{"id":120622,"date":"2020-04-19T13:21:15","date_gmt":"2020-04-19T17:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=120622"},"modified":"2020-04-19T13:21:15","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T09:19:24","slug":"the-manson-murders-helter-skelter-and-the-master-of-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-manson-murders-helter-skelter-and-the-master-of-chaos\/","title":{"rendered":"The Manson Murders: Helter Skelter and the Master of Chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"The
Charles Manson competes with such rarefied personalities as Adolf Hitler and Kim Jong Un for the coveted title of Homicidal Lunatic of the Universe (not a real award). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s really not all that surprising to find a single diseased mind that is capable of some pretty outlandish behavior. I once met a guy on a psych rotation who had murdered his mom and then spent two days driving around with her in the car. He got caught when he took her chilly corpse with him through the drive-through at McDonald’s. Sometimes folks just aren\u2019t wired correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
It\u2019s tough for normal folk to comprehend how substantial numbers of people might be induced to engage in overtly amoral behavior. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What is even more viscerally shocking,\nhowever, are those circumstances wherein a significant group of people can be\nmotivated to engage in egregiously antisocial behavior en masse. The Nazis are\nthe archetypal examples. How do you convince an entire population to suspend\nhuman decency and commit such atrocities as those for which the National\nSocialists were responsible?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Manson Family during the salad days. These same fun-loving sex-crazed drug-abusing hippies ultimately committed some of the most shocking crimes in American history. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On a smaller scale, we see the same profoundly psychotic mindset on display within the Manson Family. Comprised predominantly of disaffected white middle-class women, the family had at its apogee around 100 members. By the time the legal system incarcerated the guru of this drug-addled homicidal mob they had brutally killed seven people. The darkly messianic overtones of Charles Manson\u2019s twisted worldview will make your skin crawl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Making of a Monster<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
This is Manson\u2019s troubled alcoholic mom, Kathleen. She traded the infant Charles to a woman who could not have children in exchange for a pitcher of beer. Manson\u2019s uncle tracked the woman down and retrieved the child. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Charles Manson was born in Cincinnati,\nOhio, in 1934 to a sixteen-year-old single mother named Kathleen\nManson-Bower-Cavender. Manson\u2019s father was purportedly Colonel Walker\nHenderson Scott. Don\u2019t be impressed with that, however.\nColonel was a given name, not a military rank. Colonel Scott was a professional\ncon artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Charles Manson was a handsome enough lad. However, there lurked underneath the most remarkable darkness. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As is so often the case with truly extraordinary criminals,\nManson\u2019s upbringing was chaotic, violent, and tragic. Kathleen was an\nunrepentant alcoholic who was in and out of jail. Charles began shoplifting by\nage nine. At age thirteen he was caught stealing a gun from his uncle\u2019s home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
By his teen years, Manson\u2019s true nature had become readily apparent. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During one of his several teenaged arrests, Charles was given a series of aptitude tests. He was found to be illiterate, have an IQ of 107 (100 is the accepted average) and was diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder. Think of Antisocial Personality Disorder as essentially the congenital absence of a conscience. Persons thusly afflicted are unable to empathize with the pain or basic needs of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Prison is the criminals\u2019 finishing school. Manson mastered his trade while inside. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Manson was sexually assaulted on several occasions while\nincarcerated and adopted a self-defense technique he called the \u201cinsane game\u201d\nwherein he flailed about, screeched, and grimaced to convince an attacker that\nhe was well and truly unhinged. He was later disciplined for a series of\nhomosexual assaults to include the rape of a boy at knifepoint. By age 32\nManson had spent fully half his life behind bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting a Family<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Female runaways, drug addicts, and prostitutes found Manson to be a mesmerizing personality. This shot of some of Manson\u2019s disciples was taken at the Spahn Ranch where the group was headquartered. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Charles Manson was undeniably charismatic, and women were\nattracted to him. I will never understand this. I always tried to be gracious,\ngenerous, respectful, and, within my limited capabilities, charming. Apparently\nI was doing it wrong. Some women just prefer psychopaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Dennis Carl Wilson was a founding member of the Beach Boys. A chance meeting with Wilson nearly landed Manson a career in music. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before he entered the full-time homicidal cult business\nManson was a singer and song-writer. Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys picked up\nPatricia Krenwinkel, one of the Manson girls, while she was hitchhiking in\n1968. Returning from a recording session the following day he was greeted by\nCharles Manson and a mob of his female acolytes occupying his home. This\nbizarre and awkward chance meeting landed one of Manson\u2019s songs on the B-side\nof a Beach Boys single. Manson was not credited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Manson\u2019s Family lived in a disused Western movie set along with the blind geriatric owner of the place. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Manson and his followers set up shop at an abandoned Western\nmovie set called the Spahn Ranch, armed themselves, and kept busy plotting the\ncoming apocalypse. Manson\u2019s bizarrely twisted worldview called for a series of\nsongs he was producing to somehow precipitate a sweeping race war between\nblacks and whites that would ultimately devolve into genocide. This hemoclysmic\nevent was to be called Helter Skelter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Manson wanted to see the world burn and then take his rightful place as the leader of its survivors. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First Killing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Gary Hinman was, by all accounts, a pretty nice guy who was doomed by his poor choice in friends. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first person the Manson mob murdered was a music teacher and UCLA Ph.D. student named Gary Hinman. Like most of the Manson killings, this one spawned from a misunderstanding. Manson\u2019s crew thought they were shaking Hinman down for a $25,000 inheritance. These lunatics held this poor slob hostage for two days before they realized that he was just as broke as they were. In the process Manson cutoff part of Hinman\u2019s ear with a sword. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Manson follower Bobby Beausoleil ultimately murdered Gary Hinmon when he realized he couldn\u2019t take the injured man to an ER without going to jail. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Manson disciple named Bobby Beausoleil eventually stabbed the poor guy to death. Beausoleil was a former porn actor who fit in perfectly with Manson\u2019s freak show of a family. Family members wrote \u201cPolitical Piggy\u201d on the walls in Hinman\u2019s blood along with a panther print in a failed effort at convincing the authorities that Black Panther revolutionaries were responsible. This, however, was just the warm-up act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Main Event<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Movie director Roman Polanski and his wife Sharon Tate were the poster children for Aquarian 1960\u2019s awesomeness. Their unfortunate choice of a rental home ultimately lead to tragedy. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Movie director Roman Polanski and his pregnant wife Sharon\nTate lived in a domicile previously occupied by an acquaintance of Manson.\nManson had suffered a disagreement with the previous occupants and likely\ntargeted the place as a result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Susan Atkins is in the middle. Patricia Krenwinkel is on the right. Another cult member named Leslie Van Houten who participated in a later murder is shown on the left. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In a further twisted effort at triggering his coveted race war, Manson directed three of his followers, Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinkel, to proceed to the address and kill everybody they found there. Armed with a cheap .22 pistol, a folding Buck knife, and some rope, this merry trio struck out on the evening of August 8, 1969. Linda Kasabian tagged along but didn\u2019t take part in the killings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Jay Sebring was a hairdresser and former lover of Sharon Tate\u2019s who was keeping her company while her husband Roman was away in Europe. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Polanski was in Europe working on a movie. Present this\nfateful night were his wife Sharon, herself 8 and \u00bd months pregnant, and\nSharon\u2019s former lover, Jay Sebring. Apparently Roman was a fairly open-minded\nsort, so Sebring, a hairstylist of some renown, was a perennial houseguest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Wojciech Frykowski and his friend the coffee heiress Abigail Folger were staying with Sharon Tate when the Manson Family struck. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Also in attendance was a Polish friend of Polanski\u2019s named\nWojciech Frykowski along with his lady friend Abigail Folger. Abigail was the\ndaughter of Peter Folger and heiress to the substantial Folgers coffee fortune.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Famed music producer Quincy Jones was originally invited to the Polanski-Tate home on the evening of the attack. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In a bizarre twist of fate, three other people who should\nhave been at the house that evening were not. Music producer Quincy Jones had\nplanned to join in but backed out on short notice. Famed action movie star\nSteve McQueen and his girlfriend were also slated to attend but declined at the\nlast minute in favor of an intimate night at home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
In the late 1960s, Steve McQueen was a hard man. The evening might have turned out very differently had he been present. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1969 Steve McQueen, an ex-Marine, was an accomplished\nmartial artist who trained with his friend Bruce Lee and kept himself\nlegendarily fit. Though undeniably determined, Manson\u2019s ad hoc hit squad was\npoorly armed and not unduly impressive physically. The mind boggles as to how\nthings might have turned out differently had the legendary King of Cool been\nadded to the tactical mix. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Steve McQueen, shown here on the right, rightfully feared for his safety following the Sharon Tate murders. He was known to keep a gun handy afterward. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After the Tate murders, McQueen kept a weapon close and remained on the lookout for Manson Family assailants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Tex Watson\u2019s first order of business was to scale this telephone pole and cut the phone lines with a pair of bolt cutters he brought along for this purpose. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Accompanied by the two women, Watson approached on foot and cut the phone lines into the house. In the driveway, he encountered an 18-year-old young man named Steven Parent who had been visiting the caretaker of the property in the guest house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
This is one of the .22 bullets that killed Steven Parent. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After a brief exchange, Watson attacked Parent with a knife then shot him four times in the chest with his .22 pistol, killing him as he sat in his car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Watson and his pals brought this rope with them the night of the killings. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once inside the house, the Manson followers rousted the occupants and brought them into the living room. They then used their rope to truss their victims up. When queried as to their intentions Watson answered, \u201cI\u2019m the devil, and I\u2019m here to do the devil\u2019s business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
This was the round that killed Jay Sebring as he attempted to defend Sharon Tate from her attackers. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Watson tied Sebring and Tate together by their necks,\nsnaking the rope over an exposed beam in the living room. Sebring objected to\ntheir rough treatment of Tate and was shot for his trouble. Frykowski then\nslipped his bonds but was stabbed as he fled the house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Watson physically beat Frykowski with his inexpensive .22 pistol, damaging it in the process. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Frykowski made it out the front door before Watson caught up\nwith him. Watson then beat him vigorously with his pistol, breaking the grip\nand trigger guard, before shooting him twice and killing him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Such gruesome adornments as this, scrawled with a towel dipped in Sharon Tate\u2019s blood, were intended to convince the police that the attack had been racially motivated. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Folger was ultimately stabbed 28 times. Frykowski\u2019s body had\n51 separate wounds. Tate was stabbed 16 times and killed. Before they called it\na day Manson\u2019s crew wrote \u201cPig\u201d on the front door in Sharon Tate\u2019s blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interlude<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The gruesome murder of a popular pregnant movie actress and her friends captivated the world. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The murder of Sharon Tate and her friends by Charles Manson\u2019s homicidal acolytes represents one of the most sordid and darkly fascinating crimes in American history. Next week we will explore the Manson Family arsenal, the aftermath of these horrific crimes, and see what fate ultimately befell the perpetrators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica!<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The murder of Sharon Tate and her friends by Charles Manson\u2019s homicidal acolytes represents one of the most sordid and darkly fascinating crimes in American history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":120637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[257,772],"tags":[132,102,752,636,2087],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-120622","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-historical-guns","8":"category-will-dabbs","9":"tag-buzz","10":"tag-feature-articles","11":"tag-historical-guns","12":"tag-history","13":"tag-murder"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Manson Murders: Helter Skelter and the Master of Chaos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Manson Murders: Helter Skelter and the Master of Chaos - Will Dabbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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However, shooting guns and claiming it was work seemed like a pretty sweet hustle. As a result, Will serendipitously transformed an avocation into a vocation. Raised in the Mississippi Delta, Will flew UH1H, OH58A\\\/C, CH47D and AH1S helicopters operationally as an Army Aviator. He is SCUBA-qualified and has parachuted out of perfectly good airplanes at 3 o'clock in the morning. Will has summited Mount McKinley, Alaska, six times\u2026always at the controls of an Army helicopter, which is the only way sensible folk climb mountains. Will has delivered sixty babies and occasionally wrung human blood out of his socks. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has three awesome adult children. 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