Summary: <a rel="attachment wp-att-2592" href="http://radiomisterioso.com/2015/02/24/mike-marinacci-crazy-california-cults/294255_2199932990660_141628_n/"></a>Mike is the author of the touchstone book about a forgotten side of Golden State history, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mysterious-California-Strange-places-phenomena/dp/0929046021/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424798925&sr=8-1&keywords=mysterious+california">Mysterious California</a>. Published in 1988, it predated the “weird” travel book craze by almost 20 years, and started me on a path to meet him in 2006 when we were co-authors of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Weird-California-Californias-Legends-Secrets/dp/1402766831/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=18849EKMR117RR2G1Z8Q">Weird California</a>. He has been studying the history of non-scheduled religious movements and groups in our home state for more than 20 years, and now chronicles these strange groups and people at <a href="http://califias.blogspot.com/2014_12_01_archive.html">Califia’s Children</a>.<br> We discussed what makes a “cult.” While he is careful to label only the most dangerous groups with that name, Mike pointed out that all religions start out as a cult. People join mainly for a sense of belonging – to be part of a “tribe.” Many of the groups minister to the rejected and the marginalized, and not all have negative effects on the members.<br> We talked about the strange connection that the Santa Susanna Pass area has in the lore of the Los Angeles area. <a href="http://califias.blogspot.com/2014/12/krishna-venta-and-wkfl-fountain-of-world.html">Krishna Venta</a>, a former convict turned religious prophet whose story bears eerie similarities to Charles Manson, settled there in 1948. He was dead by 1958, killed by suicide bombings by two disgruntled members.<br> We embarked on an extensive discussion of occultist <a href="http://califias.blogspot.com/2015/01/manly-p-hall-and-philosophical-research.html">Manly Palmer Hall</a> and his influence on Los Angeles history and society. We also discussed the notorious <a href="http://califias.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-children-of-godthe-family.html">Children Of God</a> group and their sexualization of Christianity. Mike gave a unique perspective on Scientology’s concentration on Los Angeles and the power of celebrity endorsement. Near the end of the program, we mentioned the bizarre <a href="http://califias.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-incest-and-homosexual-church-of.html">Incest and Homosexual Church of the Universe</a>, which at its peak had perhaps 4 acolytes.<br>
