Notably, the practice is popular in areas with high rates of poverty and violence, among those who are most marginalized by society and feel death is imminent. They seek healing, protection, and safe passage to the afterlife. The saint is sometimes invoked for vengeance and illegal activity, including murder. The religion, however, is not a cult. Unlike the Angel of Tears, which was created for this book, Santa Muerte is not a Satanic mass. Santa Muerte worshippers are not praying to the devil or demons. There are an estimated ten to twelve million followers of Santa Muerte worldwide. It should be noted that Santa Muerte is separate from the Day of the Dead.

Jonestown and NXIVM

The cult-speak used in this book is original, but it draws inspiration from the recordings of real-life cult leaders. In November 1978, in Jonestown, Guyana, Jim Jones convinced more than nine hundred of his Peoples Temple cult followers to drink poisoned Kool-Aid, including more than three hundred children. Prior to 9/11, it was the largest single incident of intentional death of American civilians. Jones didn’t drink the Kool-Aid, but he fatally shot himself immediately following the death of his followers.

Keith Raniere is the creator of NXIVM, an expensive faux self-help group based in Albany, New York, that spread worldwide for two decades. Promising success and spiritual enlightenment, the group included a cult that branded, exploited, and abused women and children. Raniere was convicted for his crimes in June 2019, and in October 2020 was sentenced to 120 years in prison.

The Chicago Ripper Crew

In the 1980s, a satanic cult composed of four men committed a string of horrific homicides in Chicago. Known as the Ripper Crew, the men were responsible for brutally killing at least eighteen people at a makeshift demonic altar in their ringleader’s home. An eighteen-year-old woman who survived her attack provided the police with details that led to the men’s arrest. One of the murderers was released from prison in March 2019 at the age of fifty-eight.

The Warrens

The author’s imagination was sparked by Ed and Lorraine Warren, the renowned demonologists who are the basis of The Conjuring films. For over fifty years, the devoutly Catholic husband and wife team were routinely called on to investigate diabolical phenomena throughout the country, including demonic possession. They are best known for their work at the haunting in Amityville and the possession of the doll Annabelle. For decades, objects connected to their work, including Annabelle, were housed in the basement of their home, which later was turned into the Warren Occult Museum. Both now deceased, they are survived by their daughter; her husband is the director of the occult museum.

THE TRUTH SOURCES

“An apocalyptic cult, 900 dead,” The Guardian, November 17, 2018 (theguardian.com/​world/​2018/​nov/​17/​an-apocalyptic-cult-900-dead-remembering-the-jonestown-massacre-40-years-on).

“NXIVM founder sentenced to the remainder of life in prison,” CNN, October 27, 2020 (cnn.com/​2020/​10/​27/​us/​nxivm-keith-raniere-sentencing-supporters/​index.html).

“The Ripper Crew abducted and murdered women in the ’80s,” The Chicago Tribune, March 29, 2019 (chicagotribune.com/​news/​ct-met-ripper-crew-thomas-kokoraleis-release-20190327-story.html).

“Santa Muerte: The rise of Mexico’s death ‘saint,’ ” BBC News, November 1, 2017 (bbc.com/​news/​world-latin-america-41804243).