Podcast Summary: Who Did What Now, Episode 168 – The Blackburn Cult

Host: Katie Charlwood
Date: November 11, 2025

Overview of Episode

In this episode, Katie Charlwood delves into the dark and bizarre history of the Blackburn Cult (officially, the Divine Order of the Great Eleven), a Los Angeles-based religious cult founded in the 1920s by May Otis Blackburn and her daughter Ruth. Katie unpacks May’s tumultuous, scheme-riddled life, the cult’s wild doctrines and rituals, and the crimes—from grand theft to bizarre deaths—that eventually led to infamy, court cases, and the group’s dissolution. She weaves historical facts with her signature irreverent, witty tone, warning listeners of the story's grim turns but delivering a tale both shocking and fascinating.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: May Otis Blackburn’s Twisted Biography

[03:40 – 10:50]

• Katie opens by introducing May Otis (later Blackburn) as a woman marked by a tumultuous family history, multiple marriages, and a talent for manipulation.
• May’s upbringing in 1880s Iowa, her father’s early death, and the subsequent move to Minnesota are chronicled.
• Her penchant for marrying influential (and frequently already-married) men, living extravagantly, hiding her first child Ruth’s true parentage, and spinning outrageous lies about her past.
  • "She spends it like it’s an Olympic sport...I regret nothing. I regret nothing." (Katie, 12:16)

2. Mother and Daughter: Early Schemes, Showbiz Failure, and Religious Awakening

[10:50 – 22:30]

• May’s attempts to launch Ruth’s movie career in Portland; eventually, they head to Hollywood, hoping for success in the silent film industry, which largely eludes them.
• As showbiz ambitions fizzle, May and Ruth drift towards religious fanaticism—May becomes obsessed with the Book of Revelation and claims to receive divine messages.
• Ruth’s own turbulent marital life, a stint as an “Oriental” and taxi dancer, and the unveiling of family secrets provide the background to their spiritual “awakening.”

3. The Birth of the Cult and its Eccentric Beliefs

[24:03 – 34:52]

• The Blackburn cult emerges as May and Ruth claim to have authored a book dictated by the angels Gabriel and Michael, promising to reveal “the nature of God, the origins of the universe, and hidden riches.”

• Core beliefs include:

  • Eleven 'queens' ruling the world from mansions, each with 11 kings.
  • Heralding a new era via publication of their manuscript and promise of supernatural wealth.
  • Various recruitments of early followers, including those with mystical healing claims like Martha Rhodes ("praying herself back to life").

• May’s relationships grow more unusual and taboo, including marriage to her step-brother, Ward Blackburn.

  “It all starts with Matilda May Otis…she was quite the looker…she liked money. And to be clear, $150 back in 1905 is around five and a half grand today…She spends it like it’s an Olympic sport.” (Katie, 06:50)

  "She is now swanning about saying that as a child, a spiritual dove was with her...in Los Angeles, the dove became Gabriel, the seraphim, which is the highest choir of angels." (Katie, 27:35)

4. Cult Escalation: Rituals, Abuse, and Tragedy

[34:52 – 53:00]

• Expansion: Followers are moved between Portland and Los Angeles; members are separated and recombined into marriages at May’s whim—"a coercive game of marital musical chairs."

• Harrowing events:

  • The mysterious disappearance (and probable murder) of Ruth’s husband, Samuel Rizzio, after resisting the cult.
  • The chaining of followers for angelic “penance.”
  • The case of Willa Rhodes, a teenage cult member who dies after being denied medical care for an abscess; her body preserved in ice and spices for a future resurrection.
  • Seven puppies, given to Willa, are later killed as “bridges to her heart.”
  • The "baking" death of a paralyzed woman in a brick oven, rationalized as a healing attempt.

  "A teenage girl dying because they wouldn't help her is bad...Animal lovers are gonna want to skip like 10 seconds. The seven puppies that had been given to Willa...had been sacrificed as they were bridges to her heart." (Katie, 45:35)

  "May proclaims [the paralyzed woman] would be cured by baking her. They built a brick oven and cooked her. ...She’s cured, but no, she’s just dead." (Katie, 53:20)

5. The Con: Fraud, Lawsuits, and Downfall

[53:00 – 61:30]

• The cult generates income by swindling wealthy members, most notably Clifford Dabney, out of tens of thousands of dollars and land.

• As prophecies fail to materialize, and more deaths, disappearances, and allegations surface, legal trouble mounts:

  • May and Ruth are charged with multiple counts of grand theft but no murder charges ensue.
  • Notwithstanding lurid testimony about deaths and abuses, the primary conviction is for fraud/theft.
  • May is initially found guilty and ordered to repay Dabney, but the verdict is later reversed on a technicality.

  "Guilty. May is guilty...She appeals it…it gets reversed on a technicality...No one is ever charged with any death or disappearance related to the Blackburn cult." (Katie, 62:45)

6. Aftermath: Quiet Fade-Out and Lingering Mystique

[61:30 – End]

• After the court case, May and Ruth live quietly, with May eventually publishing a book and Ruth remarrying, while the cult dwindles and some followers remain on the compound out of sunk-cost loyalty.
• The story becomes a legendary case in America’s annals of “weird cults,” still haunting the periphery of LA history.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the cult’s apocalyptic and treasure-hunting goals:

  “This book was going to do four things. Explain the nature of God, purpose of man’s existence, origins of the universe, and find hidden riches. Right? That’s what this book is going to do.” (Katie, 24:35)

• On cult coercion:

  "If a couple tried to leave...she would kick the husband out and make the wife remarry another cult member. This coercive game of marital musical chairs." (Katie, 35:25)

• On belief and delusion:

  “She tells Martha that Willa will be resurrected after 12, 60 days and after the book is published, but her body had to be preserved in a bathtub of ice, spices and salt. Don’t put salt and ice together.” (Katie, 47:04)

• On the psychology of cult membership:

  "People stay in cults a lot of the time because there’s a sunk cost. They’ve invested so much…they need to have that payoff." (Katie, 58:15)

• Final reflection:

  "You don’t realize you’re in a cult—some people never do, some only realize it too late, with all this fear and everything that’s built up around it." (Katie, 67:30)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• May Otis Blackburn’s backstory and early marriages: 03:40 – 12:16
• Ruth’s showbiz aspirations and family secrets: 14:25 – 18:45
• Birth of the Divine Order of the Great Eleven: 24:03 – 29:37
• Cult expansion, rituals, and notorious deaths: 34:52 – 47:08
• Investigation, court case, and verdict: 54:30 – 62:40
• Aftermath and conclusion: 62:40 – End

Tone & Style

Katie Charlwood maintains her signature irreverent, darkly comic tone throughout:

• Self-aware digressions ("Sidebar…I regret nothing. I regret nothing.”)
• Blunt asides (“Bad blood’ was a term for so many ailments…a catch-all.”)
• Outspoken about her own sympathies, revulsions, and pop culture connections (“You may as well have some fun…watch the original Scream movies.”)

Conclusion

Katie’s deep dive into the Blackburn Cult rattles through scandal, tragedy, and human folly with both historical rigor and a refreshingly modern skepticism. The story is ultimately a cautionary tale about the allure (and cost) of charismatic figures and “revelations”—and the real-world horrors that can follow in their wake.

*For more details, check the source books Katie referenced:

• "On the Origin of God" by May Otis Blackburn
• "Cult of the Great 11" by Samuel Fort
• "A Journey Through Time" by Patricia Havens and Bill Appleton
• California Supreme Court: People vs. Blackburn
• Reports from the Los Angeles Times, Syracuse Herald, Time Magazine, and the Washington Post*

Note: This summary focuses on main content and skips advertisement and outro sections.