The Secret Society of Strangers (SSOS)
Strange history. Unsolved mysteries. Eerie encounters.
Join Lee, Josh, and Jen as they dive into the weirdest corners of the past — from Roanoke to Roswell, cryptids to curses, true crime to time slips.
We explore the stories that still echo — the ones that leave experts baffled, skeptics squirming, and conspiracy theorists taking notes.
With sharp research, dark humor, and a love for the unknown, SSOS is more than a podcast — it’s a community for the curious. Got a strange story? We’re listening.
New episodes weekly. Follow us on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get weird.
🕯️ Come curious. Stay strange.
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The Secret Society of Strangers (SSOS)
Strange history. Unsolved mysteries. Eerie encounters.
Join Lee, Josh, and Jen as they dive into the weirdest corners of the past — from Roanoke to Roswell, cryptids to curses, true crime to time slips.
We explore the stories that still echo — the ones that leave experts baffled, skeptics squirming, and conspiracy theorists taking notes.
With sharp research, dark humor, and a love for the unknown, SSOS is more than a podcast — it’s a community for the curious. Got a strange story? We’re listening.
New episodes weekly. Follow us on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get weird.
🕯️ Come curious. Stay strange.
There's a website that's been running for 27 years. HeavensGate.com. Still maintained. Still recruiting.
March 1997: Thirty-nine people died believing they were boarding a spaceship. But this story starts twenty-five years earlier—in a Houston hospital, with two broken people who turned their shared delusion into cosmic destiny.
This is Part 1 of our 4-part Heaven's Gate deep dive.
Marshall Applewhite: Texas preacher's son. Perfect pitch. Perfect shame. A man carrying a secret that 1930s Christianity called "abomination." Lost his marriage. Lost his career. Lost himself. Then a nurse told him he wasn't broken—he was chosen.
Bonnie Nettles: Spiritual seeker. Believer in signs. The woman who told Marshall his breakdown was actually his calling. Together they became Ti and Do—The Two.
Here's what makes Heaven's Gate different: No violence. No sexual abuse. No money schemes. They promised physical transformation—evolution while alive. NO DEATH REQUIRED.
That's what made it so seductive. That's why intelligent people followed.
In this episode: Marshall's haunted childhood. His sci-fi obsession. The hospital "resurrection." How two seekers in a van started building a cosmic classroom. And the original promise that would take 25 years to betray.
This is the foundation. The beginning of the end.
🕯️ Content Warning: Cult manipulation and suicide discussed. Need help? Call 988.
COMING SOON: Parts 2-4 of this deep dive🕯️ Come curious. Stay strange.
SOURCES & FACT-CHECK REFERENCES
Primary Sources:
Wikipedia: Marshall Applewhite biographical timeline
Spur, Texas historical records: Birth and early life verification
University of St. Thomas personnel records: Employment termination details
Union Presbyterian Seminary archives: Religious education background
Secondary Sources:
TIME Magazine 1997: Comprehensive Heaven's Gate coverage
Washington Post psychological profiles of cult leaders
ABC News 20/20: Former member interviews and family testimonies
Scientific American: Cult psychology and group dynamics research
Media Integration Points:
1930s-40s Texas church and family photographs
1950s science fiction magazine covers and illustrations
1960s-70s New Age movement and spiritual gathering documentation
Early Heaven's Gate camping and commune lifestyle footage
HeavensGate.com current website screenshots
1975 Waldport, Oregon community center and meeting locations
The Secret Society of Strangers Podcast
The Secret Society of Strangers (SSOS)
Strange history. Unsolved mysteries. Eerie encounters.
Join Lee, Josh, and Jen as they dive into the weirdest corners of the past — from Roanoke to Roswell, cryptids to curses, true crime to time slips.
We explore the stories that still echo — the ones that leave experts baffled, skeptics squirming, and conspiracy theorists taking notes.
With sharp research, dark humor, and a love for the unknown, SSOS is more than a podcast — it’s a community for the curious. Got a strange story? We’re listening.
New episodes weekly. Follow us on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get weird.
🕯️ Come curious. Stay strange.
