Episode
HEAVEN'S GATE | Purple Shrouds, Matching Shirts, Black and White Nikes, And $5.75 Each
- Published
- Jun 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3556
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://weirddarkness.com/heavensgate
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Summary
When the Hale-Bopp comet swung past Earth in 1997, thirty-nine people put on matching black shirts and brand-new Nikes, swallowed a lethal mix of barbiturates and vodka, and lay down beneath purple shrouds to die — certain their souls were about to board the alien ship they believed was hiding in the comet's tail. EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/heavensgate READ or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/343j2ju2 FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: Following an anonymous tip, police enter a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, an exclusive suburb of San Diego, California, and discover 39 victims of a mass suicide. The deceased–21 women and 18 men of varying ages–were all found lying peaceably in matching dark clothes and Nike sneakers and had no noticeable signs of blood or trauma. It was later revealed that the men and women were members of the “Heaven’s Gate” religious cult, whose leaders preached that suicide would allow them to leave their bodily “containers” and enter an alien spacecraft hidden behind the Hale-Bopp comet. *** PLUS, the creepy true-crime story of two men who were caught trying to steal the body of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. But that is by no means the end of this story full of twists, turns, myths, and conspiracies. CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = Heaven’s Gate, Part 1 00:00:53.808 = Show Open 00:02:37.373 = Heaven’s Gate, Part 2 00:04:59.269 = Heaven’s Gate, Part 3 00:09:37.695 = Heaven’s Gate, Part 4 *** 00:23:22.776 = Stealing Lincoln’s Bones, Part 1 *** 00:44:45.437 = Stealing Lincoln’s Bones, Part 2 *** 00:57:58.687 = Show Close *** = Begins immediately after inserted ad break LISTEN ON PODCAST APPS: Look for this podcast o…