History Main / ApocalypseCult

* ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'': One rogue faction of Machines has developed a RobotReligion and invite the protagonist over for peace talks. Unfortunately, they find that their head priest kicked the bucket right before the Android ambassador arrived, leading the Machines to declare that he's ascended to godhood and decide "We'll all die together and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tg2hHvxaaI become as gods!"]] Cue the protagonist having to fight her way through a factory complex filled with Machines alternately trying to kill her, trying to kill each other, or killing themselves.

*** ''Eternal Punishment'' has the New World Order, which doubles as TheConspiracy made up from a mixture of {{Currupt Politician}}s and TheTriadsAndTheTongs, with a few {{Mad Scientist}}s and occultists thrown in. They're trying to use the dragons of Wang Long to purify Japan from the original sin, but in reality they're all being manipulated by Nyarlathotep to bring the end of the world.

** ''[[abletopGame/CallOfCthulhuMasksOfNyarlathotep Masks of Nyarlathotep]]'': Cult groups controlled by Nyarlathotep himself try to perform a ritual that will let hordes of Mythos monsters into the world to destroy mankind.

** ''Masks of Nyarlathotep'': Cult groups controlled by Nyarlathotep himself try to perform a ritual that will let hordes of Mythos monsters into the world to destroy mankind.

[[caption-width-right:350:"Welcome [[HordeOfAlienLocusts the great devourer]] from beyond the stars, my children! [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Our work]] is nearly complete!"]]

* The Kudur Cult in ''VideoGame/VandalHearts II'' is the most dangerous outside faction manipulating the Natran Civil War. While they may lack the military might of [[TheEmpire the Zora-Archaeo Empire]] or the endless treasuries of [[OneNationUnderCopyright the Republic of Vernantze]], the cult was the organization that pulled the trigger on the powder keg that started the war. They extensively recruit from people who have had their lives devastated by the war, and they are trying to spread a [[ZombieApocalypse zombifying magical spell across the entire continent.]] It eventually turns out that [[spoiler:their leader, who is a [[BodySurf body surfing]] former cardinal who has been alive for over 150 years, is trying to use the civil war as a distraction to break into the sealed underground chambers of the Holy Nigran Cathedral because it is said to permit an audience with God Himself. What nobody expected was that the sealed chamber is actually the remains of [[AfterTheEnd an ICBM missile silo]] from a long-gone era, and it appears to contain a still-working genetic manipulation machine that [[OneWingedAngel transforms him into a horrific monster]]]].

[[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease No real-life examples are allowed here]] ''because'' of the high standard of proof that such a group has to have to be considered such in RealLife; the definition is maddeningly subjective in the absence of such ironclad proof. Note that all of the above groups include ''extensively documented'' murders/suicides done with the apocalyptic religion as a sole motive. Also note that none of the groups above exist anymore (Aum Shinrikyo's members are still active, but Aum Shinrikyo itself was divided into Aleph and Hikari no Wa in 2007), enough that documentary journalism, investigations by authorities, and other objective proof has entered the record regarding them.

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* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'':

No real-life examples are allowed here ''because'' of the high standard of proof that such a group has to have to be considered such in RealLife; the definition is maddeningly subjective in the absence of such ironclad proof. Note that all of the above groups include ''extensively documented'' murders/suicides done with the apocalyptic religion as a sole motive. Also note that none of the groups above exist anymore (Aum Shinrikyo's members are still active, but Aum Shinrikyo itself was divided into Aleph and Hikari no Wa in 2007), enough that documentary journalism, investigations by authorities, and other objective proof has entered the record regarding them.

* [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness SEELE]] from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', who may have been somewhat inspired by Aum Shinrikyo. They dress everything up in pseudo-kabbalistic imagery, to the point of giving various entities and objects names from Christianity or Judaism (the monsters attacking Japan are called Angels, the progenitor entity of these called Adam, the [[spoiler: progenitor entity of all terrestrial life]] called Lilith) while advancing the Human Instrumentality Project, which [[spoiler: involves bringing about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Third Impact]] and merging the souls of all humanity with Lilith, essentially causing their deaths as individual beings]]. To the point that, in ''End of Evangelion'', as [[spoiler:Third Impact is taking place]], they recite various ritualistic phrases together, and refer to the process as the Red Earth Ceremony.
** To be fair [[spoiler: it's heavily implied that it's Judaism and Christianity that stole their names and imagery from the Angels rather than the other way around. Both religions are apparently based on the instruction manual that came with Adam and Lilith which we know as the Dead Sea Scrolls.]]

* ''Anime/PacificRimTheBlack'': The Sisters are a mysterious group mentioned in Season 1 as collecting Kaiju eggs for an unknown purpose, and being [[TheDreaded feared]] by other bandit groups. Season 2 expands on this as they become the main antagonists -- they're revealed to be Kaiju cultists who worship the Precursors as gods, kill every man they encounter while abducting and brainwashing women to join their ranks, and are ultimately seeking to [[spoiler: turn the Boy into a Kaiju Messiah that will lead the Kaiju in finishing the conquest of the world]].

* In ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'', the followers of Mr. Oz are a group dedicated to causing disasters and violence across the planet in Oz's name after he used their dissatisfaction with the world to manipulate them into believing they'd [[VisionaryVillain be granted the opportunity to reshape it]] InTheirOwnImage. [[spoiler: Oz himself is revealed to be [[SuddenSequelHeelSyndrome Superman's father Jor-El]], who was rescued from the destruction of Krypton by [[IntraFranchiseCrossover Dr. Manhattan]] and orchestrated all of it to prove to Superman that HumansAreBastards after being [[MaddenIntoMisanthropy forced by Manhattan to continually bear witness to the worst of humanity]].]]
* The Grant Morrison run of ''ComicBook/DoomPatrol'' features the "Cult of the Unwritten Book", a religious order that wishes to bring about the end of all reality through the summoning of an EldritchAbomination known as the Decreator, which they believe is God's opposite. While they manage to summon the entity, the Doom Patrol find a way to slow down its destructive properties, making it so it can only "decreate" a few inconsequential objects at a time.

* In the ''Comicbook/{{Hellboy}}'' and ''Comicbook/{{BPRD}}'' 'verse, there are a large number of cults and secret societies -- Project Ragna Rok, the Oannes Society, and the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra, to name a few--hoping to trigger the apocalypse. Most of them are operating under the logic that the world is going to end anyway, but if they're the ones who pull the trigger, they'll at least have some measure of control over the destruction.

* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': The Heinsnake cult from ''Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin'' worship a prophecy that a DarkMessiah (whom they believe to be Vader) will lead them in plunging the galaxy into eternal chaos.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Ares and his children have a number of Earth-bound minions to help them kick off World War III. Though, given the Gods' [[SuperpowerLottery considerable powers]] and longevity, it's not clear if these guys are entirely willing or even human.

* ''FanFic/DeadManWalking'': It's mentioned several times that countless people are flocking to worship Cthulhu in the wake of his return. Cartman, Kyle, and Wendy have a run in with a store full of them, when the gang stop at a gas station on their way to face Cthulhu himself. Prompting Kenny to blow up the building with a propane tank so they can escape.
* ''Fanfic/{{Domovoi}}'' expands on the Kaiju Cultists briefly seen in ''Film/PacificRim''. They venerate Newt because he was able to Drift with a Kaiju and thus see into the minds of their gods, but they also want to actively prevent the Shatterdome from being able to counter the aliens' next attack, since they believe the Kaiju are a divine punishment. [[spoiler: Ironically, the Precursor aliens are disgusted by the religion, since they see themselves as having OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions, and they respond to High Priestess Mikhail's drift attempt by [[MindRape mind raping]] her.]]

* ''Film/TwelveMonkeys'' follows a time traveler from plague-devastated 2035 sent back to 1996 to prevent a mysterious group known as the Army of the Twelve Monkeys from releasing the virus. [[spoiler: A twist at the end reveals that the Army of the Twelve Monkeys is actually an environmentalist protest group who freed animals from the New York Zoo and had no interaction with the virus at all. Instead, the virus was released by an assistant at the lab where it was developed]].

* Downplayed in ''Film/BeneathThePlanetOfTheApes'' with a CargoCult of human {{mutants}} who worship the last surviving nuclear weapon, a DoomsdayDevice known as "the Alpha and the Omega". They sing dissonant versions of traditional Christian hymns, but with the word "God" replaced with "Bomb". Downplayed because the mutants don't seem to be in a hurry to bring about the end of the world, but they firmly believe that the day will come when they must, and it will be their glorious divine duty.
** ''Film/BattleForThePlanetOfTheApes'', which is sort of a prequel, shows how the cult was founded with good intentions to safeguard the bomb and keep it from being used.

-->'''Lovecraft:''' What kind of world?
-->'''Hackshaw:''' A world of the unburied dead, and a sky dark with ashes. A blasted, maimed planet.
* ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}''. In the BackStory, Ivo Shandor's Gozer worshippers conducted rituals intended to bring about the end of the world.

* At the start of ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'', ComicBook/WonderWoman thwarts a group of self-described "reactionary terrorists" aiming to blow up four city blocks and indiscriminately murder hundreds of civilians for the sake of [[EvilLuddite destroying civilization]]. Their lines from the [[Film/JusticeLeague2017 theatrical version]] blaming the Kryptonians are omitted, making them come off as TerroristsWithoutACause.

* Variation in ''The Beginning'', the last ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' book. Two years after the Yeerk defeat, terrorists have started attacking alien tourists on Earth. The worst of them are cults that think the presence of aliens is staving off a long-awaited apocalypse.
* In ''[[Literature/GarrettPI Cold Copper Tears]]'', the cult of the Devastator aims to release a world-destroying dark god from [[SealedEvilInACan its prison]]. Lampshaded and deconstructed by the Dead Man, who points out that, subconsciously, the cultists don't ''really'' want to end the world, they're just morbid and petty enough to get a charge out of ''thinking'' they can.
* Amusingly, this is a thing that applies to the AfterTheEnd world of ''Literature/CthulhuArmageddon.'' Apocalypse cults existed before the rise of Cthulhu and the other Great Old Ones but have become the dominant faiths now that, well, they've been proven real. It's all but stated that the Great Old Ones don't notice those who call upon them, unlike the Other Gods who draw sustenance from humanity's dreams.
* In the ''Daybreak'' series, Daybreak itself is a bizarre movement that is part naturalist religion, part anarchist philosophy, whose members are brainwashed via memetic programming into hating modern civilization. This leads them to unleash plagues of nanites and genetically engineered microbes which are designed to [[EvilLuddite destroy any technology more advanced than steam-based]], while also setting off fusion bombs (essentially super nukes) in strategic places. After the resulting collapse of most of society, they form tribes who continue to preach the evils of technology, while trying to destroy any attempts to restore society and counter Daybreak.

* Less common in the actual works of [[Creator/HPLovecraft Howard P. Lovecraft]] than one might think (there ''are'' cults with other goals than a complete apocalypse), but the Whateley family in ''Literature/TheDunwichHorror'' serve as a concrete if small-scale example of this, explicitly working towards the goal of helping bring about the "clearing" of the Earth of its current occupants.
** The cult of Cthulhu from ''Literature/TheCallOfCthulhu'' seek nothing less than to awaken the eponymous Great Old One in his city of R'lyeh.
** Also applies to the ''Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth'' where the [[FishPeople Deep Ones]] and HalfHumanHybrids are awaiting the day that Dagon (implied to either be the same entity as Cthulhu, or one closely allied with him) will rise and destroy the world. However, the actual events that drive the story have little to do with this apocalyptic endgame, which they seem to be looking forward to with little enthusiasm, and are mostly just the Deep Ones finding a way to pass the time.

* ''Literature/HumanxCommonwealth'' series: A cult called the Order of Null appears in ''Flinx's Folly'' and later novels. They have learned of the approach of the galaxy-devouring [[UnseenEvil Great Evil]], and see it as their role to remove any obstacles to its coming. This includes Flinx himself, who is the ChosenOne fated to destroy it. It is later revealed that they are abetted by none other than [[spoiler:Flinx's archnemesis Mahnahmi, a powerful telepath and an [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds embittered nihilist]]]].
* In the ''Hunter'' novels by Creator/MercedesLackey, this is the back story as to why the world is a dystopian future with otherworldly monsters as threats to be fought back against. Back when the world was starting to go bad, most Christians saw it as the start of the Apocalypse. When the Rapture didn't happen (Christians being raised to Heaven while everyone else went to Hell), a group of Christians in the Middle East stole a nuclear weapon and set it off in hopes of kick-starting the Apocalypse. All it did was just made things even worse, as it broke the barrier between us and the otherworldly monsters.
* In Creator/RobertAntonWilson and RobertShea's ''Literature/{{Illuminatus}}'' trilogy, the Illuminati Prime (the five most powerful people in the world) are actively seeking to Immanetize the Eschaton -- ''i.e.'' bring about the apocalypse -- to make themselves immortal and provide a massive blood sacrifice to their Elder Brothers and Sisters, the Lloigr of Cthulu.
* Creator/KimNewman:
** In ''Literature/{{Jago}}'', the title character is the self-proclaimed messiah of an apocalyptic cult who develops RealityWarper powers, so the protagonists have to stop him before his powers expand to the point where he can make the world end according to his beliefs.
** In "Literature/ColdSnap", Richard Cleaver unleashes the Cold, an extradimensional entity that seeks to turn the world into an eternal Ice Age. The Diogenes find themselves in an EnemyMine situation with (amongst others) both the aforementioned Jago and a pair of Old One worshippers. Catriona wonders about the wisdom of allying with people who only want to stop the apocalypse because it's not ''their'' apocalypse.

* China Mieville's novel ''Literature/{{Kraken}}'' has some Lovecraftian doomsday cultists as among the good guys. One of the main conflicts is a bunch of cultists from different apocalyptic cults warring over which apocalypse they want to see happen and when, and the squid folks are amongst the most patient, friendly, and easy-going about the whole business (making them natural allies for the heroes against the nastier and more aggressive sects).

* In the early ScienceFiction story LesXipehuz, some mystics form one when they realize that humanity is doomed from what seems to be an AlienInvasion
-->From this anguish the mystics created a bleak cult, a cult of death preached by pale prophets, the cult of Shadows stronger than the Stars, Shadows that came to engulf and devour the Holy Light, the resplendent fire.
-->Everywhere on the edges of the wilderness, one encountered the emaciated silhouettes of initiates, silent men who periodically wandered amongst the tribes, relating their awful dreams, the Twilight of the imminent great Night and the Death of the Sun
* In ''Literature/TheLivesOfTao'' and its sequels, The Genjix are seeking to terraform Earth to match the conditions of the Quasing homeworld. Doing so will kill all non-Quasing life on Earth.

* In Creator/TomRobbins's ''ComicBook/SkinnyLegsAndAll'', Reverend Buddy Winkler is working with terrorists who plan to bomb The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, so that the Third Temple can be built.
* Creator/JoeHill's {{novella}} ''Rain'', from ''Literature/StrangeWeather'', includes a doomsday cult operating in the protagonist's neighborhood. They don't appear to be much more than the stereotypical weirdos who wear silvery robes and tin plate hats and who conduct strange ceremonies, but their leader spent time in jail many years prior for abusing his wife and daughters as part of his strange beliefs, and three members try to abduct the protagonist so that she can be forcibly converted into their fold.
* ''Literature/SacredAndTerribleAir'': It is revealed that [[spoiler: Mesque has embraced the nihilist ideology of Ambrosius Saint-Miro and is trying to intentionally bring about the end of the world.]]
* The first ''Literature/SimonArk'' story, "The Village of the Damned", deals with the mass suicide of members of a doomsday cult. In the anthology ''The Quests of Simon Ark'', Creator/EdwardDHoch notes that in 1955--several decades before the Jonestown massacre--several editors rejected the story as they considered the premise too far-fetched.
* The MacGuffin in ''[[Creator/MatthewReilly Temple]]'' is an idol carved from a rare element not found on Earth that can be used to power a planet-destroying bomb. Various groups try to get a hold of it to hold the world for ransom, but in the end, it falls into the hands of a doomsday cult formed from various terrorist groups and the remains of Aum Shinrikyo, who intend to detonate their bomb no matter what.

* ''Series/FearTheWalkingDead'': The main antagonists of the second half of Season 6 (having been introduced as a secondary threat in the first half) are a group led by a man named Teddy, who believe that since death and destruction are a natural part of the life cycle, then the ZombieApocalypse is something that should be accepted and allowed to play out rather than fought. As such, they intend to seal themselves up in a makeshift bunker to ride it out... after first destroying every other survivor settlement they can find, since anyone trying to preserve and rebuild pre-apocalypse society is anathema to their beliefs. [[spoiler: To this end, they intend to hijack a beached nuclear submarine and use its missile compliment to wreck the continent.]]
* In one of the {{Bad Future}}s on ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' the Over There universe has already been destroyed and a group called the End of Dayers are deliberately tearing apart the fabric of reality in our universe as well.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' with the "Reasonablists", a small group of people who worship the lizard god Zorp the Surveyor. They took over Pawnee during TheSeventies but didn't really appear to have caused much long-term harm, and in the present day, the aging members mostly just make incorrect predictions on when the world will end and hold "End Of The World" gatherings in the local park.

* ''Website/SCPFoundation'': [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2975 SCP-2975 ("Another Sun").]] The Order of the White Sun is a cult that worships an EldritchAbomination called the White Sun. They try to use a structure called the Memory House to bring the White Sun to Earth and cause an XK-Class End of the World Scenario.

* ''Podcast/{{Malevolent}}'' features at least two: [[spoiler:the group that sought to summon Shub-niggurath and the group seeking to summon the King In Yellow]]. One is much more active—and thus much more of a present threat—than the other.

* ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'' had Franchise/CthulhuMythos cults trying to do this in several campaign adventures.
** ''Shadows of Yog-Sothoth''. The Lords of the Silver Twilight try to raise the island of R'lyeh to the surface and free Cthulhu so he can take over (and destroy) the world.
** ''Masks of Nyarlathotep''. Cult groups controlled by Nyarlathotep himself try to perform a ritual that will let hordes of Mythos monsters into the world to destroy mankind.
** ''The Fungi from Yuggoth''. The Brotherhood of the Beast tries to cause a worldwide catastrophe by arranging for terrorist attacks, the summoning of gigantic dholes, and the activation of a giant monster in Egypt, all on the Day of the Beast.

** Most cults dedicated to [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Demon Princes]] have some elements of this trope, as the general goal of demons is to make everything that's ''not'' [[PhysicalHell the]] [[DeathWorld A]][[EldritchLocation b]][[VillainWorld y]][[GardenOfEvil s]][[AnarchoTyranny s]] ''into'' the Abyss, preferably giving it their own personal flavor of horrifying doom in the process. Of course, it's just as likely that the cult ''won't'' want the world destroyed and the Demon Lord will have to settle for just causing misery and spreading their personal philosophy, but the ultimate truth of demons is that they will never rest until the entire multiverse is torn to shreds. Anyone who believes this isn't the case is either deceived or deluding themselves.
** Cults of Juiblex, the Demon Lord of Oozes and Slimes, are hard to present as anything ''but'' apocalyptic, given Juiblex's nature as a barely-sentient monster who exists only to absorb things into itself, so they tend to not even bother and just recruit the sort of people who already like the idea of reality being absorbed into a featureless mass of slime.

** Rovagug is [[OmnicidalManiac the literal god of world-shattering destruction]], to the point where his title is "the Beast of the Apocalypse". Any religious group dedicated to Rovagug is thus almost guaranteed to be an example of this trope.
** The Dominion of the Black, a CosmicHorror space empire that is believed to routinely hurl entire armadas into black holes as a tribute to oblivion, has a Golarion-based cult known as the Night Heralds. There are carved clocks in ancient ruins counting down to the Dominion returning in force; one of the words worked into these clocks is "harvest".

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', Genestealer Cults. The Tyranid Hive Fleets send Genestealers to land on the planet and begin picking off and [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong infecting]] isolated individuals who generally won't be missed. First generation Genestealer Hybrids look monstrous, but as the generations continue, they begin to assimilate until they are indistinguishable from the host species by the fourth generation. Once a cult grows large enough, they introduce themselves to the public community through the facade of a harmless religious or political movement, with a psychic "patriarch" figure guiding the whole cult. Once the cult has grown large or influential enough, the patriarch receives a psychic signal from the Hive Fleet and the cult begins a full rebellion (often RunningBothSides of it) -- even if the cult loses the ensuing civil war, they would still likely have greatly undermined the planet's defensive strength and left it wide open for the invading Hive Fleet.
** A large number of Chaos cults believe the Dark Gods will scour away the corrupt Imperial authorities and bring a new, less terrible era. In practice, these cults tend to either be put down by Imperial authorities or find a way to summon either Daemons or Chaos Marines and then find themselves being used as CannonFodder (for the Chaos Marines) or food (for the daemons). The very unlucky - such as those who end up calling the [[ReligionOfEvil Word Bearers]] - end up as both!

* In the ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' series, Ultimate Despair is a quasi-religious organization [[spoiler: that successfully [[AfterTheEnd ended civilization]] through a massive domino effect of violence [[HopeCrusher purely for the sake of spreading despair]] and ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil. Its members are all sadomasochistic, amoral lunatics who have no qualms about murdering friends and family or performing self-mutilation, and many survivors of the chaos they cause [[BrainwashedAndCrazy just end up being brainwashed into being as fucked up as they are.]]]]
** In ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'', after the world was struck with devastating meteor showers, the leaders of the world began work on the Gofer Project to try and save at least a fragment of mankind. However, they were opposed by an extremist cult implied to be Ultimate Despair who began proclaiming that the end times had begun and chanted in the streets that mankind deserved damnation. They eventually began the Ultimate Hunt, chasing the sixteen students who'd been selected for the Project across every corner of the globe to try and stop them from leaving. [[spoiler:However, in the game's final chapter all of this was [[UnreliableNarrator revealed to have been]] FakeMemories implanted in the cast and the entire game was a MetaSequel.]]
* ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'' has a cult of madmen who accept the EldritchAbomination that the Ancestor awoken as their new god and seek to spread its knowledge. They are [[LovecraftianSuperpower rewarded]] for their efforts in the Darkest Dungeon quests.

** Despite [[NonIndicativeName their name]], the Followers of the Apocalypse are an inversion of this trope - they're "following" TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt in the sense that they're operating in its aftermath. Their goal is to prevent the mistakes that led to the death of the old world and do a lot of humanitarian work, preserving and passing on pre-war knowledge of medicine and agriculture to help society rebuild.
** The Children of Atom are a religious group that worship the very concept of radiation, personifying it as the entity "Atom." When they were first encountered in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' they were a harmless local cult worshipping the unexploded nuclear bomb in the center of the town of Megaton, but the Children showed a darker side in the ''Broken Steel'' expansion when they started irradiating otherwise pure drinking water to spread Atom's holy Glow. By ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' they've become much more militant, and Children of Atom encountered in the Commonwealth are as aggressive as Raiders, blasting away with Gamma Guns or hurling Nuke Grenades. The group in the ''Far Harbor'' expansion has claimed a pre-war submarine pen as its headquarters and has come into conflict with the other settlements on the island -- they view the irradiated Fog that covers the land as a blessing from Atom, and the others' attempts to combat it as blasphemy. One way of dealing with them is to give the cult's leader the launch key to the nuclear sub stuck in the pen, and then convince him to fire its nuke so the Children may experience the glory of Division.
* The Project at Eden's Gate from ''VideoGame/FarCry5''. Their insane leader believes the end of the world is nigh, and he's made it his purpose to train people to survive it, whether or not they're willing. This means a lot of kidnapping, brainwashing, and hoarding weapons. [[spoiler: [[TheExtremistWasRight Disturbingly]], the game ends with the revelation that he was all too right about that [[NukeEm impending apocalypse]]]].

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': The geth [[spoiler:heretics]] worship the Reapers and actively aid them in their latest purge of the galaxy's spacefaring races. Indoctrinated races also count as this, including one hanar in 3 that thinks that [[InsaneTrollLogic since the Protheans, who the hanar worshipped, became the Collectors, the hanar should serve the Reapers.]]

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': While they're never explicitly referred to as cults, a few of the [[NebulousEvilOrganization evil Teams]] seek to awaken OlympusMons that could indeed cause an apocalypse.

** The first and most prominent of them is the Morninglight: ostensibly a worldwide New Age group centered around self-help and the eventual evolution of humanity, they're eventually revealed to be worshiping the [[EldritchAbomination Dreamers]], and are devoted to their apocalyptic release from captivity. [[spoiler: They were actually created by Lilith as a ScamReligion to provide her with a ready army of followers in her attempts to enslave the Dreamers, and most of their doctrine was engineered so that they'd follow her commands without question; even their leader Phillip Marquard was just a PuppetKing. Unfortunately, the Dreamers went over her head by corrupting Marquard and turning the Morninglight into a proper Apocalypse Cult.]]
** The Fear Nothing Foundation in Tokyo. Another self-help group supposedly dedicated to helping its membership overcome their fears, the events of Issue #9 reveal that they were behind the subway bombing that kickstarted the events of the game, intending it as the first act in a move towards the apocalypse. [[spoiler: They're actually a secret branch of the Morninglight, and accept orders directly from Marquard. They've also committed mass suicide by the start of the game in order to consecrate the detonation of the Filth-Bomb]]. For good measure, the FNF draws a lot of inspiration from real-world cults like Aum Shinrikyo (hence the subway bombing).
** The Cult of the Aten, by far the oldest and most aggressive example: a creation of the Dreamer-corrupted [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade Pharaoh Akhenaten]], its members worshiped one of the Dreamers as the sun god Aten and devoted themselves to summoning him to Earth. Though supposedly wiped out following Akhenaten's death, it simply went underground until 2012 - whereupon it resurfaced in the village of al-Merayah as a full-blown insurrection, devoted to resurrecting the Black Pharaoh and completing his mission.
** There's actually a fourth example hidden in the backstory in the form of Sol Invictus, essentially the Roman Morninglight. Unlike the Atenists, they really have been wiped out for good, though their branch in the Carpathian Mountains came dangerously close to accessing one of the [[CosmicKeystone Gaia Engines]] [[spoiler: with a little help from Lilith]], before being killed off by Octavian. [[spoiler: Plus, Lilith eventually went on to build the Morninglight around their doctrine.]]

** Toward the end of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' a doomsday cult heralding the appearance of Nyx to bring death to the world appears. Though it only exists behind the scenes, it is led by [[spoiler:Takaya]].
** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' also has a downplayed version near the end [[spoiler:as the fog covering Inaba makes the people more and more apathetic, it's implied that cults have started popping up.]]
* In ''VideoGame/StarCraft'', the Tal'Darim are a faction of Protoss who worship [[spoiler:Amon, the rogue Xel'Naga]] and aid their master in his schemes. [[spoiler:However, they are a subversion since they don't ''know'' Amon is planning an apocalypse -- they think he "just" wants to conquer everything and will reward them by uplifting them into Hybrids. In ''Legacy of the Void'', the Tal'Darim Alarak is enraged when he learns Amon has no intention of sparing the Tal'Darim from his planned apocalypse and teams up with the heroes to bring down his former god.]]

* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' most of TheEmpire was unaware of [[BigBad Emperor Vitiate]]'s plan to [[OmnicidalManiac end all life in the galaxy]], but the Jedi Knight storyline shows that a select few high-ranking Imperials were actively helping him do so as part of a death cult built around his lies that he would make them live on through the [[BackgroundMagicField Force]].

* The Kudur Cult in ''VideoGame/VandalHearts 2'' is the most dangerous outside faction manipulating the Natran Civil War. While they may lack the military might of [[TheEmpire the Zora-Archaeo Empire]] or the endless treasuries of [[OneNationUnderCopyright the Republic of Vernantze]], the cult was the organization that pulled the trigger on the powder keg that started the war. They extensively recruit from people who have had their lives devastated by the war, and they are trying to spread a [[ZombieApocalypse zombifying magical spell across the entire continent.]] It eventually turns out that [[spoiler: their leader, who is a [[BodySurf body surfing]] former cardinal who has been alive for over 150 years, is trying to use the civil war as a distraction to break into the sealed underground chambers of the Holy Nigran Cathedral because it is said to permit an audience with God Himself. What nobody expected was that the sealed chamber is actually the remains of [[AfterTheEnd an ICBM missile silo]] from a long-gone era, and it appears to contain a still-working genetic manipulation machine that [[OneWingedAngel transforms him into a horrific monster]].]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''Podcast/LessIsMorgue'' has a surprisingly benign example with the Children of the All-Knowing Milton, an apocalyptic cult with a belief system based around [[SweetTooth dessert]], particularly [[TrademarkFavoriteFood pudding]].
* ''Website/SCPFoundation'' has a good few of them, often using [=SCP=] items in their plans.
** The Children of the Scarlet King are the setting's version of [[HollywoodSatanism Hollywood Satanists]], worshipping the Scarlet King, the go-to SatanicArchetype. They're the ones who created SCP-231, which involved raping and forcibly impregnating 7 girls with increasingly horrible monsters, forcing the Foundation to repeatedly do [[NothingIsScarier something unspeakably awful]] to the last girl lest her progeny finally end the world.
** The Sarkicists believe in an AlmightyIdiot that they can parasitize for fleshcrafting powers. The nicer ones (few and far between) see this as stealing godhood from a universe-destroying monster for humanity and live pretty normal lives if you don't mind the BodyHorror. The majority of them are EvilIsVisceral personified and wish to rule over the ruins of the old world as evil, monstrous deities.
** The Fifth Church (which is described as being the religious equivalent of a MonsterClown) is a ChurchOfHappyology with a belief system that's mostly WordSaladHorror, with the only real coherent parts being a belief in warping reality to fuse with the higher 'fifth world'. And they tend to RetGone people they dislike and may be worshipping a creature that [[RetGone retgones]] everyone ''related'' to anyone who learns that it exists, and turns people into creatures that can't be identified as human (they ''look'' the same, but they're not human and you can't think of them as such).
** SCP-029, "Daughter of Shadows", is the center of the Thuggee cult (the version that the producers of ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'' were thinking of), who believe that if they sacrifice enough lives in her name, her mother Kali will appear to end the world. Though in this case, most members were probably affected by 029's mind control.
** The Children of the Torch are a minor example, as their desire is limited to using 108 human sacrifices to summon their deity as a gigantic firestorm- very bad for the immediate vicinity, but not going to end the world unless done repeatedly.
** The Order of the White Sun worship an EldritchAbomination called the White Sun, and wish to summon it to Earth, which would be Very Bad.
[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': "Edge of the World" reveals that [[spoiler:the Titan Trappers are dedicated to bringing back the Collector, an entity that wishes to kill everyone in the Boiling Isles for kicks. They even try performing a ritual sacrifice]].
** The Coven system as a whole is this, as [[spoiler: though almost no one knows it, their dedication to Emperor Belos is enabling him to brand them for [[FinalSolution genocide]] against the whole population with no resistance]].

** The cult of Blaintology in "Super Best Friends."
** And of course, the Cthulhu cult featured in the three-episode "Coon and Mysterion" arc.

** SCP-029, "Daughter of Shadows", is the center of the Thuggee cult (the version that the producers of ''Film/IndianaJones'' were thinking of), who believe that if they sacrifice enough lives in her name, her mother Kali will appear to end the world. Though in this case, most members were probably affected by 029's mind control.

* In ''Fanfic/TheBridge'' spin-off ''[[Fanfic/TheBridgeHumanitysStand The Bridge: Humanity's Stand]]'', the main antagonists are Red Dawn, a group that worships the BigBad [[spoiler:[[GodOfEvil Bagan]]]] and attempts to destroy PlanetTerra in his name by exploiting technology and {{Kaiju}}.