Why Was Charles Manson So Dangerous? | Biographical Documentary

Video Description

There are few names in the annals of crime that evoke such a profound sense of horror as Charles Manson. Once dubbed the most dangerous man alive – his wild-eyed image is seared into our collective consciousness and for many he was synonymous with evil itself. As a mesmerising cult leader he led a group of disaffected young people on a murderous rampage that brought to a dark, brutal end, the 1960s dream of peace and love. But who was this man? A traumatised victim of a bleak childhood on the wrong side of the tracks? A new messiah, as his followers believed? A psychotic madman as the police made out? Or was he something else entirely – a calculating, manipulative career criminal who simply exploited the weak and the vulnerable for his own selfish ends. In this documentary video, Dr Graeme Yorston, drawing on newly released information, uses his skills as a Forensic Psychiatrist, to explore the life and very dark mind of Charles Manson. Finding Out More There are lots of books about Charles Manson, the Tate-LaBianca murders and the Family, of varying quality. I found the biography by Jeff Guinn, called simply Manson, the most reliable, but I also enjoyed Vincent Bugliosi’s description of the investigation and his theory about the motivation Helter Skelter. I have added some my favourites to my Amazon Store Page. https://www.amazon.com/shop/professorgraemeyorston Academic References: Atchison, A. J., & Heide, K. M. (2011). Charles Manson and the family: The application of sociological theories to multiple murder. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 55(5), 771-798. Dubrow-Marshall, L. J., & Dubrow-Marshall, R. (2017). How cult leader Charles Manson was able to manipulate his ‘family’ to commit murder. The Conversation. Roy, T. A., Mihura, J. L., Friedman, A. F., Nichols, D. S., & Meloy, J. R. (2023). The last psychological evaluation of Charles Manson: Implications for personality, psychopathology, and ideology. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, 10(3), 127. Smith, D. E., Luce, J., & Demburg, E. (2018). The Health of Haight-Ashbury. In Where Medicine Fails (pp. 111-132). Routledge. Music: Spahn Ranch – Written and Performed by Angus Yorston Copyright 2025 Funkadelica - Written and Performed by Angus Yorston Copyright 2025 Oecumene Sleeps - Kai Engel CC0 Lament of the Warlords – MusicLFile CC0 From the Arctic Circle to the Southern Seas - Misha Dioxin CC0 Aether - Density & Time CC0 Christmas Village - Aaron Kenny CC0 Spooked - Mini Vandals CC0 Whole Tone - Limbo Godmode CC0 Dangerous Toys – SeChol CC0 Blacksmith – Godmode CC0 Under the Rug - Density & Time CC0 Hard to let go of Grammar – pATCHES CC0 Black Terrier Blues - Mini Vandals CC0 Tacklebox Blues - Mini Vandals CC0 Empty Bottle Empty Bed - Mini Vandals Prelude 15 - Chris Zabriskie CC3.0 Isaac Albeniz - Tango Op.165 Nº2 - David Hernando Vitores - Kayoko Morimoto (Wasei Duo) CC4.0 Isaac Albeniz - Suite espanola op. 47 – leyenda. Public domain via Musopen.com Plantation by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/ Calm Cam - Track Tribe CC0 Temple of Freedom - Hanu Dixit CC0 Video edited by Manavi Sakunika and produced by Graeme Yorston and Tom Yorston