How well known is it what Charles Manson did?

21 comments

1. Many people know, especially those alive and aware in the 60s/70s, but I think knowledge of the details will fade as the perpetrators of the murders die off.

2. People around my age (42) and older usually have at least a general idea of what he did (cult leader, kidnapping, directing his cult to murder Hollywood types, etc). I’m not sure if younger folks do though, he kinda fell out of the zeitgeist by the early 2000s it seems like.

3. I’d say most people know Sharon Tate but wouldn’t be able to name the other victims. They would know that he led a cult who turned to murder but wouldn’t be able to name more than one or two of the other perpetrators (I can’t name any, though I remember one had a kind of odd name). And I think most people would know helter skelter, if only because of the Beatles.

   True crime buffs or people who were alive at the time would know more.

4. I think most people know who he is, but not specifically what he did or what happened. I think most people would say he’s a cult leader and he maybe killed a bunch of people with his hippie family.
   I don’t think they’d know about the LaBiancas or Gary Hinman or about Death Valley and the Spahn Ranch or whether he took part in the Cielo Drive murders.

5. I think most Americans know the very basics.

   Charles Manson is one of those things that people just seem to instinctively know about. It’s not something we’re taught in school nor have I ever watched a documentary, read a book, etc. about him but I know what he and his cult did.

6. Speaking for the youngsters, I’d say that many people recognize his name and associate him with a leader of a cult whose members killed people. Many would probably remember that it was Sharon Tate. What they may not remember is that she was Roman Polanski’s wife, that she was pregnant, and that other people were killed in the attack too.

7. Yes, he’s one of the most notorious criminals in American history, probably top 5 in the 20th century.

8. Anyone alive at the time likely knows a fair bit.

   I’m much younger than that, and I’ve known the basic rundown of who he was and what all they did since at least middle school. Can’t say I know every particular details or name involved, but I’m certainly aware of what happened.

   There was a Quinten Tarantino movie about it not too long ago, which probably helped familiarize the vague order of events for a younger audience.

9. I would think most would at least recognize his name and associate it with what they know about him. Even if they didn’t know the entire story.

   Unlike someone like Ted Kaczynski, who’s name wouldn’t be as recognizable. Unless you mentioned the Unabomber

10. Most know something about him but just the basics. I don’t know how many know about his music or the whole ATWA thing but I’d assume many don’t.

11. I think he used to be part of cultural “common knowledge”, but he’s being forgotten as time passes; the crimes in question happened more than fifty years ago, after all.

12. In my experience, he’s at least top 5 in infamous US murderers, probably #1-2 all around, behind only maybe Ted Bundy or Jeff Dahmer. Most people I know are at least aware he was a cult leader that ended up murdering people like a Hollywood actress, even if they couldn’t name her as Sharon Tate.

    He might be falling off, though. He’s been dead for five years and he was arrested over 50 years ago. I think he’ll always be well known, but he’ll be supplanted.

13. Most Americans over 35 or are probably at least somewhat familiar with what he did. Younger generations might not be.

14. He’s probably one of the top 5 most-recognizable serial killers. Right up there with Ed Gein, Ted Bundy, and Jeffrey Dahmer.

15. Technically he didn’t do anything

16. **EXTREMELY** well-known.

    > Is this the same everywhere, or do Americans know what he did like it’s common sense?

    This might be a language issue, but the phrasing would be “common knowledge,” not “common sense.”

17. I think there’s a misconception that he actually murdered people.

18. One of the most famous crimes in US history and was recently “reimagined” in a very popular and very well reviewed Quentin Tarantino movie. I can’t imagine a criminal more well known than Manson.

19. Almost everyone knows his name but some people probably mistakenly think he was a conventional serial killer rather than the more complicated that he was.

20. Quentin Tarantino made a 3-hour long blockbuster movie about Charles Manson. He’s a very well-known criminal.

21. He is very well known amongst Boomers and older generations. Generation X and millennials are likely to have heard about him from their parents and still know the basics.

    I imagine a good chunk of Generation Z would still recognize the name, but his memory will probably start to fade from the public conscious with them. Unless someone is really into serial killers and cults, they probably won’t ever hear much about him.