Mayhem In The Mansonverse

The Crimes Just Keep On Going…

I didn’t jump into the true crime pool with an agenda. This long strange trip began with a sushi lunch six years ago, and a dare. My friend Jake and I were enjoying some unagi and gyoza at mid-day and somehow, the topic of the Manson Family came up. I don’t remember why. Perhaps one of the convicted killers was up for parole. But an offhand comment at the end of our lunch sparked a challenge by Jake:

Me: I don’t think Helter Skelter (you know, the supposed race war Charlie wanted to start) was really the motive for the murders.

Jake: Well, okay, what was then?

Me: Utter silence. Um Er I… don’t know?

Jake: Well, why don’t you do some research? See if something else makes more sense as motive than getting a bunch of balls-tripping teens to kill white people and pin it on black people to start the apocalypse.

Photo by Frank Zhang on Unsplash

And that’s what I did. I didn’t begin with an agenda, just a dare and a question. Was Helter Skelter really why members of the Manson Family, a commune and cult in the late 1960s led by charismatic and sociopathic ex-convict Charles Manson, killed nine people? Or was it something else?

I’ve discussed the start of my book, what I was searching for, what I found and where it led in other articles and forums and so…