Inside Jonestown: The Chilling Guyana Tours Exploring the Site of the 1978 Cult Tragedy
But government entities still had their eye on Jones and, in November 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan flew to Guyana after his constituents notified him that their relatives were being abused by the cult leader. Though Ryan and his delegation were initially welcomed to Jonestown, and several members of the Peoples Temple were allowed to leave with him, he and his party were violently ambushed by Jones’ followers at the Port Kaituma airstrip. Ryan, three journalists, and a Peoples Temple member were killed.
Jones then decided to order his followers to die by suicide.
San Diego State University/Wikimedia CommonsThe original Welcome to Jonestown sign.
Announcing that U.S. soldiers would soon arrive to torture the members of the Peoples Cult, Jones instructed his followers to drink punch laced with cyanide. While some agreed to do so, others were forced to drink the punch, and some people were forcibly injected with poison, while a few were shot. Jones, his wife, and most of their children were among the 909 people who died at Jonestown.
The mass murder-suicide of Jones and his followers shocked the world. In the years since, Jonestown was slowly swallowed by the jungle as it ate away at existing structures or covered them with vines.
But today, if you’re so inclined, it’s possible to walk the grounds where Jonestown once stood, and where more than 900 people lost their lives all at once nearly 50 years ago.
After reading about how Jonestown has opened up for tourism, discover what life was like inside nine infamous cults. Then, go inside the harrowing stories of infamous cult leaders, from Jim Jones to David Koresh.
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