ISSN: 2710-4028 DOI: https://doi.org/10.54208/0008 93
Charles Manson:
Cult Leader, Counterculture Hero, and Psychopath
Jodi M. Lane
Abstract: Although many popular culture publications attempt to delve into the psychology of Charles Manson,
most focus on his criminal behavior and subsequent trial in relation to the Tate-LaBianca murders. This narrative
review uses available biographic information about Manson across his lifespan and applies Robert D. Hare’s
formulation of both interpersonal and affective traits associated with the psychological construct of psychopathy.
Ultimately, this review identifies multiple elements in Manson’s personal history that meet Hare’s criteria for
psychopathy. The results of this study add to the growing body of psychobiographies that utilize a retrospective
framework from autobiographical information to comprehensively explore the psyches of historical figures.
Keywords: Charles Manson, Psychopathy, Robert D. Hare, Psychobiography
Introduction
In 1969, two nights of brutal homicides in Los Angeles
made worldwide headlines. On August 8, actress Sharon
Tate and four others were violently murdered at her
Hollywood Hills estate. The following evening, Leno
and Rosemary LaBianca met a similar fate both crime
scenes were characterized by multiple deaths, several
stab wounds, and words written in blood on the walls
and doors. For months the crimes went unsolved, but
eventually members of a group known as The Family
were arrested, tried, and convicted of the murders.
The Family consisted of leader Charles Manson (1934–
2017) and over two dozen,1 mostly female, members.
By all accounts, Manson exerted astonishing control
of the group’s behavior which was characterized by
communal living, indiscriminate sexual activity,
habitual drug use, and existing off proceeds from
criminal activity. Manson constantly proselytized
a racist ideology to his followers, interpreting the
lyrics from the Beatles’ hit song “Helter Skelter” as a
prophecy of a race war between “blacks and whites,”
and ultimately encouraging his followers to commit
mass murder to realize this vision. He believed that the
“blacks” would ultimately win the war but be incapable
of their new role as leaders at which time the Family
would emerge from its hiding spot in the desert and
assume leadership. Family members confirmed that
1 Manson Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi estimated that the Family
consisted of twenty-five to thirty “hard-core members” (those who stayed for
extended periods and were privy to what was happening within the group)
and additional members who increased the Family size to one hundred or
more at times (Bugliosi and Gentry 1974:148).
Manson anticipated that the “blacks” would be blamed
for the Tate-LaBianca murders, hence initiating the
start of the race war.
Charles Mason achieved international notoriety
immediately following his arrest, one that continues in
the present day several years after his death. His deviant
lifestyle and behavior, bizarre charisma, and absolute
control of the Family which culminated in shockingly
brutal mass killings have been the subject of significant
analyses indeed, Manson has been referred to by many
labels including murderer, mastermind, cult leader, and
counterculture luminary. In this review, I demonstrate
that the term “psychopathy” is an appropriate label
for Mason, as Stephen Kent (b. 1951) suggested in
his biopsychosocial model (2004:109). Through a
retrospective narrative synthesis of Manson’s available
autobiographical information, I will demonstrate that
he meets Robert D. Hare’s criteria for psychopathy.
The Development of the Psychopathy Construct
Psychopaths have been a subject of fascination across
time and culture (see Cooke, Michie, and Hart
2006:91) “Psychopathic killers, however, are not mad,
according to accepted legal and psychiatric standards.
Their acts result not from a deranged mind but from a
cold, calculating rationality combined with a chilling
inability to treat others as thinking, feeling human
beings. Such morally incomprehensible behavior,
exhibited by a seemingly normal person, leaves us
feeling bewildered and helpless” (Hare 1993:5 [italics
in original]). Before psychiatric diagnoses, psychopaths
DOI:https://doi.org/10.54208/0008/005
Charles Manson:
Cult Leader, Counterculture Hero, and Psychopath
Jodi M. Lane
Abstract: Although many popular culture publications attempt to delve into the psychology of Charles Manson,
most focus on his criminal behavior and subsequent trial in relation to the Tate-LaBianca murders. This narrative
review uses available biographic information about Manson across his lifespan and applies Robert D. Hare’s
formulation of both interpersonal and affective traits associated with the psychological construct of psychopathy.
Ultimately, this review identifies multiple elements in Manson’s personal history that meet Hare’s criteria for
psychopathy. The results of this study add to the growing body of psychobiographies that utilize a retrospective
framework from autobiographical information to comprehensively explore the psyches of historical figures.
Keywords: Charles Manson, Psychopathy, Robert D. Hare, Psychobiography
Introduction
In 1969, two nights of brutal homicides in Los Angeles
made worldwide headlines. On August 8, actress Sharon
Tate and four others were violently murdered at her
Hollywood Hills estate. The following evening, Leno
and Rosemary LaBianca met a similar fate both crime
scenes were characterized by multiple deaths, several
stab wounds, and words written in blood on the walls
and doors. For months the crimes went unsolved, but
eventually members of a group known as The Family
were arrested, tried, and convicted of the murders.
The Family consisted of leader Charles Manson (1934–
2017) and over two dozen,1 mostly female, members.
By all accounts, Manson exerted astonishing control
of the group’s behavior which was characterized by
communal living, indiscriminate sexual activity,
habitual drug use, and existing off proceeds from
criminal activity. Manson constantly proselytized
a racist ideology to his followers, interpreting the
lyrics from the Beatles’ hit song “Helter Skelter” as a
prophecy of a race war between “blacks and whites,”
and ultimately encouraging his followers to commit
mass murder to realize this vision. He believed that the
“blacks” would ultimately win the war but be incapable
of their new role as leaders at which time the Family
would emerge from its hiding spot in the desert and
assume leadership. Family members confirmed that
1 Manson Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi estimated that the Family
consisted of twenty-five to thirty “hard-core members” (those who stayed for
extended periods and were privy to what was happening within the group)
and additional members who increased the Family size to one hundred or
more at times (Bugliosi and Gentry 1974:148).
Manson anticipated that the “blacks” would be blamed
for the Tate-LaBianca murders, hence initiating the
start of the race war.
Charles Mason achieved international notoriety
immediately following his arrest, one that continues in
the present day several years after his death. His deviant
lifestyle and behavior, bizarre charisma, and absolute
control of the Family which culminated in shockingly
brutal mass killings have been the subject of significant
analyses indeed, Manson has been referred to by many
labels including murderer, mastermind, cult leader, and
counterculture luminary. In this review, I demonstrate
that the term “psychopathy” is an appropriate label
for Mason, as Stephen Kent (b. 1951) suggested in
his biopsychosocial model (2004:109). Through a
retrospective narrative synthesis of Manson’s available
autobiographical information, I will demonstrate that
he meets Robert D. Hare’s criteria for psychopathy.
The Development of the Psychopathy Construct
Psychopaths have been a subject of fascination across
time and culture (see Cooke, Michie, and Hart
2006:91) “Psychopathic killers, however, are not mad,
according to accepted legal and psychiatric standards.
Their acts result not from a deranged mind but from a
cold, calculating rationality combined with a chilling
inability to treat others as thinking, feeling human
beings. Such morally incomprehensible behavior,
exhibited by a seemingly normal person, leaves us
feeling bewildered and helpless” (Hare 1993:5 [italics
in original]). Before psychiatric diagnoses, psychopaths
DOI:https://doi.org/10.54208/0008/005
