Charles Manson Trained His Followers to Break Into People’s Houses and Rearrange Their Furniture

Then they may have used those skills to commit murder.

By Christopher WynnMay 24, 2016 11:44 am,

Strange” is an occasional podcast by The Dallas Morning News where fascinating people tell their true stories of an encounter with the strange. The Standard is running pieces of the first episode throughout the week.

Jeff Guinn is an award-winning investigative journalist and former books editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He’s also the best-selling author of the biography “Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson.”

In his research for the book, Guinn discovered details of the bizarre training Manson ordered his followers to undergo leading up to the murders.

Here’s an excerpt of his story:

In writing my book about Charles Manson, one of the things that surprised me most was how calculating Manson was. … Nothing Charlie did was ever by accident. It was always calculated. And nothing was more of a calculation then something he called ‘Creepy-crawling’ – a maneuver that he taught to his followers in the spring of 1969.

Listen to the rest of Guinn’s story in the audio player above.