MURDERER IS HERO TO SATANISTS, OTHERS.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

Three decades after Charlie Manson ordered a string of savage murders, the ghosts will not rest.

Now, the cult of Manson haunts the Internet and a new generation is strangely mesmerized by the most bizarre slayings in the annals of American crime.

Manson, who gets four fan letters a day at California's Corcoran State Prison, has become an ``icon of evil'' and a ``revolutionary hero'' to hate groups, neo-Nazis and Satanists, Manson prosecutors say.

``Manson has become the world's most famous criminal,'' said Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Stephen Kay, who has attended 53 parole hearings in the case. ``All we have to do is look at what happened in Germany in World War II to see that Manson is one of the worst extremists. The fact that he's been adopted by a lot of these extremists on the World Wide Web is sad.''

``There is a connection between these groups and Manson,'' said Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, author of the book ``Helter Skelter.'' ``Manson has more followers now than he ever did.

``Manson has become a metaphor for evil,'' Bugliosi said. ``Manson has become iconic to these hate groups. These Satanists and neo-Nazis on the jagged edge of society look up to Manson. They view him as a revolutionary hero.''

About 40 rock bands in Europe and the United States play Manson's music, including Guns n' Roses and The Beach Boys, who recorded one of his songs in the late 1960s, Bugliosi said.

The industrial hard rock group Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson recorded Manson songs at the former Tate residence, which was located in the 10000 block of Cielo Drive in 1969, Bugliosi wrote in his book.

The residence was leveled several years ago, and a new home was constructed. But the owners changed the address.

Bill Nelson, a Manson Family historian who lives in Costa Mesa, said there is a cottage industry that sells Manson music, books and memorabilia.

White supremacist groups now live at Barker Ranch in Death Valley, the location where Manson and his followers planned to wait out the race war.

``I saw a Nazi flag placed upon the sofa,'' Nelson said about his recent visit to the ranch.

Nelson is also looking into a fire in July that burned the nearby Meyer's Ranch, another of Manson's former hide-outs.

If another charismatic guru came along with the desire to kill and the ability to control others, Bugliosi said the horror could be repeated.

``These kids are still out there,'' he said.