Cult of Death: The Jonestown Nightmare

A religious colony in Guyana turns into a cult of death

AP

The Victims
Odell Rhodes, a Temple member who survived by hiding underneath a building, said that among the very first to line up for the poison were several mothers and their babies. He said that there was no panic or emotional outburst; that people looked as if they were "in a trance."

"The large central building was ringed by bright colors. It looked like a parking lot filled with cars. When the plane dipped lower, the cars turned out to be bodies. Scores and scores of bodies —hundreds of bodies—wearing red dresses, blue T shirts, green blouses, pink slacks, children's polka-dotted jumpers.

Couples with their arms around each other, children holding parents. Nothing moved. Washing hung on the clotheslines.

The fields were freshly plowed. Banana trees and grape vines were flourishing. But nothing moved."

So reported TIME Correspondent Donald...

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