Heaven's Gate Mass Suicide

The Heaven s Gate cult, founded by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles in the 1970s, believed their human bodies were temporary 'vehicles' and that death was an escape to a higher existence. By the 1990s, they became obsessed with the Comet Hale–Bopp comet, with Marshall Applewhite convincing his followers that a spaceship trailed it, ready to transport them. On March 26, 1997, 39 members of Heaven s Gate committed mass suicide in a rented property in United States — Rancho Santa Fe, California. They were found identically dressed in dark attire and Nike, Inc. trainers, with purple cloths covering their faces. Before their deaths, many members, including a young US Army soldier and a 71-year-old grandmother, recorded farewell messages expressing gratitude and joy. Marshall Applewhite's final message instructed that mass suicide was the only way to 'evacuate' Earth.