Thursday, January 20, 2011

Sutherland Cult: They withdrew from society, but still fed off it.

SHOOT: Quite a shocking story. Might even make a movie...

"My father-in-law let them stay on the farm for free out of the goodness of his heart, but in time they became dissatisfied with everything," said Jolene.

"At our wedding two years ago they kept talking about the 'third eye'. It made us feel uncomfortable. They regularly held trance music dance festivals on the farm, played memory games and practiced telepathy. They wore black capes and Agnes had a black cat."

Jolene said the Meniéres know the farm well. "For the past 10 years they lived here in isolation without electricity, cellphones or computers."

"They're used to surviving," said Cobus du Plessis, the owner’s oldest son. "The cult and their lifestyle made them tough.

"No-one in town knew them, since during the past four years they almost never came to town," Jolene said.

"It's only our family who knew a little bit about them. Cobus and I often visited the French couple on the farm.

Intimidating

"We had lovely conversations about philosophy with them. They are intelligent people and had interesting perspectives, not all of which we agreed with.

"I was never really comfortable around Philippe. I found him intimidating. It was as if he was constantly trying to read my thoughts.

"I often chatted to Agnes and went walking in the veld with her. She told me a little bit about her work in the advertising industry.

"She's a very creative person. I always felt that she was starved for company."

According to Jolene, Jardel used to be a beautiful woman who "gestured a lot when she spoke" and loved red wine. "Two years ago at our wedding she danced the night away.

"They both have dark eyes, which have become very intense over the past two years. They started avoiding us more and more. The deeper they were sucked into the cult, the more isolated they became.

Read the rest.

No comments: