star to his teachings? makes me want to cry. it s beautiful. and the daughter of this former dynasty star. she was in great danger. former followers describe strange rituals and lives changed forever. it s right here. i think brain washing is a wonderful term in terms of trying to define what happened to me. i m david muir. i m elizabeth vargas and this is 20/20. reporter: we are told the rendezvous was a secret, five women summoned to a house outside albany, new york, one night this past march. sarah edmondson says she was one of them, willingly participating in a strange initiation ritual led by a woman who told everyone to take off their clothes and put on a blindfold. led us in blindfolded, and sat us in a semicircle, buck naked, no clothes, on a sheeki like, could you could that be any weirder? reporter: no, it could not be any weirder. we were all you know, my goodness. what s going on here? this is so weird. reporter: weird doesn t begin t
she was in great danger. former followers describe strange rituals and lives changed forever. it s right here. i think brain washing is a wonderful term in terms of trying to define what happened to me. i m david muir. i m elizabeth vargas and this is 20/20. reporter: we are told the rendezvous was a secret, five women summoned to a house outside albany, new york, one night this past march. sarah edmondson says she was one of them, willingly participating in a strange initiation ritual led by a woman who told everyone to take off their clothes and put on a blindfold. led us in blindfolded, and sat us in a semicircle, buck naked, no clothes, on a sheepskin rug. like, could you could that be any weirder? reporter: no, it could not be any weirder. we were all you know, my goodness. what s going on here? this is so weird. reporter: weird doesn t begin to cover it. sarah told authorities she thought they were going to get tattoos. instead she says they fo
she was in great danger. former followers describe strange rituals and lives changed forever. it s right here. i think brain washing is a wonderful term in terms of trying to define what happened to me. i m david muir. i m elizabeth vargas and this is 20/20. reporter: we are told the rendezvous was a secret, five women summoned to a house outside albany, new york, one night this past march. sarah edmondson says she was one of them, willingly participating in a strange initiation ritual led by a woman who told everyone to take off their clothes and put on a blindfold. led us in blindfolded, and sat us in a semicircle, buck naked, no clothes, on a sheepskin rug. like, could you could that be any weirder? reporter: no, it could not be any weirder. we were all you know, my goodness. what s going on here? this is so weird. reporter: weird doesn t begin to cover it. sarah told authorities she thought they were going to get tattoos. instead she says they fo
reporter: no, it could not be any weirder. we were all you know, my goodness. what s going on here? this is so weird. reporter: weird doesn t begin to cover it. sarah told authorities she thought they were going to get tattoos. instead she says they found out they were all going to be branded. reporter: it sounds like a horror movie, what you re describing. it was a horror movie. it was the most inhumane, horrific way to treat anybody. reporter: what was that like? it was worse than childbirth. reporter: it was worse than childbirth? yup. it was imagine a hot laser dragged across your flesh for 30 minutes without anesthetic. reporter: at this point you re probably wondering, how in the world did this happen? sarah seems so normal. she lives in vancouver where she is a wife and mother with a successful film and television career. do i know you? i don t think so. oh no, i m forgetting so much recently. but i never forget a face. reporter: but her