Murder is already a dark and unsettling subject, but when it is driven by esoteric beliefs and strange rites, it veers into the realm of nightmares. Here are three disturbing examples of ritual murder, chilling reminders of just how terrifyingly incomprehensible human behavior can become when intertwined with the occult.
Forty-Two Days
On February 8, 1981, the decapitated body of Leroy Carter Jr., a homeless man, was found in a sleeping bag in Golden Gate Park. Also discovered at the scene was a small box containing the remains of a slaughtered chicken. A closer investigation revealed the man’s head was removed cleanly, likely with a very sharp axe or machete. Two kernels of corn and one of the chicken’s wings had been inserted into the victim’s neck.
Because of the ritualistic elements involved in the murder, SFPD contacted Detective Sandi Gallant, a specialist in occult crime. Gallant assessed that the killer was a practitioner of Palo Moyombe, a religion similar to Santeria originating in the Congo Basin. Further, she identified the ritual as specific to the god Ellegua, ruler of gates and crossroads. This conclusion was drawn from the presence of corn, particularly sacred to Ellegua.
In her report, Gallant predicted that the practitioner would place the head in a Nggana, a type of ritual cauldron, to be used in ceremonies for twenty-one days. At the end of the three-week ritual, if successful, the sorcerer would then sleep next to the head for another three weeks. Afterward, the head would be returned to the site of the murder a total of forty-two days later.
After presenting her evidence and stating her theory, her colleagues in the police force did not take her investigation seriously and scoffed at her presentation. Thus, the murder site was not put under surveillance. Exactly forty-two days after the murder, the head was returned to the site. There were no witnesses, and the crime remains unsolved to this day.
Carnival of Satan
In 1991, William Ault was working as a carny in a traveling carnival in Indiana when he discovered a shocking secret about several of his coworkers: they were members of a murderous Satanic cult. Rather than report their crimes to the authorities, Ault requested to join. To Ault’s frustration, his petition was denied by the cult’s leader, Jimmie Penick, and its three other members, Mark Goodwin and brothers Keith and David Lawrence. Unsatisfied with his rejection, Ault threatened to go to the police.
Penick and his cult agreed to indulge Ault. They lured him to a secluded location under the pretense of initiating him, where they had constructed an altar. After praying to Satan, they tied the young man to the altar, at which point Penick produced a knife and cut Ault from throat to stomach. He passed the knife to the other cult members, who carved ritual symbols into his flesh. Penick then asked Ault if he was ready to die, finally slashing his throat.
The crew then decapitated Ault, removed his hands and feet, and burned them, discarding the torso. Afterward, they celebrated by treating themselves to a meal at Arby’s – as one does – with the money they had taken from Ault’s wallet.
The Order of the Solar Temple
The Order of the Solar Temple (OTS), a religious sect founded by Luc Jouret and Joseph Di Mambro, drew from a wide array of esoteric and occult philosophies. With influences from the Rosicrucians and Knights Templar, the group claimed that the second coming of Christ was imminent—this time, in the form of a solar god-king. The OTS blended elements of Christianity and Islam to unite the two faiths and operated within a strict, Masonic-style hierarchy, with members progressing through various degrees through study and ritual.
In October 1994, Di Mambro, based in Quebec, claimed that a child born to two of his followers was the Antichrist. He ordered the child to be killed by a wooden stake, along with the boy’s parents. This horrific event triggered a series of ritual deaths that would claim over seventy lives and shock the world.
Shortly after the murder, Di Mambro and his core followers held a “last supper” before engaging in a mass murder-suicide ritual. Thirteen bodies were discovered in ceremonial robes, arranged in a starburst pattern, their feet pointed outward. Most had been drugged and shot in the head, with plastic bags placed over their faces. Di Mambro was among the dead.
A few days later, in the towns of Cheiry and Salvan, Switzerland, authorities uncovered thirty-eight more bodies. These victims were also dressed in Templar-style robes and arranged in the same starburst formation. The causes of death varied—poison, firearms, smothering, and blunt force trauma. Many of the dead were discovered in a secret underground chapel, while others, including children, were found in ski chalets set ablaze by remotely triggered incendiary devices.
The macabre saga continued in December 1995, when sixteen more bodies were found in the Vercors Mountains of France. These victims had also been arranged in star formation. Fourteen of them were shot by two others, who then died by self-immolation. In March 1997, another group of OTS members, numbering five, committed suicide in Quebec. This time, three children, heavily drugged and locked in a shed, survived the inferno that consumed their house.
While the OTS’s elaborate rituals and apocalyptic beliefs drew headlines, many former members claim that the organization was essentially a financial scam. Many victims had donated their entire fortunes to the cult, amounting to millions of dollars. Among those who perished were high-profile individuals, including a mayor, journalists, writers, wealthy entrepreneurs, and even an Olympic athlete. These deaths raise the chilling question: What secrets did the OTS promise to reveal that could compel such educated, successful people to offer their lives and fortunes in return?
At the heart of these disturbing cases lies a twisted belief: that through destruction and death, something greater can be unlocked—whether it’s power, enlightenment, or control over the unknown. Yet in the case of William Ault, this perverse conviction yielded little more than a sandwich from Arby’s, a tragic reminder of how misguided and absurd these acts can be. These ritual murders are not just acts of violence but warped expressions of faith, reflecting humanity’s darkest, most delusional attempts to grasp at something beyond the tangible.
Jason Roberts is a Seattle-based author noted for his acclaimed Western Horror series The Dead Wind Trilogy and other works of cosmic horror infused with historical fiction. His web-based series, Dark Distractions, examines paranormal mysteries, unexplained phenomena, and all things strange.
