Former Charles Manson Family Member Recalls Being Forced To Burn Herself in New Netflix Doc: “We Didn’t Feel Pain”

A former follower of cult leader Charles Manson, Dianne Lake, takes center stage in Netflix’s latest true crime docuseries How To Become A Cult Leader, revealing that Manson forced her to hold her hand over a candle and tried to convince her that she “didn’t feel pain.”

In the 30-minute episode, which is now on Netflix, she recalls the many “mind games” Manson would play with her and other members of the cult, some of which involved physical pain and unsuspecting third parties.  

Lake was 14 years old when she met Manson and had found comfort in his presence after her parents abandoned her to take LSD and live in a van.

Talking about the appeal of the Manson Family, Lake says, “Charlie had this ability to make each one of us feel like we were the special one. He was a good lover, that was a draw for the girls.”

The former cult follower gives insight into how Manson tested the loyalty of his followers and recalls him using LSD “as a sacrament. She states that he would place the dosage on his follower’s tongues while taking less or none for himself. 

Additionally, he would play “mind games” with his followers, forcing them to undergo painful experiences and break into people’s homes. Lake says this was sparked by a “crucifixion experience” he had while under the influence of drugs, which he would often recreate with his followers. 

“He said that we didn’t need to eat and that we didn’t feel pain,” Lake recalls.

Reflecting on first meeting Manson in the documentary, Lake says, “I was lost. I was totally susceptible to someone like Charlie coming into my life… He was funny. I thought he was cute.” She continues, “He just had a way about him. But, as we found out later, that was his strength. He could play to your weakness, or your need.”

Lake details an experience she had with Manson where he held her fingers over a candle flame and told her that the pain she was feeling was entirely in her mind. He echoed the same sentiment while forcing his followers to burn X’s into their foreheads using a screwdriver.

Manson eventually devised a loyalty test called “creepy crawling,” which entailed his followers breaking into a stranger’s homes to commit nonviolent acts. “The people that were involved would put on black clothes and then would go and sneak into other people’s houses at night. Charlie called it ‘messing with their minds.’ You know, like rearranging the furniture and eating some of their food,” Lake said. “It was another way to gauge obedience and commitment to him… I think, in hindsight, really what it was, was practicing.”

Manson, whose cult is referred to as the Manson Family, operated in California in the late 1960s. During that time, his members committed a series of murders, including the murder of movie star Sharon Tate, who was pregnant at the time. Manson was convicted on seven counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The convict died in 2017 while serving his life sentence in prison. 

Numerous documentaries and fictional works have been created about his cult activity.

Lake appears in the first episode of the Netflix series, which charts the activity of six different cult leaders over six episodes. The show is narrated by Peter Dinklage and begins with an introduction to Manson before continuing with stories about Jim Jones, Jaime Gomez, Marshall Applewhite, Shoko Asahara, and Sun Myung Moon.

Previously, Lake has shared her story in several different outlets, including the TV movie Manson: The Women and her 2017 autobiography Member of the Family: Manson, Murder and Me. 

Eventually, the crimes of the Manson Family would escalate from breaking and entering to gruesome murders. While Manson and his followers were only convicted on nine counts of murder, several other unsolved murders have been linked to their activity.

How to Become A Cult Leader is now on Netflix.