Manhattan Cult Story

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Odyssey Study Group cult still going strong after death of charismatic leader Sharon Gans

I want to save lives and the only way I can think of is to tell my story. Thanks to the NY Post for spreading the word with the second article in two weeks. The reporter, Isabel Vincent, is first-rate, and is the first reporter to delve into the background of the leaders. Thank you Isabel.

French Evangelical Church at 126 W 16th Street

The Sharon Gans cult still meets in secret locations in NYC. Cultrevolt.com has learned of one such place. The cult poses to the church as a "writer's group," so do not blame the Church (up to now). The Church is located at 126 W 16th Street. If you have been going to evening meetings there, or are invited, run, don't walk. This group is very dangerous.

Saturday, July 9, 2022

Mystery Leaders: Minerva Taylor and Greg Koch

Sunday, July 3, 2022

"Memoir by Sharon Gans’ NYC cult member exposes fight clubs and broken lives"

Journalist Heather Robinson interviewed me a few weeks ago for this article. We spent 90 minutes talking about my book but also about how half the country thinks the other half is in a cult and that half of the country is right. I hope current members come across this article and can free themselves.

Wednesday, June 29, 2022

A Little Bit Culty Podcast - Part 2

A listener of the podcast reached out to tell me that in 2010 she was recruited by a friend to join an "esoteric group" in NYC, but was spooked by all the secrecy requirements. Luckily she didn't go. I confirmed for her that her friend is in fact a member of the Gans Cult. The whole experience left her uneasy and Im grateful that speaking out has helped her to gain some closure.

Monday, June 27, 2022

A Little Bit Culty Podcast

The NXIVM whistleblowers -- Sarah Edmondson and Anthony Ames -- who also star in HBO's The Vow, interviewed me for their podcast. I hope you can listen to some or all.

Saturday, June 18, 2022

The Actress

Sharon created a make-believe world for herself. She believed she was –– I heard her say this –– a character in a "Shakespeare tragedy." In her final performance, Sharon plays King Lear. In her adaptation of the classic, she bequeaths zilch to her two biological children because they "betrayed" her. Instead (as first reported on these pages) she leaves her multimillion dollar estate –– all of it stolen money –– to her looney step-son and other assorted bootlickers.

ABOUT THIS BLOG

I am Spencer Schneider. I was a member of the Sharon Gans Cult for 23 years until I escaped in 2012. This blog is for members, survivors, family, and anyone who has been in a cult. I also want to warn the public because the members are dangerous.

Although highly charismatic and brilliant, Sharon Gans was also a demented psychopath who believed she was a teacher of “higher knowledge” and whose mission was to “save civilization.” She built a real estate empire and attracted a cadre of followers who satisfied her every sexual, financial, and anti-social whim. Along the way, she subjected followers to sexual predation, physical and emotional abuse, forced labor, and the bilking of savings. The cult still operates: beware. I’ve written an article about my experience and the NY Post wrote an expose.

The members are fanatics and extremists who believe they are saving civilization and that the ends justify the means. They also believe people of color are "inferior" and that LGBTQ people can be "cured." The cult is ultra-secret (members don’t even tell spouses). Members are well educated/well-heeled professionals who live amongst your midst -- members might be your accountant, therapist, doctor, lawyer, architect, children’s schoolteacher, contractor, stockbroker, executive recruiter, etc. You would never know they are in a cult.

Members may try to recruit you without you even knowing it. First, they will try to befriend you feigning deep interest while building trust and gathering personal information. Just because you are a savvy New Yorker like me and the thousands who have passed through the doors, don’t think you’ll necessarily be hip to the game. The recruiting is very good and sophisticated. It was created in part by Minerva Taylor. If you join, you will be groomed for a long time until they lower the boon. At that point, you'll think all of the torture is for your own good or for the so-called "Work." So, beware if you are approached to join or if you are in it. If you are stuck in it, you can always contact me or the authorities.

The cult was founded in San Francisco in the 70’s by the late Alex Horn and his wife, the late Sharon Gans. It is known by several different names which are listed in a side-column blurb (“Ganscult Aliases”). Gans, died in January 2021.

As noted, this blog provides information for former and current members and others. It also provides a forum through comments and submissions. The posts are organized in reverse chronological order and can be easily located through the table of contents on the side-column as well as searched through the search tool in the side-column.

AKA

The Work, The Study, School, OSG, Our Friend, Our Director, S, Negative Emotions, Self-Remembering, Identification, Food Diagram, Law of Three, Law of Seven, Three Story House, Friction, Partner, Sustainer, Teacher, Student, Second Education, Esoteric School, School of Inner Development, Being Bodies, Second Conscious Shock, Buffers, Essence Friends, False Personality, Hour of Silence, Self-Sensing Exercise, Gurdjieff, Ouspensky, Black Book, Boston Philosophy Group, New York Philosophy Group, Month Experiment, Payment, Evolution, Sacred School, Third Story, No Fraternizing, Private, Essence Friend, NY Playwrights, Person I Am Working With, Special Friendships, Oral Tradition, No Name, No Last Names, Gossip, Mechanical Man, Food For Moon, Wrong Work of Centers, Lisa, Robert, Four Centers, Self Observation, 3 Story House, Self Remember, Identifying, Courtyard Marriot in Cambridge, Courtyard Marriot in Brookline