CULT: When Prophecy Fails: The Seekers

About this episode

In 1954, a housewife in Oak Park, Illinois named Dorothy Martin began taking down messages from beings she called the Guardians, and told the small circle around her that a flood would destroy the middle of North America before dawn on December 21st. Flying saucers would collect the believers first. The group, who called themselves the Seekers, gave away possessions and quit jobs, and on the night of the 20th pulled every scrap of metal off their clothes and sat down to wait. Three social psychologists led by Leon Festinger were sitting in the room under false names. Their 1956 book about that night, When Prophecy Fails, gave the world the phrase cognitive dissonance and is still assigned in classrooms. In this episode of Conspiracy Theories, Cults, & Crimes, Vanessa Richardson examines the prophecy Dorothy Martin took down from the Guardians, the researchers who joined under false names, and the private archive that undid a study taught in classrooms for 70 years. Head over to our YouTube channel to WATCH our video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@crimehousestudios If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes to never miss a case! To hear