The movie. Helter Skelter first aired on April 1, 1976 as a two part movie of the week. I was mesmerized and haunted by the story and the connection to the Beatles made it even more fascinating. Afterwards we would look for more "clues" on our Beatles albums.

For me, it was a really scary movie and gave me nightmares for weeks after. My friend at the time, Jeff, after watching the movie was sure that Manson was the devil!

I've watch it again recently and it still is a great detective story and a peek into a cult life. It holds up very well.

The book. Written by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry is a fast-paced detective story.

What makes it eerier than the movie is that this is based on the factual evidence and identifies. In the middle of the book are 16 pages of black and white photographs ranging from family members to the crime scene (with the victim's body whited out) to the trial.Fun summer read.