March 26, 2015
Editor’s Note: This is the final of four excerpts from the new book, ISIS: The State of Terror
, by Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger. In case you missed them, here are Part I, Part II, and Part III.
, by Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger. In case you missed them, here are Part I, Part II, and Part III.
In a study that is widely seen as among the most important contributions to social psychology, a team of observers joined a prophetic, apocalyptic cult to determine what would happen to the group if the predicted events failed to materialize. Marian Keech (a pseudonym for Dorothy Martin), the leader of the cult, predicted the destruction of much of the United States in a great flood, scheduled for December 21, 1955. She told her followers that they would be rescued from the floodwaters by a team of outer-space men in flying saucers with whom she was able to communicate, she said, through telepathy. When the apocalyptic flood did not materialize, instead of walking away from the cult and its leader, most members continued as loyal followers, and commenced efforts to recruit new followers.
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