CULT: When Prophecy Fails: The Seekers

2026-10-07 · 44 min · episode 125 · 12 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

→ hosted by Crime House person

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Feed author/publisher: Crime House
→ discusses History website

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Feed category: History
→ discusses True Crime podcast

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Feed category: True Crime
→ hosted by PAVE Studios company

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Feed author/publisher: PAVE Studios
→ references @Crimehousestudios website

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Link in episode "CULT: When Prophecy Fails: The Seekers": https://youtube.com/@crimehousestudios

Entities found in this episode

websites 4

mentioned History website

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Feed category: History
mentioned @Crimehousestudios website

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evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "CULT: When Prophecy Fails: The Seekers": https://youtube.com/@crimehousestudios
discusses History website

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: History
references @Crimehousestudios website

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evidence rules-v5
Link in episode "CULT: When Prophecy Fails: The Seekers": https://youtube.com/@crimehousestudios

companys 2

mentioned PAVE Studios company

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Feed author/publisher: PAVE Studios
hosted by PAVE Studios company

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: PAVE Studios

persons 2

mentioned Crime House person

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Crime House
hosted by Crime House person

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Crime House

podcasts 2

mentioned True Crime podcast

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: True Crime
discusses True Crime podcast

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: True Crime

concepts 2

mentioned When Prophecy Fails: The Seekers concept

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CULT: When Prophecy Fails: The Seekers
mentioned CULT concept

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CULT

Episode description as stored

In 1954, a housewife in Oak Park, Illinois named Dorothy Martin began taking down messages from beings she called the Guardians, and told the small circle around her that a flood would destroy the middle of North America before dawn on December 21st. Flying saucers would collect the believers first. The group, who called themselves the Seekers, gave away possessions and quit jobs, and on the night of the 20th pulled every scrap of metal off their clothes and sat down to wait. Three social psychologists led by Leon Festinger were sitting in the room under false names. Their 1956 book about that night, When Prophecy Fails, gave the world the phrase cognitive dissonance and is still assigned in classrooms. In this episode of Conspiracy Theories, Cults, & Crimes, Vanessa Richardson examines the prophecy Dorothy Martin took down from the Guardians, the researchers who joined under false names, and the private archive that undid a study taught in classrooms for 70 years. Head over to our YouTube channel to WATCH our video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@crimehousestudios If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes to never miss a case! To hear episodes ad-free and released a day early, subscribe to Crime House+. Join at crimehouseplus.com or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios. 🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of Reddit, Serial Killers & Murderous Minds, Crime House 24/7, Murder True Crime Stories and more wherever you get your podcasts! Follow me on Social Instagram: @Crimehouse TikTok: @Crimehouse Facebook: @crimehousestudios X: @crimehousemedia YouTube: @crimehousestudios