Says Man, 85, Broke Up Home

1930

Cult Leader is Named in a California Divorce Case.

(By the Associated Press)

CHICAGO, Feb. 25. — An 85-year-old leader of a health and religious cult in Los Angeles was blamed today for breaking up the home of Herman R. Huber, architectural draftsman, who filed suit for divorce from Mrs. Anna C. Huber, 50, a follower of the cult.

The aged man was described as "Ottoman, czar of Adusht, master mind Hanisch of the Mazdazans," whose temple is at 1159 S. Norton avenue, in Los Angeles.

Huber, in his suit, said his wife had become "fanatical, idiotical, and unreasonable by following the repugnant rituals of moaning, raving and silly actions of the cult." He said the power that the "master mind" held over women made them think more of his teachings than they did of their homes and families.

—The Kansas City Star, Feb. 25, 1930, p. 5.

Mazdaznan Leader Nabbed In Chicago

1920

Sun Cult's "Little Master" on Way to Coast to Answer Charges of Children

Ottoman Zar Adusht Hanisch, the "Little Master" of the Mazdaznan cult, was arrested upon his recent arrival in Chicago and his enforced return to Los Angeles to answer serious criminal charges broke up the "feast of Gahanbar," a celebration of which by his Chicago followers was planned from midnight Christmas eve to the last minute of the year.

And he hadn't any idea, up to the moment of his arrest, of going in that direction. On the contrary, he had intended to sail for Europe in a few days, with Zurich as his objective.

But then the "Little Master" hadn't much to do with the journey. His fate was fashioned by a Los Angeles grand jury and by Lieut. Charles A. Jones of the police force of that city.

On June 14, 1918, the grand jury secretly voted ten indictments against Hanisch after hearing serious charges. Several of the complainants are children, girls as well as boys, ranging in ages from 11 to 15 years.

The Los Angeles police have been looking for Hanisch ever since. They learned that his real name is Otto Zachariah Hanisch, that he is a Russian, that his father is Richard Hanisch, a Milwaukee music teacher, and the fugitive had been lecturing under the name of Dr. Ken Wilson.

Well Known in Chicago

Chicago knows Hanisch well. He maintained his temple for years at 3016 Lake Park avenue. His disciples lived on fruits, nuts, vegetables, garlic, dewdrops, violets and sunshine, and danced alone — when they danced — breathing rhythmically and deeply, and greeting each other at every turn with "Hail to thee! Ten thousand hails!"

Hanisch got a lot of notoriety out of the "Billy" Lindsay case. "Billy's" mother, Elizabeth H. Lindsay, was a member of the cult. The boy was kept in the "terrestrial temple" and fed on white grapes and beer, it was said.

Wealthy relatives in Chicago and Pittsburgh cooperated with the Juvenile Court authorities to save the boy. Hanisch was taken into court, but the boy and his mother fled.

Seized Near Coal Bin

The Lindsay case, however, led to an investigation of the cult, and it was found the sex idea predominated. Hanisch sent an alleged obscene book by express to another State, and on March 4, 1912, a raid was made on the temple and he was arrested. He was found, in all his silken glory, wedged into a niche near the coal bin in the basement.

He was convicted of sending obscene literature in interstate commerce, fined $2,500 and sent to the bridewell for six months. The literature in question was his book of "Inner Studies," which sold for anywhere from $10 to $50, according to the wealth of him who bought it.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 1.

Haiti Worships at Voodoo Shrine

1920

"As no accurate history of Haiti can be written without a reference to Voodooism, the story of this strange cult, which some authorities say still is in practice in its most violent form among the people of this island and others of the West Indies, may be interesting in connection with the recent investigation of American occupation in Haiti," says a bulletin from the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the National Geographic Society.

"Voodooism could scarcely be called a religion, but so strong is its influence upon the superstitions of the negroes, that despite efforts to eradicate it, every year or two dispatches report that there has been a sudden outbreak of cannibalistic practices in connection with a revival of devotional enthusiasm.

"It is said that no white man would be allowed to live long after he had given testimony leading to the conviction of a culprit charged with sacrificing a child to his god. As a consequence, authentic information is difficult to get, and proof of a human sacrifice almost impossible. Many teachers and inhabitants of the islands deny the existence of the cult, though many stories of the horrors perpetrated at a meeting of the Voodoos are recorded by naval officers who have visited the islands and by other men of integrity.

"The general belief is that Voodooism was brought to the Western Hemisphere from West Africa by the negroes imported as laborers, especially to Haiti, and it may probably be traced back to the serpent worship of Egypt. Many of the characteristics of the worship also were attributed to the French witches of the Fifteenth century, the most violent phases of the practice, perhaps, being an outgrowth of the African superstitions of the black and of the French imagination of the white inhabitants of Haiti.

"The God Obeah or Vaudoux, of which Voodoo is an American corruption, is supposed to know, to see and to do all things, but he manifests himself to his worshippers only in the form of a nonpoisonous snake and communicates with them only through a priest and priestess, known as papa-loi and maman-loi, who are held in great veneration by their followers.

"The ceremony is always held at night, usually in the fastness of some deep wood, where there will be no interruption of the rites. The devotees take off their shoes and bind about their bodies handkerchiefs, the predominating note of which is red, and the priest and priestess wear red bands about their heads in the form of crowns. Then they pray to the snake, which is exhibited for the purpose of arousing their emotions. Maman-loi mounts the box in which the god is usually kept and emits groans, shrieks and wild gesticulations as she utters her prophetic sentences.

"A dance closes the ceremony. The king puts his hand on the box and a shudder somewhat similar to the effect produced by the most recent kind of 'jazz' seizes him, and from him it passes to all the rest. Then the devotional exercises evolve into a wild debauchery and indecency under the cover of drunkenness and night.

"The initiation of a convert to the faith is enough to inspire him with terror. He pledges himself, when his lips are touched with warm goat's blood, never under any circumstances to reveal the secrets of the fraternity and to kill any member who proves a traitor to the brotherhood. This is the point at which the cannibalism is supposed to occur, but investigation has shown that many of the shocking phases of the worship have been eliminated, and the worshippers usually satisfy themselves with a cock or a goat which is afterwards cooked and eaten.

"The Voodoo women are thought to possess supernatural power, and by working on the superstitions of the natives attain a potent influence over them. Many strong men have pined away merely because they thought an enemy had 'put Obeah' on them, just as the Southern negro believed in the 'conjure' doctor who cast a 'spell' on him by leaving in his path a bottle containing horse hairs, snake's teeth, lizard claws, a piece of dried rat and a frog's foot. Objects which have been used in the practice of the black art may be seen in the museum of the Petit Seminaire at Port au Prince.

"So deeply have the people of Haiti become imbued with the cult that an empty bottle, which probably would entice a reminiscent grin from an American assembly, will throw a Haitian group into consternation, and educated Haitian girls have been known to faint at the sight of the shivers of spilled mercury."

—Reno Evening Gazette, Reno, NV, Dec. 20, 1920, p. 5.

Court Interrupts Founder of "Perfect Woman" Cult

Chicago, 1922

Court Interrupts Founder of Cult

Mrs. Rachael Marie Riggs was reigning on her throne in her home, surrounded by mystic symbols, weird pictures and curious charms, when Chicago police interrupted her reign to ask her to appear in court to answer a charge of contributing to the delinquency of two wards of the court. She claims to see the coming of the perfect woman.

—The Coshocton Tribune, Coshocton, OH, Jan. 18, 1922, p. 1.

Note: I've seen three different publications of this article. They're all from a common source, of course, but each one says she claims to "see" the coming of the perfect woman, not "be" the perfect woman, so apparently there is no typo.

Boy Victim of Cult is Lost; The Zoroastrian Connection

1912--

BOY VICTIM OF CULT IS LOST

William Lindsay is Stolen From the Custody of Court Officer

CHICAGO, Jan. 4.—A second disappearance of William Lindsay, 13 years old, heir to the fortune of his uncle, Charles R. Lindsay of Philadelphia; the appearance on the witness stand of a cult leader, and the introduction of testimony controverting the latter's assertion that the boy and his mother held places in the cult different from other members, were the features of today's hearing in the juvenile court involving the Rev. Dr. Ottoman Zar Adusht Hanish, head of the Mazadazuan cult here.

The proceedings are the outgrowth of the uncle's attempt to remove the boy from the cult's "temple" here, where he was living and where, with his mother, he was receiving "treatment" in accordance with the Mazdaznan belief.

Attorney Oscar Brecher, to whom the boy has been entrusted by the court, reported that an abduction plot had made it impossible for him to keep his promise to have the boy present today.

Hanish denied knowledge of the whereabouts of the boy or of his mother. He declared himself of royal descent, and said that he was known by the term "master" to his followers; said he became a doctor at a Chicago medical school and was characterized as "reverend" by his own society. He told of trips about the country with the Lindsay boy at the mother's expense; told of visiting Mrs. Lindsay at her New York apartment and denied that any improprieties took place at the temple.

Mrs. Alma Reakirt of New York, sister of Mrs. Lindsay, said her sister had told her Dr. Hanish was considered the reincarnation of Christ. She also described mystic rites of adoration performed before pictures of Christ and Hanish by Mrs. Lindsay and the boy. Mrs. Lindsay, she said, told her Hanish said she was a princes of France and that the boy was the "lost orphan of Louis XVI."

Mrs. Asenth Cochran of New York, a friend of Mrs. Lindsay, said the latter had told her of the discovery of Christ in Hanish and gave as proof the statement that the cult leader "told her all about herself."

--The Billings Gazette, Billings, Montana, January 5, 1912, page 1.