Cult Members Wear Strange Clothing, Ingest Weird Foods, Endure Painful Rituals
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A cult that indoctrinates members with painful, repetitive rituals has members worldwide, Dumb Runner has learned—and some are worried about their motives.
Members of the unnamed cult also dress in unusual clothing and ingest strange food and drink as part of their rituals, according to experts, occasionally massing in public streets and disrupting normal day-to-day activities.
“We’ve seen this group steadily grow over the years, beginning in the 1970s,” said Ian Astbury, Ph.D., a professor of religious studies at the University of Sells-Sanctuary who has written several books on cults. “It’s fascinating.”
“They seem to lack a single, charismatic leader, which is unusual for a cult,” he said. “As a result, they work in disparate yet connected cells, which can be found virtually everywhere around the world.”
Astbury said that he and other experts have been monitoring the group closely, though they superficially appear harmless.
“No one seems to be coerced into joining, which is a positive sign,” he said. “But once they’re in, members are easily manipulated, to the point where they will spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars to maintain their inclusion in the group.”
Much of that money, he said, goes toward special shoes and brightly colored clothing that can only be described as outlandish.
“Certainly nothing an ordinary person would wear. But it marks them as members of this group, helping to create a sense of belonging and solidarity.”
Painful physical trials add to that, said Astbury.
“In fact, these physical rituals are central to the group’s cohesion,” he explained. “Members regularly undergo a sort of self-flagellation, both alone and in groups. Occasionally, they will converge on a town or city for a large mass ritual, taking over entire streets and roads, drinking strange liquids and eating gooey substances from pouches.”
No one is sure what motivates them, Astbury added, but their devotion is intense.
“I’ve seen these people persist in their rituals to the point of injury,” he said. “It’s impressive, but also, frankly, a little scary.”
“I mean, what do they want?” he said. “What’s their end game?”
“I think even they don’t know.”
