What would you do, to meet Jesus? I don’t know about you, but suicide doesn't seem like the best option. Marshall Applewhite would disagree, you see, Marshall was part of a religious group named Heaven’s Gate.  Now if that name doesn’t ring any bells, let me sum it up for you: Heaven’s gate was a religious conspiracy group who committed mass suicide in order to reach Jesus, who was flying in a U.F.O, hiding behind a comet.

This might seem a little crazy at first, but don’t worry, it only gets crazier. Heaven’s gate is a UFO-religious group founded by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. They met in a psychiatric hospital where she worked, why was he there? Because of a relationship he had had with one of the students at the school where he was teaching! Applewhite and Nettles agreed that they where the “Two” mentioned in the Book of Revelation. This led them to believe that they were a “Level above Human.”

Apparently, being a “Level above Human” means they are a level above human law. Not only was Applewhite accused of a sexual relationship with a minor, he has also committed several other crimes since! In 1974, the pair was charged with credit card fraud, but the charges were dropped. He was sentenced to six months for stealing a car. He had rented a car and never returned it. But by far the worst crime he had committed was convincing 38 other people to commit suicide with him.

Nettles and Applewhite founded what was known at the time as the “Human Individual Metamorphosis.” The pair produced brochures and advertisements recruiting people to their cause. Late in 1975, the “Two” and about a dozen other individuals sold all their worldly possessions and disappeared. Some people speculated whether they had “taken on a so-called trip to eternity – or simply been taken.” Really though, the group had simply gone underground. The pair and their almost 100 person following moved across America, camping, recruiting and begging while avoiding authorities and the media.

After the death of Nettles in 1985, Applewhite reformed the group. It was during this time that the idea that the comet hale-bopp housed their salvation . The group bought a 9000 ft  mansion in San Diego, California where they all lived together. The group even purchased alien abduction insurance, which would pay out 1 million USD per person, great deal right? 39 members of the group were found dead on March 26, 1997. 2/10 would not join, they do cover the insurance though.