Heaven's Gate

Heaven's Gate was a religious cult founded in the 1970s that believed in a form of spiritual salvation through extraterrestrial salvation. They thought that Earth was about to be "recycled," and that they could ascend to a higher existence if they left their human bodies behind. In 1997, 39 members committed mass suicide in California, believing they would escape their earthly lives and join a spaceship hidden behind the Hale-Bopp comet, which they thought was a sign from their extraterrestrial overlords. Their story highlights the influence of apocalyptic beliefs and the importance of critical thinking about religious doctrines.