Helter Skelter (scenario)  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

Related e

Wikipedia Wiktionary Shop Featured: Rhombicuboctahedron by Leonardo da Vinci

The murders perpetrated by Charles Manson and members of his "Family" were inspired in part by Manson's prediction of Helter Skelter, an apocalyptic war he believed would arise from tension over racial relations between blacks and whites. This "chimerical vision," as it was termed by the court that heard Manson's appeal from his conviction for the Tate-LaBianca killings, involved reference to music of The Beatles and to the New Testament's Book of Revelation.

Manson had been predicting racial war for some time before he used the term Helter Skelter. His first use of the term was at a gathering of the Family on New Year's Eve 1968. This took place at the Family's base at Myers Ranch, near California's Death Valley.

Events

• August 8 - In the afternoon, Manson tells the Family members, "Now is the time for Helter Skelter."
• August 9 - After midnight, acting on Manson's instruction, three Family members including Tex Watson slaughter Sharon Tate and four other persons on the premises of 10050 Cielo Drive. Susan Atkins, one of the killers, writes "Pig" on the house's front door, in Sharon Tate's blood. When the killers and a fourth Family member, who accompanied them, return to Spahn Ranch, Watson assures Manson it was Helter Skelter.
• August 10 - After midnight, three Family members acting on Manson's instruction slaughter Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary at their Los Feliz home, next door to a house at which Manson and Family members had attended a party the previous year. Using LaBianca blood, one of the killers writes "Rise" and "Death to Pigs" on the living room walls. She writes "Healter [sic] Skelter" on the refrigerator.