International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation Volume 8 2025 102
necessary to feel compassion for Family members and,
instead, acted out his violent tendencies.
The failure to accept responsibility for one’s actions
is another indicator of psychopathy (Hart and Hare
1997:23). Although Manson’s control over the Family
and orders to commit the Tate-LaBianca murders were
well-documented, he refused to take responsibility.
Instead, he claimed not to be the leader but the follower
of other Family members (Nelson 1997:57). He also
stated that his absence from the murder scenes at the
time of the killings absolved him of any responsibility
(Nelson 1997:56). Furthermore, Manson blamed the
Family members and their parents for the crimes: “I
don’t give a fuck about those kids [Family members] out
there! It’s up to their parents to take care of them. Those
kids and their one-way parents are what got me here”
(Manson and Emmons 1986:13). Although Manson
manipulated the Family members to the point where
they were “virtual zombies” under his control (Daily
Breeze 1977:A5), he refused to take responsibility for
his own leadership and the Family members’ actions.
Hare posits that the need for stimulation or proneness
to boredom is an indicator of psychopathy. He states
that “[p]sychopaths have an ongoing and excessive need
for excitement—they long to live in the fast lane or ‘on
the edge,’ where the action is. In many cases the action
involves breaking the rules” (Hare 1993:61). In addition
to the many financial and violent crimes committed by
Manson and the Family, they also committed crimes
for excitement and thrills. Prior to the Tate-LaBianca
murders, the Family participated in “creepy crawls,”
which “involved breaking into a house undetected,
moving things around, perhaps eating food, and then
stealing away, the ‘fun’ over” (Nielsen 1984:324). The
act of breaking and entering with the risk of getting
caught by sleeping homeowners provided Manson
with excitement and the thrill of breaking the law.
To prevent boredom, Manson also led the Family
members in extensive play-acting activities.
At his trial, Manson testified that the Family was
on a ‘magical mystery tour’ (a name also taken
from a Beatles album) where people played
parts, sometimes playing one part all day long.
He stated that perhaps forty to fifty people at
the ranch would be playing this ‘mystery tour’
game ...During their ample free time they
engaged in a kind of spontaneous theatre, acting
out varied play scenarios.(Nielsen 1984:323)
In addition to play-acting, the Family “spent hours
each day practicing, arranging and writing songs” to
assuage the boredom of living in isolation (Manson
and Emmons, 1986:161).
Hare posits that “[s]ome psychopaths use a wide variety
of drugs as part of their general search for something
new and exciting” (1993:61). Manson admitted that
he’s “always been strong on grass, hashish, LSD,
mushrooms and just about everything that gives mind
trips” (Manson and Emmons 1986:156). Furthermore,
Manson orchestrated Family LSD trips by dispensing
the drug to members in a “collective attempt to
deregulate the ‘ordinary’ and ‘routine’ consciousness in
the name of a higher ‘illumination’“ (Nielsen 1984:322–
323). The Family’s frequent LSD trips provided Manson
with the stimulation he craved.
Hare postulates that having a parasitic lifestyle is an
indicator of psychopathy. He states that psychopaths
function by “parasitically bleeding other people of their
possessions, savings, and dignity” and “aggressively
doing and taking what they want” (1993:45).
Throughout his adult life, Manson never supported
himself but manipulated and appropriated to meet his
needs. Upon his release from prison in 1958, Manson
set out to begin a career as a pimp. Having women
prostitute themselves to provide him with money and a
comfortable lifestyle appealed to Manson, and he was
easily able to manipulate women to help him realize his
dream (Manson and Emmons 1986:55–60). Manson
was engaged in procuring for almost two years until
he was arrested on federal charges for transporting
prostitutes across state lines. His suspended sentence
was revoked, and he returned to prison in June 1960
(Bugliosi with Gentry 1974:142–143).
When Manson was again released from prison in 1967,
he continued his parasitic lifestyle. He moved in with
Mary Brunner and quickly began assembling what
would become the Family. Manson acquired a van,
which he traded for a school bus, and the Family began
touring the Western United States, eventually ending
up in Los Angeles (Manson and Emmons 1986:86–
129). To support Manson, female Family members
panhandled, stole, and danced in strip clubs (Nelson

ISSN: 2710-4028 DOI: https://doi.org/10.54208/0008 103
1997:46). Family members also shared Manson’s
freeloading ways: “The group had a parasitic economic
relationship to the wider society. Family members
frequently fed themselves from the garbage thrown away
by expensive markets and restaurants. More frequently,
they used credit cards, either stolen or donated by new
members, and sold drugs, to purchase goods for the
group” (Nielsen 1984:322). Manson also befriended
several people, including Dennis Wilson, Arlene
Barker, and George Spahn, to provide settlements for
the Family (Bugliosi with Gentry 1974:128–129, 250–
251 Sanders 1971:99–100). For two years, the Family
supported itself by taking, stealing, and trading on the
goodwill of others.
According to Hare, poor behavioral controls are a
hallmark of psychopathy:
Manson had frequent bursts of temper in addition
to Family members, others outside the group were
often subject to his rages. Manson enjoyed tormenting
people, even when they did nothing provocative. He
threatened to kidnap a Topanga woman’s baby for the
sole purpose of frightening her. When a fireman asked
Manson to cut the weeds at Spahn Ranch for fire safety
reasons, Manson threatened to gouge out his eyeballs
(Sanders 1971:242).
Associates of the Family also suffered at Manson’s
hands. When Dennis Wilson refused to give Manson
money, he threatened to kill his son (Sanders 1971:242).
Manson also became very violent when frustrated.
When Family associate Gary Hinman refused to give
Manson his money, Manson slashed him with a sword,
slicing his ear in half. Hinman was then murdered
by Family member Bobby Beausoleil (Bugliosi with
Gentry 1974:102–103 Sanders 1971:247–248).
Manson also shot Family associate Bernard Crowe,
In psychopaths, inhibitory controls are weak,
and the slightest provocation is sufficient to
overcome them. As a result, psychopaths are
short-tempered or hot-headed and tend to
respond to frustration, failure, discipline,
and criticism with sudden violence, threats,
and verbal abuse. They take offense easily
and become angry and aggressive over
trivialities, and often in a context that
appears inappropriate to others. (Hare 1:59)
who threatened revenge when Manson short-changed
him in a drug deal. Fortunately, Crowe survived the
shooting (Bugliosi with Gentry 1974:91–92).
Manson’s dysregulated (or disinhibited) behavior
persisted in prison. According to Hare, “[e]ven within
prison populations psychopaths stand out, largely
because their antisocial and illegal activities are more
varied and frequent than are those of other criminals”
(1993:68 [italics in original]). By the time eight years
had passed after his conviction for the Tate-LaBianca
murders, Manson had accumulated forty-six violations
of prison regulations. While many involved hair and
dress regulations, he was also caught fighting with
other inmates and guards (Rapoport 1979:A1). This
dysregulation (or disinhibition) is rooted in childhood.
Hare states that “[m]ost psychopaths begin to exhibit
serious behavioral problems at an early age. These
might include lying, cheating, theft, fire setting,
truancy, class disruption, substance abuse, vandalism,
violence, bullying, running away, and precocious
sexuality” (1993:66). He mentions cruelty to animals as
another common childhood behavior of psychopaths
(1993:66). By his own admission, Manson displayed
many childhood indicators of psychopathy. He relates
a childhood wherein he often fought other children
and even stole and burned their toys out of jealousy
and rage. He also admits to an instance of being beaten
for deliberately hurting his uncle’s dog (Manson and
Emmons 1986:31–33).
Manson spent his teenage years detained in and
absconding from several state facilities. These years
were characterized by rampant criminal activity
including auto theft, armed robberies, and assaults.
While detained at the National Bridge Honor Camp,
Manson sodomized another boy while holding a razor
blade to his throat. After this offense, he was transferred
to the Federal Reformatory at Petersburg, Virginia,
where he was considered “dangerous” and “committed
eight serious disciplinary offenses, three involving
homosexual acts” (Bugliosi with Gentry 1974:137–
139). Manson’s extensive contact with the criminal
justice system as a child is consistent with psychopathy.
Hare, Forth, and Strachan posit that psychopaths’ mean
age of first contact with the criminal justice system
is twelve. Furthermore, “[a]mong federal offenders,
most psychopaths have had formal contacts with the
criminal justice system by age 15 or 16, several years