Cult Observer Archives

The Cult Observer,

November/December 1995

Remembering Jonestown

 The anniversary of the Jonestown tragedy – the event which may be said to have ushered the modern cult phenomenon into national consciousness – was marked on November 18 when families and friends of many of those who died in the murder-suicides of 912 people, 276 of whom were children, gathered at the Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, California.

Mourners included Dr. Margaret Singer, the prominent writer and researcher on cults and cultism (and a director of AFF, publisher of The Cult Observer), and Janja Lalich, co-author with Singer of the recently published Cults In Our Midst (and an AFF Associate).

A special invitation to the Jonestown remembrance signed by Singer and Lalich, asked recipients to "join us in remembering those who have been lost to the tragedies of a cult. At the same time, by helping bring attention to this issue, you will be alerting others to not ignore the atrocities of cult relationship. Take this opportunity to meet families and friends of many of those who died in Jonestown in 1978, and come to understand the effects that a cult can have on others." (Cult Observer Report)