Ep. 142: The Manson Family Murders, Pt. 2: Cease to Exist (w/ Paul Ferrante)

"Cease to exist, just come and say you love me Give up your world, come on you can be, I'm your kind, I'm your kind, and I see..." This week, we take a tour through the epicenter of the hippie movement right at the peak of the Summer of Love, when Charlie Manson finally leaves prison and makes his way to the Haight-Asbury neighborhood of San Francisco. There, he sows the first seeds of what would become the Family cult, attracting his first followers with a blend of pop culture sermonizing and targeted psychological manipulation. From there, the Manson "Family" will grow...and move out to LA, chasing Charlie's dreams of hitting it big and the desperate high of being in his orbit. Father of the Pod, author, and 60s music aficionado Paul Ferrante joins us after the break for an expert interview to discuss what Carrie posits as the major turning point for Charlie when it came to the violence he would eventually inflict: the mounting madness of the semiotic Family and the broken dreams that drove him to want to punish all the "piggies" that denied him the fame he thought was his certain fate. His last grasp at stardom would be puppeted through Dennis Wilson, the lost but kindly drummer for the declining rock 'n roll band, The Beach Boys. Through Dennis, Charlie would get closer than any other time at achieving his dreams - and, perhaps, it is because he did get so close that the bitter disappointment would turn into absolute destruction. You can find out more about our guest Paul Ferrante at his website, www.paulferranteauthor.com. ________________________________________ Connect with us on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/aintitscary Twitter: @aintitscary Instagram: @aintitscary Patreon: www.patreon.com/aintitscary Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/aint-it-scary?ref_id=27696 ___________________________________________ Thank you to our sponsors: Neuro Gum - Get up to 30% off your order of Neuro Gum at tryneurogum.com/aintitscary! Magic Mind - Get up to 56% off your subscription and 20% off your first order with our code SCARYSC2020 at MagicMind.co/aintitscary! MANSCAPED - Get 20% OFF @manscaped + Free Shipping with promo code SCARYSQUAD at MANSCAPED.com! #ad #manscapedpod BetterHelp - Special offer for Ain’t it Scary? listeners: Get 10% off your first month at www.betterhelp.com/aintitscary Audible - Get a FREE audiobook and 30-Day Free Trial at www.audibletrial.com/aintitscary BarkBox - Enjoy a FREE month of BarkBox on us when you sign up for a 6 or 12-month BarkBox subscription! Visit www.barkbox.com/aintitscary for more details Hunt a Killer - Receive 20% off your first Hunt a Killer subscription box at www.huntakiller.com with the code SCARYSQUAD at checkout!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices