It’s been almost 54 years since the notorious Manson Family murders that left seven people dead in a two-day rampage in Beverly Hills, California.

Manson was fresh out of prison in 1967 when he landed on California’s hippie scene and capitalized on a steady supply of young adults eager to belong to tight-knit, counterculture communities. Manson taught them of a coming race war in which the Black Panthers and government fight one another. Before long, he was encouraging his followers — known as "The Family" — to start the war themselves since the Black Panthers weren’t making a move.

That plan was put into motion on August 9, 1969, when Charles Manson sent five Manson Family members to the Beverly Hills home of actress Sharon Tate and director Roman Polanski. When the cult members were done with their macabre task, five people — including Tate and an heir to the Folger’s coffee dynasty — were dead. The killers wrote "PIG" on the front door with Tate’s blood as they left. The next day, the family killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca and wrote "DEATH TO PIGS" on the wall with their blood.

Two months later, Manson and his followers were apprehended and charged with the murders. As the investigation dragged on, at least two other deaths were linked to the Manson Family.

Manson was sentenced to death following his conviction in 1971, though California outlawed the death penalty in 1972, thus reducing his sentence to life in prison.

Some assumed the cult would fall apart after Manson was imprisoned, but he managed to lead his followers while incarcerated. Some people believe that Manson had a demonic influence and that the letters and objects he mailed from Pelican Bay State Prison are cursed.

It's thought that Manson used electrical thought impressions on a television that he then mailed to a Texas grad student so he could manipulate him from afar. The student was tormented by hallucinations and hauntings while he owned Manson’s TV.

Manson’s TV eventually fell into the hands of a man named Nick, who purchased a car from the Texas grad student around 2012. The TV and some letters were in the car, and Nick immediately noticed a shift after the cursed television entered his life.

He was out of work for four months, and his mother fell ill and died. A motorcycle accident claimed the life of another man who died on Nick’s driveway. The self-proclaimed skeptic couldn’t help but notice the correlation between the horrifying events and the TV's presence.

In an attempt to rid himself of the negative energy, he shipped the television to a friend. Immediately, his luck seemed to improve.

Find out why the Texas grad student may have been so desperate to get rid of the gift from Manson on The Haunted Museum, available now on discovery+.