A communal group led by Charles Manson in late-1960s California, whose members carried out the Tate–LaBianca murders in an attempt to trigger a race war Manson called "Helter Skelter."
Charles Manson assembled a group of mostly young followers in California in the late 1960s, drawing on a mix of Scientology-derived ideas, Beatles lyrics, and apocalyptic race-war theorizing he called “Helter Skelter.” Living communally, first at the Spahn Ranch outside Los Angeles, members were subjected to isolation, drug use, and Manson’s escalating control over their beliefs and actions.
In August 1969, Manson directed followers to commit a series of murders, including at the home of director Roman Polanski and actress Sharon Tate, and at the home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca the following night — seven deaths in total. Manson and several followers were convicted of murder in 1971; Manson died in prison in 2017.