After all, NXIVM leader Keith Raniere claimed to have helped scores of people unlock their potential, and in one astounding case, seemingly cured a young man of his Tourette Syndrome.
But in the beginning of HBO's new nine-part docuseries 'The Vow,' viewers learn why NXIVM, a self-help group hiding a sex cult within it, was so beguiling to potential recruits. The people who drank poison at Jonestown or the Manson followers so enraptured by their leader they agreed to murder - it seems incomprehensible somebody would agree to join groups like that. It's easy to scoff at the idea of falling victim to a cult.
