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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 ancient Roman ritual sacrifices that inspired
The Wicker Man
all the way up to Heaven’s Gate
A Penguin Classic
Hypnotism. Human sacrifice. Sexual perversion. Mass suicide. For millennia, people have been enthralled by graphic descriptions of terrible rites performed by the religious other. The Penguin Book of Cults compiles the most notorious and uncanny of these true salacious stories of frenzied worship by the cult of Dionysus; human sacrifices burned alive in giant wooden effigies, the inspiration for the (cult) classic movie The Wicker Man; moral panics over the hypnotic powers of yoga; the massacre at Jonestown, which left hundreds of bodies strewn across a foreign jungle; the bloody FBI siege of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas; the deadly chemical attack in a Tokyo subway by the Aum Shinrikyo cult; and the mass suicide of Heaven’s Gate. Both terrible and tragic, this illuminating history of cults exposes the seductive power with which new religious movements have ensnared their followers and beguiled outsiders for generations.
A Penguin Classic
Hypnotism. Human sacrifice. Sexual perversion. Mass suicide. For millennia, people have been enthralled by graphic descriptions of terrible rites performed by the religious other. The Penguin Book of Cults compiles the most notorious and uncanny of these true salacious stories of frenzied worship by the cult of Dionysus; human sacrifices burned alive in giant wooden effigies, the inspiration for the (cult) classic movie The Wicker Man; moral panics over the hypnotic powers of yoga; the massacre at Jonestown, which left hundreds of bodies strewn across a foreign jungle; the bloody FBI siege of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas; the deadly chemical attack in a Tokyo subway by the Aum Shinrikyo cult; and the mass suicide of Heaven’s Gate. Both terrible and tragic, this illuminating history of cults exposes the seductive power with which new religious movements have ensnared their followers and beguiled outsiders for generations.
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First published October 7, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 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.
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November 16, 2025I have no clue why this has such bad reviews…?
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.”
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.
October 11, 2025
A fairly interesting collection of documents with nicely informative preambles by the editor. The Jim Jones transcript was particularly chilling.
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.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews