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The little-known Victorian sex cult where members were never allowed to leave
BBC • • world
Key Points:
- The Agapemonites, a Victorian sex cult led by Henry James Prince who claimed to be the Holy Spirit, operated from a chapel in Spaxton, Somerset, where members were coerced into handing over fortunes and participating in controversial sex ceremonies.
- Prince's leadership involved extreme control over followers, including dictating marriages for financial gain and enforcing the belief that he was a divine figure, leading to several member suicides.
- The cult's practices and Prince's claims, such as declaring himself Jesus Christ in 1902, sparked public outrage and riots, forcing him to retreat from London back to Somerset.
- The group's chapel in Spaxton is now an Airbnb, but the cult's history continues to attract international interest, as noted by author and former BBC journalist Stuart Flinders.
- After Prince's death in 1927, rumors circulated that he was buried standing up by followers, symbolizing readiness for a heavenly call.
