# Sharon Tate/Manson murders. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 31, 2019, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512 "2019-08-31T04:27:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/41 "2020-03-31T21:43:36Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > No necessary but seems fitting for the era. I don’t have any problem with it. Not to mention, it’s Susan Atkins – she was a downright psycho. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/42 "2020-03-31T22:43:43Z")
Years ago (but years after Manson went to prison) I remember reading that there was still a “family” of Manson followers on the outside. Does anyone know anything about that? Are there still “Manson-ists” running around loose? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/43 "2020-03-31T22:49:44Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Years ago (but years after Manson went to prison) I remember reading that there was still a “family” of Manson followers on the outside. Does anyone know anything about that? Are there still “Manson-ists” running around loose? A few, but they weren’t many. Squeaky Fromme is probably to most notable as she tried to shoot President Ford. IIRC she’s unrepentant to this day. The others mostly got over it over time or didn’t do anything as dramatic as Fromme. They are doubtless very old now and not much concern. Of course, any celebrity murderer gets more fans on the outside, but none did anything of note I am aware of. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/44 "2020-03-31T23:13:04Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Years ago (but years after Manson went to prison) I remember reading that there was still a “family” of Manson followers on the outside. Does anyone know anything about that? Are there still “Manson-ists” running around loose? I don’t know about a whole family, but Sandra Good reportedly still swears fealty to Manson, though I don’t know how this loyalty manifests since Manson’s death. She missed the killing nights, though not out of moral objections (in jail for credit card fraud), and later served 10 of 15 years for mailing death threats. I saw an interview shortly after she got out where she was asked if she felt sorry, at least, for Tate’s unborn baby. She said no as she was sure the baby would have grown up to be another hamburger eater. ---
**Author:** ![Mirtha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@Mirtha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirtha)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/45 "2020-04-02T12:39:31Z")
My impression is, the murders were revenge and since racial tensions were front and center, Manson used race war as an excuse. And political aspirations were the reasons for the book, Helter Skelter. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/46 "2020-04-02T13:23:37Z")
In \*The Killer Across the Table \*, John E Douglas says of interviewing Manson: > [@](#): > > In listening to him, we realized that the horrific murders carried out in Los Angeles by his followers occurred not because Manson exerted such hypnotic control—which he did—but when he started losing control and others, particularly his lieutenant Charles “Tex” Watson, started challenging him and leading the group on adventures on his own. Manson had been predicting societal “Helter Skelter,” which he picked up from the Beatles’ White Album, and when he realized his acolytes had taken him seriously and murdered beautiful, nine-months-pregnant movie star Sharon Tate and four of her guests, he had to reassert himself, leading to another break-in and murder two nights later that Manson instigated but did not take part in himself. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512/47 "2020-04-02T14:31:15Z")
The friendship between the Manson Family and Dennis Wilson (Beach Boys) is considered a big factor in the Tate killing. Manson met record producer Terry Melcher through Dennis Wilson. Melcher had rented the house on 10050 Cielo Drive. Wilson is lucky the Manson family didn’t target him. I think Charlie realized his connection to Wilson was too well known. They would have been prime suspects. > **[Charles Manson and The Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson Were Briefly Friends](https://www.biography.com/crime/charles-manson-dennis-wilson-friendship)** > > The Beach Boy and cult leader spent the summer of 1968 living together and dreaming about the musical possibilities that lay ahead. > [@](#): > > By the end of the summer, after blowing through an estimated $100,000 to pay for the Family’s food, medical bills and damages to his property, Wilson decided he’d had enough of the Wizard and his entourage. > > Avoiding confrontation, he moved out of his rented home with the lease set to expire, leaving his landlord to formally evict the Family. Wilson also got back at Manson by taking one of his songs, “Cease to Exist,” and recrafting it as “Never Learn Not to Love,” later claiming sole credit for the track. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sharon-tate-manson-murders/839512.md?page=2)