Blood In The Hills Part 1

Charles Manson listened to the album because it was his Bible. In fact, he was never shy telling his disciples that there was a tremendous connection between the verses in the Bible and the famous singing group. But, in this glorious album, named simply, ''The Beatles'', but, quickly known to the public as the ''White Album'' [ because of its stark, white cover] Charlie found that The Beatles and he were synched up in thought. In several songs, Manson heard what the Fab Four was really saying. They were proclaiming their approval for a worldwide revolution. Whites fighting the blacks. The rich and the poor slugging it out for world dominance. Charlie told his followers that the race war would be the ultimate last war, an apocalypse to a new order. In Charlie's way of thinking, the blacks would beat the whites and have world domination. Then, as stated in The Gospel According To Charlie, the blacks would be incapable of leading the world by themselves. Therefore, they would need someone attuned to their thoughts and anger. After the revolution, Charlie and his chosen ''Family'' would rise up from the pit they had been living in while the race war was being fought. Charlie would be the new Leader Of The World and the blacks would follow him because they would need a Messiah, the newborn version of Jesus Christ. And, that would be Charlie and the Family. It was all predicted in that magic song on the ''White Album''. That telling version of what was to come to only the people tuned into The Beatles message. All the people who would embrace ''Helter Skelter''........ Sharon Tate was a beautiful woman without much talent. But, to those who knew her, she was a childlike waif in a stunningly attractive body. Sharon was as sweet in personality and soul as she was beautiful. In a town as bitchy as Hollywood, no one had a bad word about her. She had attained a certain level of celebrity by appearing, in 1968, in the film ''Valley Of The Dolls''. It was a poor movie based on the popular novel. While the film was no blockbuster, she did attract a certain amount of attention for the role. Well, it was her beauty that got the attention, not her acting ability. Sharon probably always knew that she was no great shakes as an actress. Just another stunner in a town of stunners. Sharon did have a successful social life. She had married Roman Polanski in 1968, the same year he became a sensation by directing ''Rosemary's Baby''. They were a much admired and popular couple in Hollywood. This was the late 1960's, where ''Flower Power'' and the whole ''Hippie Movement'' was at its peak. There were a constant stream of parties among the young. Everybody loved each other. There was open sex among the community, along with heavy drug usage. Roman and Sharon seemed to be the center of all activity during this period. Famous friends, including Warren Beatty, Jane Fonda, Jackie Bisset, Mia Farrow, all gathered around the charismatic couple. No one ever asked whom you brought to your parties. The houses were always open to the ''Beautiful People''. The future seemed very fine. Live and Let Live. There was peace and love in the air, so, why would you even bothering locking your doors?............ In 1967, a two-bit con named Charles Manson had been released from prison. Manson, a lifelong criminal, who had spent nearly two-thirds of his life behind bars, was a highly disturbed human being. It was more than anti-social behavior, there was something very wrong with this character. By turns charming and deadly, Manson had been thrown out of various homes as a child. He had even failed at the famous ''Boys Town'' orphanage. He was a thief, everything from cars to minor holdups with a knife. But, most of his life he was incarcerated behind prison walls, where, strangely, he felt most comfortable. In fact, when he was released on parole in 1967, he begged his parole officer to keep him locked up. Prison was his only home. As much as his parole officer wanted to keep this explosive person behind bars, the P.O. was handcuffed by bureaucracy. He had to let Manson out on to the mean streets. Charles Manson would land in San Francisco, smack dap in hippie central, during the famous ''Summer Of Love''. Soon, Charlie, who had a deep love of music, would gather around him a group of fellow wanderers. They were the castoffs of middle-class households. These kids, mostly women in their early twenties, had low self-esteem and were easily led by a dominant male figure. Charles Manson would become their God. Manson would preach his theories to them constantly. Add into a daily helping of LSD and other mind-altering drugs, Manson was able to have his half-assed ideas become full-blown visions and  the words of the new Messiah. Throughout 1967 to 1969, Charles Manson, with his ever widening ''Family'' of followers, controlled the minds of his faithful. He foretold of his idea about ''Helter Skelter'' and all that would happen. These disturbed kids bought whatever he said. Charlie was all truth.  By the summer of 1969, they would do anything Charlie asked. Even kill for him......... Terry Melcher was the highly successful producer of The Beach Boys, among other artists. He was always looking for fresh blood in an industry that used and spat out talent every few years. He was good friends with the drummer of The Beach Boys, Dennis Wilson. Dennis recently introduced Melcher to his new friend. This guy has some good musical talent, said Wilson. He played the guitar and wrote strange but interesting songs. His name was Manson. Dennis Wilson got to know Charlie after picking up two hitchhikers one night and taking them home for sex. The girls, Ella Jo Bailey and Patricia Krenwinkel, talked about their idol, who had a last name made up of both ''Man'' and ''Son''.  He was the Head Of Family of tuned in people. Dennis, always anxious to meet the enlightened, one day met this Manson guy. Dennis was charmed by him and soon, the whole large brood of the Manson Family had taken up camp in Wilson's home. There was a constant stream of orgies at the house, along with rampant drug taking. Of course, there was music being played. Dennis was so impressed by Manson, he told Charlie he would be a rock star soon. This was Charlie's dream. To finally be a Somebody in a world of Nobodies. The only hitch was that Terry Melcher was not impressed. After having Charlie out to his house--- which Melcher shared with his girlfriend, Candice Bergen---- Melcher decided that Manson was nothing special and told him that a recording career was not gonna happen. Charles Manson, true to form, was furious at what he perceived as betrayal by Melcher and Wilson. Soon, both would become so frightened of Manson and his rage that they cut off all contact with Charlie and the Family. They were kicked out of Dennis Wilson's house. And, there would be no more invites up to Melcher's house. The address of this residence was 10050 Cielo Drive. In time, Terry Melcher and Candice Bergen would move to the beach. They needed to rent the Cielo house out in the meantime. In early 1969, Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate moved in.......... One day in March, 1969, Charles Manson went looking for Terry Melcher at the house. Charlie went to the back cottage behind the main house thinking Melcher might be there. He was told by the actual owner of the home, Rudi Altobelli, who happened to be staying in the guesthouse temporary, that Melcher no longer lived there and that there were new tenants in the main house. Charlie was not happy. Altobelli finally told Manson to leave the property. As Charlie stormed out towards the main gate, Sharon Tate came out the front door. For one moment, Sharon Tate and Charles Manson looked into each others eyes........Sharon and Roman had their share of marital problems. Roman never let his married life interfere with his bachelor fun. He fucked around and was not discreet about it. Sharon, a good girl, did not swing like Roman. In early 1969, right after they moved into Cielo Drive, Sharon learned that she was pregnant. She was overjoyed. Her career, what there was of it, was gladly put aside while she planned on being a mother. Her only worry was Roman. She was unsure on whether Roman would want the baby. She waited a couple of months to finally tell him the news. At first, he wanted nothing to do with being a father. But, as the months rolled on by into the summer of 1969, he grew enthusiastic about the concept of fatherhood. It was hoped that the baby would bring Roman to his senses and stop womanizing. It didn't. It put a deep strain into their marriage. In July 1969, Roman went to England to work on preparations for a new movie. Sharon accompanied him for a while. Finally, late in the month, she said goodbye to Roman and sailed to America. He told her he would be back soon, around his birthday on August 12.......... August 8, 1969. Sharon Tate got up around 10:00am. She was sleeping very irregularly lately. The fact that there was an incredible heat wave the last week made this eight-and-a-half-months pregnant lady very uncomfortable. Sharon was also unhappy that Roman was still in England. She talked to him that morning from Los Angeles. Roman later said that Sharon was annoyed at her houseguests, Abigail Folger and Wojciech Frykowski. The former was a friend of Sharon's. The latter of Roman's. The couple had agreed to stay with Sharon at the Cielo house until Roman arrived back in L.A. Although she was grateful for the company, she wanted them out. Folger, an heiress with the famous coffee company, was a good-hearted woman who liked to volunteer working with the poor. Frykowski, however, was a jet-set leech. Although he claimed to be a filmmaker in Poland, he showed no evidence of having any talent or ambition. His main pleasure seemed to be getting high almost every night on Sharon's couch. As day went into evening, Sharon became jittery. She invited her old fiancée, Jay Sebring over to the house for company. Sebring, a famous hairdresser to the stars [ his friend, Warren Beatty, would later base his character in the movie ''Shampoo'' on Sebring] was still very much in love with Sharon. Those who knew him always speculated that Jay knew that the Polanski-Tate marriage was strained and he wanted to stay as close to Sharon as possible in case the couple folded. He was a good family friend, however, and was liked by Roman, too. So, when Sharon needed company that night, to break the monotony of Frykowski and Folger, she called Jay to come up to the house. He came willingly around sunset........... Out at the Spahn Ranch, in the desert where the Family lived, Charles Manson told his followers that now was the time for ''Helter Skelter''. He was tired of waiting around for the blacks to start the revolution. Charlie would do it. His plan was to murder white people and have the police blame the blacks for the crime. In doing so, Charlie reasoned, the whites would become so paranoid that war would break out. But, Charlie was stumped on where the war should start. Finally, he hit on the idea of starting the killing at a house he knew so well. Terry Melcher's old place. It did not matter that Manson was aware that Melcher no longer lived there. Whomever lived at the house would be the sacrificial guinea pigs in the war to shake up the establishment. Manson picked out his people carefully. By studying his ''Family'' all of these months, he knew who would kill for him. Thus, he chose Charles ''Tex'' Watson to be the leader of the bloodletting. With Watson would go Susan Atkins, perhaps, the most dangerous and unstable of all of the ''Family''. There would be Patricia Krenwinkel to go with them. And, a new member of the ''Family'' that Charlie was unsure about, Linda Kasabian. In the early evening of August 8, 1969, Charles Manson gave his four disciples specific instructions. They would go up to where Terry Melcher used to live and kill everyone there as viciously as possible. Charlie told them to ''get your hands dirty and leave something witchy''. With these instructions, the four got in the old car the ''Family'' had stolen and drove off into the night looking for blood........