How Cults Are Made

The Reverend Sun Myung Moon sprinkles holy water over couples he married during a mass wedding ceremony at Madison Square Garden in New York, July 1, 1982.

From NXIVM to the Manson Family to Heaven's Gate, cults can vary widely. But there are some commonalities.Mitch Horowitz, a historian of alternative spirituality and a writer-in-residence at the New York Public Library, breaks down some of the common features of cults from how they attract members to how they end up controlling the lives of their members and make it so hard for them to leave.