. Instead, he manipulated and ordered his followers to commit the Tate and LaBianca murders in his name, capitalizing on the almost Messianic hold he had over his so-called “Family.” This was thanks to the group's communal, cult-like existence on the Spahn Ranch, where Manson and his Family often indulged in heavy psychedelic drug use and orgies, all of which Manson oversaw as unquestioned leader. This sway and control made it possible for Manson to induce Family members Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, Patricia Krenwinkel, Leslie Van Houten and Charles "Tex" Watson to commit murder over the course of those two summer nights.

Barbara Hoyt was a former member of the Manson Family who was being urged to testify against Manson in the upcoming trial for both the Tate-LaBianca Murders as well as a separate murder of Spahn Ranch hand Donald "Shorty" Shea. Allegedly, some Manson Family members offered to give her a free trip to Hawaii in exchange for not testifying, and she agreed. She flew to Honolulu with another Manson Family member who, once they landed, fed her a hamburger that had been laced with ten tabs of acid. Hoyt would survive this attempt at witness tampering via overdose, but not before bad tripping hard and winding up in a Hawaiian psychiatric hospital. She went on testify against Manson and co.  

The members of Charles Manson's family wrote a number of words on the walls of their victims' homes in blood, most notably a misspelling of the famous Beatles song "Helter Skelter." This is because Manson ascribed a particularly important meaning to that song. He had a vision that a black vs. white race war was on the horizon, and believed that The Beatles knew about it. He told his followers that the Fab Four were passing coded messages directly to the them through the White album, and took “Helter Skelter” to describe the grand race war he prophesied. Manson thought that by fanning the flames to get this war started, his family could hide out and ultimately take control after the black people had won. And, of course, he worked in some crazy connection between the Beatles and the four horsemen of the apocalypse from the Book of Revelations in the Bible.

No, he didn’t always want to be a cult leader; he wanted to rock! In fact, he made numerous recordings with the Family and was arm’s length to some popular musicians. Manson developed a relationship with Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson. Wilson lived with a number of women at his California home, two of whom were hitchhikers he picked up who belonged to Manson's Family. Wilson began collaborating with Manson. Most notably, the Beach Boys recorded a song called "Never Learn not to Love," which was adapted by Wilson from a Manson tune. Manson wrote and recorded many songs in the 60s, some of which he petitioned other artists to record, and others which were covered by such acts as Guns 'n Roses. Makes you wonder: if Charlie’s music career had have gone a little better, would he have become a cult leader?

The infamous legacy of Charles Manson reared its head once again in 2015, when it came to light that a 25 year old woman named Afton Elaine Burton, referred to by Manson as "Star," had become engaged to the 80 year old convict. Star was the proprietor of a pro-Manson website and Facebook page, and had been visiting Manson in prison from the age of 19, claiming to be in love with the environmental texts he had written while incarcerated. Moreover, Star believes Manson is innocent of the murder charges, and was determined to marry him. The two even received a marriage license. Manson eventually called off these nuptials, when, according to crime writer Daniel Simone, he found out that Burton had plans to display Manson's corpse in a glass case as a Los Angeles attraction, charging spectators to view Manson in state. There’s very little to back up this claim, but honestly, nothing would surprise us when it comes to this guy.

So, did you learn anything about what Time Magazine calls one of the crimes of the century? Would you pay to see his preserved corpse? For more prison visiting top tens and drug burger top fives, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.