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12 Abandoned Utopias That Didn't Last

These paradises are long lost.
Allegra Rosenberg September 26, 2025
A Devil's Dinner, from The Satanic Temple.
cults

How Cults and Religious Groups Forever Changed American Food

In ‘Holy Food,’ Christina Ward examines how our belief systems end up on the plate.
Diana Hubbell September 26, 2023
The women of the Source Family pose on a Rolls-Royce for an ad for the release of a recording of the cult's band, Ya Ho Wha 13.
cults

The Cult Roots of Health Food in America

How the Source Family, a radical 1970s utopian commune, still impacts what we eat today.
Diana Hubbell April 19, 2023
A polyamorous community, Oneida encouraged gathering with big outdoor and dining spaces.
cults

The Curious Connection Between Food and Cults

From Fruitlands to NXIVM, food has served as the core of Utopia and a tool of control.
Sam O'Brien October 24, 2022
Mithraeum elements included a tauroctony, or depiction of Mithras sacrificing a bull.
cults

An Ancient Roman Cult's Rituals Included Feasting, Fire, and Floor Cleaning

To uncover new clues about the secretive world of Mithraism, scientists considered evidence right at their feet.
Nathaniel Scharping May 13, 2022
Utrera, Spain

El Palmar de Troya

The cathedral of a controversial, conservative, schismatic sect that declared the Catholic Church heretical and founded its own succession of popes.
Interior of the church.
Naples, Italy

Church of Santa Luciella ai Librai

An unusual "skull with ears" sits in the crypt of this small church tucked away at the end of a narrow alley.
Mount Banahaw.
Quezon, Philippines

Mount Banahaw

This volcano in the Philippines is believed to have miraculous healing powers.
The runestone in the church wall.
Uppsala, Sweden

Runestone in Gamla Uppsala Church

This mysterious runestone embedded in a church wall is linked to the medieval cult of Saint Erik.
Hermitage of Poggio Conte, dug in the tuff.
Ischia di Castro, Italy

Eremo di Poggio Conte (Poggio Conte Hermitage)

A dreamlike medieval church dug into the tuff rock, with unusual carvings and possible traces of the Templar knights.
Mithraeum entrance.
Caesarea, Israel

Caesarea Maritima Mithraeum

An ancient underground cultic temple where sunlight penetrates on the summer solstice.
Mission Museum Steyl.
Steyl, Netherlands

Mission Museum Steyl

This massive collection of taxidermy is full of specimens collected by missionaries during their international travels.
August Engelhardt believed coconuts were divine.
cults

The Curious Case of August Engelhardt, Leader of a Coconut-Obsessed Cult

"The sun, God, and the coconut were like Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
Zoë Bernard November 30, 2017
The tauroctony in the Mithraeum at Santa Maria Capua Vetere.
cults

The Ancient Roman Cult That Continues to Vex Scholars

The Mithraic Mysteries worshipped a pagan god from subterranean temples buried throughout the empire.
Kerry Wolfe November 13, 2017
Box Canyon
Los Angeles, California

Box Canyon

The quiet canyon has a tumultuous history involving a doomsday cult.
Hotel Baviera
Villa Baviera, Chile

Villa Baviera

Formerly a brutal Nazi colony, this Chilean village was remade as a (controversial) German-themed tourist trap.
A woodcut depiction of Brother XII preaching.
cults

What Happened To This Cult Leader's Lost Treasure?

The self-styled prophet Brother XII may have left behind $6 million in gold coins.
Spenser Davis December 1, 2016
Mount Yasur eruption
Vanuatu

Mount Yasur

This South Pacific volcano has been blowing its stack for over 800 years and is said to be home to a cult leader waiting to be reborn.