Cult Is Gone to Suicide, but Website Lives On

Members of the Heaven's Gate cult drank lethal doses of poison 17 years ago so they could be picked up by an alien spaceship and taken to the "next level" of life. But the mass suicide didn't apply to the group's website, which is still in operation, reports Gizmodo. In fact, you can still buy tapes on the cult's teachings and pose questions that will be dutifully answered via email. Communication from another world, maybe? Nope, explains Ashley Feinberg. It seems that two former members didn't move on to the next level. Mark and Sarah King have been maintaining HeavensGate.com since 1997, as they promised they would.

"They trained us on how they wanted emails to be taken care of, how to relate to the public, and how to disseminate their information," the married couple tell Gizmodo in an email. "Their words were "here is your mission, if you chose to accept it" and we did and have for over 17 years." The Kings insist they're not trying to recruit people to restart the cult. Instead, they're mostly just keeping a promise they made in 1997. Click to read the full article, which goes into detail on the group's beliefs. (More Heaven's Gate stories.)