The Zodiac was/is a Cult?!

[metaltomato]

I've decided to take offense.

That is all.

[Curt Rowlett Profile]

I've decided to take offense.

That is all.

? ? ? ? ?

[para_owl Profile YIM]

I was just wondering what your angle on this type of thing would be. I didn't know what to make of it, and I know you can make more sense out some of the more unusual ideas that are out there. Sorry if it sounded like I was trying to put words in your mouth.

--Will.

Will, is this addressed to me? If so, I took no offense whatsoever.

Yes, and let me try to say what I was originally thinking in a more direct way. I thought you would bring up some of the stuff we have talked about in email regarding the Process church/Son of Sam, and the occult.

For those who don't know about this, David Berkowitz claimed that he wasn't the only killer in the Son of Sam case. He claimed he couldn't talk about it more or they would come after him. It was more common to hear this stuff in the 80's when there was speculation about "devil worshippers" and/or "occult members" being involved with various murder cases. The long and short of it is that most (if not all) of these accusations turned out to be hyped by Maury Terry's book "The Ultimate Evil", and then further hyped after Geraldo got a hold of it. I've heard similar rumors about the same type of involvement with the Z case, and I'm sure it holds just as much water.

--Will.

[Curt Rowlett Profile]

I was just wondering what your angle on this type of thing would be. I didn't know what to make of it, and I know you can make more sense out some of the more unusual ideas that are out there. Sorry if it sounded like I was trying to put words in your mouth.

--Will.

Will, is this addressed to me? If so, I took no offense whatsoever.

Yes, and let me try to say what I was originally thinking in a more direct way. I thought you would bring up some of the stuff we have talked about in email regarding the Process church/Son of Sam, and the occult.

For those who don't know about this, David Berkowitz claimed that he wasn't the only killer in the Son of Sam case. He claimed he couldn't talk about it more or they would come after him. It was more common to hear this stuff in the 80's when there was speculation about "devil worshippers" and/or "occult members" being involved with various murder cases. The long and short of it is that most (if not all) of these accusations turned out to be hyped by Maury Terry's book "The Ultimate Evil", and then further hyped after Geraldo got a hold of it. I've heard similar rumors about the same type of involvement with the Z case, and I'm sure it holds just as much water.

--Will.

Well, the only comparison that I feel can be made between the conspiracy theories that grew out of the Son of Sam case and what we are talking about in this thread is that each delivers a fairly simple lesson: That one can take any sensational story and create a conspiracy theory out of it. A person who seeks to do so does not even need any real evidence, only an active imagination.

I don't deny that such things are possible, but I've seen no convincing evidence for a conspiracy in the Zodiac case or the so-called "Smiley Face murders" (which I personally believe are a collection of nothing more or less than tragic cases of drunken college kids getting too close to bodies of water at the worst possible moment and drowning).

[metaltomato]

I've decided to take offense.

That is all.

? ? ? ? ?

Just joshin' about, sorry.

[Curt Rowlett Profile]

I've decided to take offense.

That is all.

? ? ? ? ?

Just joshin' about, sorry.

You almost had me worried for a moment there, paisan.

[Zsearcher Profile]

I took it as a joke, FWIW.

[sgough Profile]

Zodiac a cult? I dont see any evidence pointing to that conclusion. The witness descriptions seem to indicate the same individual, as does the written evidence. Plus, I dont think a group of individuals are good at keeping secrets.

[Mr. A Profile]

Well, the only comparison that I feel can be made between the conspiracy theories that grew out of the Son of Sam case and what we are talking about in this thread is that each delivers a fairly simple lesson: That one can take any sensational story and create a conspiracy theory out of it. A person who seeks to do so does not even need any real evidence, only an active imagination.

I don't deny that such things are possible, but I've seen no convincing evidence for a conspiracy in the Zodiac case or the so-called "Smiley Face murders" (which I personally believe are a collection of nothing more or less than tragic cases of drunken college kids getting too close to bodies of water at the worst possible moment and drowning).

Curt,

I would agree there's no Zodiac or Smiley Face Killers conspiracy, but I'm not so sure I'd say the same regarding SOS.

You interviewed Wheat Carr face-to-face, correct?

So are you saying you don't see a similarity between Wheat and that one composite sketch that bears a feminine appearance?

Or the similarities between two of the other composites and her brothers?

Kind of funny how several different people describe the shooters to the police, and all have strikingly different appearances, but just happen to look like Berkowitz and his three misfit neighbors with the dog who won't shut up.

A country-wide Grand Satanic Conspiracy behind SOS? More-than-probably not....but a small group of drug-fueled imbeciles dabbling in their misguided idea of "Satanism" and getting out of control? Not too far-fetched, IMO.

[Curt Rowlett Profile]

Well, the only comparison that I feel can be made between the conspiracy theories that grew out of the Son of Sam case and what we are talking about in this thread is that each delivers a fairly simple lesson: That one can take any sensational story and create a conspiracy theory out of it. A person who seeks to do so does not even need any real evidence, only an active imagination.

I don't deny that such things are possible, but I've seen no convincing evidence for a conspiracy in the Zodiac case or the so-called "Smiley Face murders" (which I personally believe are a collection of nothing more or less than tragic cases of drunken college kids getting too close to bodies of water at the worst possible moment and drowning).

Curt,

I would agree there's no Zodiac or Smiley Face Killers conspiracy, but I'm not so sure I'd say the same regarding SOS.

You interviewed Wheat Carr face-to-face, correct?

So are you saying you don't see a similarity between Wheat and that one composite sketch that bears a feminine appearance?

Or the similarities between two of the other composites and her brothers?

Kind of funny how several different people describe the shooters to the police, and all have strikingly different appearances, but just happen to look like Berkowitz and his three misfit neighbors with the dog who won't shut up.

A country-wide Grand Satanic Conspiracy behind SOS? More-than-probably not....but a small group of drug-fueled imbeciles dabbling in their misguided idea of "Satanism" and getting out of control? Not too far-fetched, IMO.

I stand corrected and I agree with you.

In my chapter on the SOS case, I do bring up the fact that witnesses seemed to be describing several different people and in part, entertained the possiblility that there could have been more than one person involved. But I would need to see much more evidence than exists right now before pronouncing that as a genuine conspiracy. (I included a discussion about that primarily because I thought it was the most interesting evidence for that). And I agree, it really does sort of quack like a duck, or at the least, is one remarkable coincidence.