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The Penguin Book of Cults
A chilling documentary history of the most notorious cults of the past two thousand years, from the Celtic druids whose ritual sacrifices inspired the folk horror film The Wicker Man all the way up to the Peoples Temple and Heaven’s Gate
A Penguin Classic
The word “cult” conjures images of people in thrall to a charismatic leader who extracts obedience through lies and threats, and of apocalyptic prophecies, ritual sacrifices, sexual perversion, and mass suicide. The Penguin Book of Cults charts the history of our fear of the religious the arrest and public execution of thousands of members of an ancient Roman cult devoted to Bacchus, the god of wine; the burning alive of victims in giant wicker effigies as an offering to Celtic gods; the nocturnal orgies, murder of children, and demon worship of medieval heretics; a church of “human vampires” in nineteenth-century Kansas City; moral panics over the hypnotic powers of yoga; and mass casualty events like the sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo.
Bringing to light little-known sources such as a “death tape” of Jonestown’s final hour, when Jim Jones led more than 900 of his followers to drink poison, and a minute-by-minute log of the FBI’s final assault on the Branch Davidian headquarters, and including accounts of drinking the blood of sacrificed cats, theories that we are living inside a hollow earth, and reports that space brothers from Venus are coming to redeem us from the threat of nuclear war, this volume opens a fascinating window into cults and why some of them have ended in spectacular violence.
Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
A Penguin Classic
The word “cult” conjures images of people in thrall to a charismatic leader who extracts obedience through lies and threats, and of apocalyptic prophecies, ritual sacrifices, sexual perversion, and mass suicide. The Penguin Book of Cults charts the history of our fear of the religious the arrest and public execution of thousands of members of an ancient Roman cult devoted to Bacchus, the god of wine; the burning alive of victims in giant wicker effigies as an offering to Celtic gods; the nocturnal orgies, murder of children, and demon worship of medieval heretics; a church of “human vampires” in nineteenth-century Kansas City; moral panics over the hypnotic powers of yoga; and mass casualty events like the sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo.
Bringing to light little-known sources such as a “death tape” of Jonestown’s final hour, when Jim Jones led more than 900 of his followers to drink poison, and a minute-by-minute log of the FBI’s final assault on the Branch Davidian headquarters, and including accounts of drinking the blood of sacrificed cats, theories that we are living inside a hollow earth, and reports that space brothers from Venus are coming to redeem us from the threat of nuclear war, this volume opens a fascinating window into cults and why some of them have ended in spectacular violence.
Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
301 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 7, 2025
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November 16, 2025I have no clue why this has such bad reviews…?
October 13, 2025
More like The Penguin Book of Moral Panics. The majority of the pieces Laycock has chosen are about groups accused of being cults by their political or cultural enemies. Which, an example of -- sure! But until the grand finale of Jonestown (horrifying), Waco, Heaven's Gate, I think there's only one or two actual cults featured, and every example pre-20th century is a hoax. Could Laycock just not find anything, but neglected to reframe the book? Or is there some other agenda at play? In his (often very side-eye-inducing) commentary, he seems...weirdly pro-cult, or at least against the labeling of anything as a cult. Aside from noting that the label can be used as a tool of dehumanization (fair!) he never really explains why, though. And the lens he brings to this collection struck me as generally questionable: for example, you're going to find a (presumably rare) example of Christians being accused of blood libel, and not discuss or even mention the Blood Libel against Jews? Ok.
Does not at all do what it says on the tin.
Does not at all do what it says on the tin.
December 29, 2025
This was interesting for what it was (primary sources related to some cults), but wasn't as extensive as I'd hoped from the title.
October 15, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I was expecting this to be more like an encyclopedia, and less of a collection of primary source materials on a very small handful of cults throughout history. That fault lies with me in not checking the page count before reading. I really enjoyed the author's exposition before each primary source material, but I thought his choice of cults was strange. Very few of them actually happened, until we came into the 20th century. It almost made it seem as if cults are a 20th century malady and they were just hoaxes prior to that time. I think he would have been better served to actually explain some of the ancient cults, such as the cult of Dionysus, in more detail and trace how the meaning of that word has changed over time into its modern understanding today.
I was expecting this to be more like an encyclopedia, and less of a collection of primary source materials on a very small handful of cults throughout history. That fault lies with me in not checking the page count before reading. I really enjoyed the author's exposition before each primary source material, but I thought his choice of cults was strange. Very few of them actually happened, until we came into the 20th century. It almost made it seem as if cults are a 20th century malady and they were just hoaxes prior to that time. I think he would have been better served to actually explain some of the ancient cults, such as the cult of Dionysus, in more detail and trace how the meaning of that word has changed over time into its modern understanding today.
May 28, 2026
Thoroughly researched and a fascinating glimpse into cults ranging back centuries. I especially enjoyed the synopsis sections preceding each presentation of materials that give a firsthand look at how cults are presented and maintained. On an unrelated note, the thin paper stock this book is printed on is soft and easy to turn the pages/keep the book open.
October 11, 2025
A fairly interesting collection of documents with nicely informative preambles by the editor. The Jim Jones transcript was particularly chilling.
May 31, 2026
The Penguin Book of Cults, edited by Joseph P. Laycock
Laycock presents the concept of cults in a really interesting way. As he notes, hen some ancient and now-mainstream religions were introduced to different parts of the world, the response was often harsh condemnation based on either ignorance or bigotry. The response to things as innocuous as yoga is a bit wild to read, for example. Laycock's commentary can get a little thick - there are times he almost seems pro-cult (?) - but I choose to think he's asking us to view cult members as humans first, and perhaps to recognize that reflexively dismissing things as "cults" is not helpful. Maybe. I don't know
In most of the book, the focus is less on actual "cults" as opposed to people delivering commentary on purported "cults". Samples include early anti-Christian content from the second century CE, or anti-Catholicism wrapped up in conspiracy theories about convents in the US in the nineteenth century. Were these "cults" in a pejorative sense? No, but that didn't stop folks from describing them as such.
The later chapters get a bit harder to read. At one point I watched a documentary on Jonestown that included audio from the "death tape" and remember the sounds - not of Jones himself, but of folks in agony - to be deeply disturbing. Reading the whole transcript is disturbing. Laycock's commentary notes that in descriptions of Jonestown, so many of the folks who died are dehumanized or dismissed, and that's deeply unfair. For example, I had never heard of Christine Miller, who makes a last stand on the death tape to try and convince Jones and other followers to change their minds. (If you want to get emotional, check out her grave on Find a Grave.) In discussions of Jonestown, the people beyond Jones and his lieutenants seem to get lost pretty easily. Laycock asks readers not to do that.
The Heaven's Gate content in interesting, because while the theological content reads as nonsensical to me, there's an intelligence to the writing. These were people who made a deliberate choice - and a tragic choice - but one that presumably felt entirely in line with a worldview. It's less that we sympathize with that worldview than we acknowledge that the people involved were in fact human. They may have had beliefs that feel completely ridiculous to nonbelievers, but that doesn't negate their humanity.
So. If you're looking for a book about people being wild and having wild beliefs and doing things acting on those wild beliefs that seem beyond normal humanity, then, yeah, you'll get some of that. But you'll get a lot more commentary on, dare I say, respecting the people even if you don't respect their beliefs?
Also, again, the Jonestown death tape requires being in a good headspace for handling something like that.
Reading history:
Normally I keep this in my private notes section, but I'm moving it. Yay!
Reading history was not added on Goodreads, but was instead kept on a small piece of paper with the book.
Started May 26th, 2026.
Finished May 30th, 2026.
May 26th, 2026: listened to intro + chapters on the Bacchanalian Affair + The Wicker Man (pp. 1-19) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 27th, 2026: listened to chapters on Christian orgies, Pseudo-Nilus, the Orleans heresy, and William Dorrill (pp. 20-54) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 28th, 2026: listened to chapters on Maria Monk, Mediomania, the Kansas City vampire cult, Cyrus T. Reed, and George J. Schweinfurth (pp. 55-124) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 29th, 2026: listened to chapters on yoga cults + Aleister Crowley trial (pp. 125-155) + through 12 minutes into chapter on brainwashing (through roughly page 161) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 30th, 2026: restarted brainwashing chapter; listened to chapters on brainwashing, UFO religions, Jonestown, the Brand Davidians, Shoko Asahara, and Heaven's Gate (pp. 156-262) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
Laycock presents the concept of cults in a really interesting way. As he notes, hen some ancient and now-mainstream religions were introduced to different parts of the world, the response was often harsh condemnation based on either ignorance or bigotry. The response to things as innocuous as yoga is a bit wild to read, for example. Laycock's commentary can get a little thick - there are times he almost seems pro-cult (?) - but I choose to think he's asking us to view cult members as humans first, and perhaps to recognize that reflexively dismissing things as "cults" is not helpful. Maybe. I don't know
In most of the book, the focus is less on actual "cults" as opposed to people delivering commentary on purported "cults". Samples include early anti-Christian content from the second century CE, or anti-Catholicism wrapped up in conspiracy theories about convents in the US in the nineteenth century. Were these "cults" in a pejorative sense? No, but that didn't stop folks from describing them as such.
The later chapters get a bit harder to read. At one point I watched a documentary on Jonestown that included audio from the "death tape" and remember the sounds - not of Jones himself, but of folks in agony - to be deeply disturbing. Reading the whole transcript is disturbing. Laycock's commentary notes that in descriptions of Jonestown, so many of the folks who died are dehumanized or dismissed, and that's deeply unfair. For example, I had never heard of Christine Miller, who makes a last stand on the death tape to try and convince Jones and other followers to change their minds. (If you want to get emotional, check out her grave on Find a Grave.) In discussions of Jonestown, the people beyond Jones and his lieutenants seem to get lost pretty easily. Laycock asks readers not to do that.
The Heaven's Gate content in interesting, because while the theological content reads as nonsensical to me, there's an intelligence to the writing. These were people who made a deliberate choice - and a tragic choice - but one that presumably felt entirely in line with a worldview. It's less that we sympathize with that worldview than we acknowledge that the people involved were in fact human. They may have had beliefs that feel completely ridiculous to nonbelievers, but that doesn't negate their humanity.
So. If you're looking for a book about people being wild and having wild beliefs and doing things acting on those wild beliefs that seem beyond normal humanity, then, yeah, you'll get some of that. But you'll get a lot more commentary on, dare I say, respecting the people even if you don't respect their beliefs?
Also, again, the Jonestown death tape requires being in a good headspace for handling something like that.
Reading history:
Normally I keep this in my private notes section, but I'm moving it. Yay!
Reading history was not added on Goodreads, but was instead kept on a small piece of paper with the book.
Started May 26th, 2026.
Finished May 30th, 2026.
May 26th, 2026: listened to intro + chapters on the Bacchanalian Affair + The Wicker Man (pp. 1-19) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 27th, 2026: listened to chapters on Christian orgies, Pseudo-Nilus, the Orleans heresy, and William Dorrill (pp. 20-54) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 28th, 2026: listened to chapters on Maria Monk, Mediomania, the Kansas City vampire cult, Cyrus T. Reed, and George J. Schweinfurth (pp. 55-124) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 29th, 2026: listened to chapters on yoga cults + Aleister Crowley trial (pp. 125-155) + through 12 minutes into chapter on brainwashing (through roughly page 161) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 30th, 2026: restarted brainwashing chapter; listened to chapters on brainwashing, UFO religions, Jonestown, the Brand Davidians, Shoko Asahara, and Heaven's Gate (pp. 156-262) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
August 22, 2025
My thanks to NetGalley and Viking Penguin - Penguin Classics for and advance copy of this new tome that looks at the history of cults throughout human history, some that were misunderstood, some that went away by themselves, and more than a few that ended in violence, all of them preying on people who just wanted to find reason in the world that they lived in.
Life in this modern world seems a whole lot lonelier than I expected it to be. My brother has a family that absorbs his time, my friends have moved away, my skills at making new ones is pretty much gone. My co-workers are all younger so while my Simpsons jokes are funny, they enjoy Steven Universe much more. So I can see why people are drawn to things that seem sto strange. It might not make sense to me, but to them, well it offers them something that the silence of a room at home does not. Again, I can understand that. However I am not much of a joiner, and am much to cynical to belive anyone politician, medical, even comic book movie producers who promise me a grand world, if I just follow them. Many do. Some get out, some have the group around them come apart. Others will destroy democracy in an effort to not be proved wrong, of for believeing things like horse medicine, flat earths and orange leaders. And that's when a fun little gathering of like minded people goes really, really bad. As many in this book have. The Penguin Book of Cults by Joseph P. Laycock is a guide and history through documents of the time, and statements of members detailing the acts of many groups, cults, religious, political, sexual, social and more, that either lost the script, were attacked for their beliefs, both rightly and wrongly, or just were plain weird.
The book begins with a section on how cults grow and why people are drawn to them. Usually for a lot of the same reasons, no matter the time. People are confused by the world around them. Things are moving too fast, they are left behind. They find people also lost, who feel the same, their is a sense of community and shared struggle. And sometimes these things go wrong. Violently wrong. The book is written chronologically starting from early Roman cults, up to the present day with the Branch Davidians. There is a brief history of the cults, a look at what made them a drawer, a enigmatic leader, a positive message, and what brought their downfall. Not only are the tactics the same in having people join the cult, but so are the tactics that people use to besmirch them. Rumors of children being abused, or sacrificed, weird sexual practices,cavorting with dark arts. Gathering a lot of weapons with plans to bring down governments. Many of these cult do have plans, and the book looks at these, using documents of the time, histories, biographies, some real some fictional, and in the case of modern cults police reports.
The book is well laid out and well-written, with a lot of good examples, and lots of explanations for why things sound like this, what people had against the cults, and why they failed. Laycock has sympathy for those caught up in the cult actions, those innocents looking for something, but unable to find it. The history is interesting, and gives a good idea, if one can, what the beliefs were, and what life might have been like both living in the world, and why the cult made sense. a few of these were new to me, and in the case of the familiar, ones I lof ot new information was presented, as well as explained in further detail.
Not a book for everyone, but one that can explain a lot of what is going on in the modern world. There is a draw to being with people who share the same ideas, even if the ideas are a little out there, or wrong. Social media has ruined us in many ways, I expect that there are more cults and weird groups than even the most savvy of web surfers are aware of. A book that is a good reference to writers and podcast hosts, looking for subjects.
Life in this modern world seems a whole lot lonelier than I expected it to be. My brother has a family that absorbs his time, my friends have moved away, my skills at making new ones is pretty much gone. My co-workers are all younger so while my Simpsons jokes are funny, they enjoy Steven Universe much more. So I can see why people are drawn to things that seem sto strange. It might not make sense to me, but to them, well it offers them something that the silence of a room at home does not. Again, I can understand that. However I am not much of a joiner, and am much to cynical to belive anyone politician, medical, even comic book movie producers who promise me a grand world, if I just follow them. Many do. Some get out, some have the group around them come apart. Others will destroy democracy in an effort to not be proved wrong, of for believeing things like horse medicine, flat earths and orange leaders. And that's when a fun little gathering of like minded people goes really, really bad. As many in this book have. The Penguin Book of Cults by Joseph P. Laycock is a guide and history through documents of the time, and statements of members detailing the acts of many groups, cults, religious, political, sexual, social and more, that either lost the script, were attacked for their beliefs, both rightly and wrongly, or just were plain weird.
The book begins with a section on how cults grow and why people are drawn to them. Usually for a lot of the same reasons, no matter the time. People are confused by the world around them. Things are moving too fast, they are left behind. They find people also lost, who feel the same, their is a sense of community and shared struggle. And sometimes these things go wrong. Violently wrong. The book is written chronologically starting from early Roman cults, up to the present day with the Branch Davidians. There is a brief history of the cults, a look at what made them a drawer, a enigmatic leader, a positive message, and what brought their downfall. Not only are the tactics the same in having people join the cult, but so are the tactics that people use to besmirch them. Rumors of children being abused, or sacrificed, weird sexual practices,cavorting with dark arts. Gathering a lot of weapons with plans to bring down governments. Many of these cult do have plans, and the book looks at these, using documents of the time, histories, biographies, some real some fictional, and in the case of modern cults police reports.
The book is well laid out and well-written, with a lot of good examples, and lots of explanations for why things sound like this, what people had against the cults, and why they failed. Laycock has sympathy for those caught up in the cult actions, those innocents looking for something, but unable to find it. The history is interesting, and gives a good idea, if one can, what the beliefs were, and what life might have been like both living in the world, and why the cult made sense. a few of these were new to me, and in the case of the familiar, ones I lof ot new information was presented, as well as explained in further detail.
Not a book for everyone, but one that can explain a lot of what is going on in the modern world. There is a draw to being with people who share the same ideas, even if the ideas are a little out there, or wrong. Social media has ruined us in many ways, I expect that there are more cults and weird groups than even the most savvy of web surfers are aware of. A book that is a good reference to writers and podcast hosts, looking for subjects.
November 8, 2025
okay, this was fascinating in the best possible way. i’ve always been obsessed with cults and weird belief systems, so this was basically a guaranteed win for me, but it still surprised me how readable and genuinely interesting it was. it’s not just another “look how crazy these people were” kind of book. it actually digs into why people believed what they did, what made these movements so magnetic, and how they spiraled.
it’s dense, but not boring. every section has this mix of horror and curiosity, like watching something awful unfold and not being able to look away. i kept googling things every other page just to see if certain quotes or events were real (spoiler: most of them were, and they’re even more messed up in context).
it’s not perfect though. some parts felt a little too much like a list of “here’s another group that did this insane thing,” and i wanted more depth on the lesser-known ones. a few transitions felt abrupt, like the book was rushing to squeeze in one more wild story before moving on. but still, the research is insane, and it’s clearly written by someone who knows how to balance intrigue and respect.
it’s smart, eerie, and completely absorbing. the kind of book that makes you stare at the wall after finishing a chapter and go, “holy shit, people really did that.”
it’s dense, but not boring. every section has this mix of horror and curiosity, like watching something awful unfold and not being able to look away. i kept googling things every other page just to see if certain quotes or events were real (spoiler: most of them were, and they’re even more messed up in context).
it’s not perfect though. some parts felt a little too much like a list of “here’s another group that did this insane thing,” and i wanted more depth on the lesser-known ones. a few transitions felt abrupt, like the book was rushing to squeeze in one more wild story before moving on. but still, the research is insane, and it’s clearly written by someone who knows how to balance intrigue and respect.
it’s smart, eerie, and completely absorbing. the kind of book that makes you stare at the wall after finishing a chapter and go, “holy shit, people really did that.”
May 19, 2026
I really enjoyed the author’s approach of handling the details of alleged cults that date back thousands of years. The term “cult” has lost much of its value over the years with mainstream media and it was interesting to see how the label impacted groups across the timeline. From my experience with books exploring cults, you usually hear the same information about the same groups. I was happy to learn about groups I have never heard of before, whether they were truly cults or suspected fabricated stories. Even when handling well known stories, like the Branch Davidians, the author pulled resources that highlighted the actions of Koresh prior to the controversial standoff.
March 16, 2026
It feels like there should be some sort of narrative thread linking cults together. otherwise, this feels like a random examination of different cults throughout the years. the heavens gates story was the most interesting in my opinion.
June 14, 2026
Pretty solid! Interesting how the idea of cults has usually been propaganda to warn against other cultures for most of history... Until leaded gasoline was widely used (esp in the US, where most of the cults are). Not saying that it was a contributing factor but I'm also not not saying that
March 17, 2026
Wonderful primary source. This is based around a selection of cults with their history as intro and then their texts. Fascinating and hard to read at points.
April 20, 2026
Excellent dive into cults over the ages, yet offers alternate perspectives to each feature that leave a lot of questions for the reader to mull over.
June 1, 2026
Not enough major cults for a “book of cults”— the obvious ones were talked about but not the truly horrifying ones…
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