Bob George mailed his first letter to Charles Manson in 1997.

At the time, he was a teacher at Dodge City High School, looking

for a way to bring to life for his pupils lessons about the

psychology of cults.

That letter led to an unlikely pen-pal relationship — first with a friend of Manson’s and later with the cult leader himself.

George says a lot of people despise Manson. But he says that in

psychology, there is a lot that can be learned from Manson, such as

how he was able to orchestrate the crimes.

Manson followers killed seven people in one of the most notorious murder cases of the 20th century.

Although retired, George still talks to high school psychology classes about his findings and gives presentations at clubs and other organizations.