Ali’s Reviews > Cults that Kill: Shocking True Stories of Horror from Psychopathic Leaders, Doomsday Prophets, and Brainwashed Followers to Human Sacrifices, Mass Suicides and Grisly Murders > Status Update

In Cults in Our Midst, Singer and Lalich identify the three characteristics of cult leaders: Cult leaders are self-appointed, persuasive persons who claim to have a special mission in life or to have special knowledge. Cult leaders tend to be determined and domineering, and are often described as charismatic. Cult leaders center veneration on themselves.