By Jennifer Boje
To understand the mind of Charles Manson, we must dive into the past and find out what shaped his personality.
Charles Manson was born November 12 1934 in Cincinnati Ohio to a 16-year old unwed mother and unlisted father on the birth certificate. Manson mother grew up in a strict and religious background and often would rebel against the teaching of the followers. But when Kathleen get pregnant was made an example of how not to act or behave, during this time Kathleen wasn’t ready to be a mother so she sent her son to live with grandparents or aunts and uncles along with reform and boarding schools to avoid the responsibility of motherhood.
During this time Charles Manson was forced to wear dresses to school and begin complaining about everything, he was mocked and teased which shaped him into disagreeable child and begin throwing fits. The first major event to shape Manson personality was watching his mother get sent to jail for an armed robbery charge, from the begin he felt like unwanted child but with family around him he always was loved, the one important passion in Manson life was music. As he grew older he enjoyed church music and country music, his shot to becoming a rock star was in Late November of 1967 when Gary stomberg gave Charles a chance to song some of his songs but Gary thought he don’t have enough talent and told him no. with this rejection he keeps his dream alive and later 1968 Charles Manson tried again with his called the milky way and was shot down another rejection made him very angry because no one would listen to songs so he traveled along the California road and begin attracting female followers who were not yet broken but not quite bent and use his charm to take them under his wing and begin brain washing them about he was new Jesus and would often warn them about a up coming race war but the only way he could control these women was by giving them LSD.
Charles Manson personality was friendly and playful in late 20’s but as he grew older he begin to get more angry and moodly because many question his methods and what he was trying to tell the world, he formed the family cult to feel in complete control and like a god them.
Editor's note: this short piece ran in Serial Killer Magazine and is reproduced as written, including its typographical errors and its account of Manson's childhood, which is drawn from the familiar biography rather than from any record this archive holds. One correction. Charles Manson was convicted in 1971 of seven counts of first degree murder on a joint responsibility theory, for ordering killings he did not personally carry out, and that is how this archive records him. He died in prison in 2017. The music industry rejection described here is usually told about Terry Melcher rather than the name given in the text, and the detail should be treated as anecdote. Nothing here is offered as an explanation of the murders, and a difficult childhood is not one.