Charles Manson's Surprising Height Revealed

Charles Manson is a towering figure in the true-crime world because of the notorious murders he is accused of orchestrating, as well as the cult-like psychological hold he had over his followers.

However, some people are surprised to learn that Manson was very short.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Manson insisted that he stood over 5 foot 6 inches tall. His height is sometimes given as 5 foot 2 inches tall.

The shorter height was the number given by Charles Manson author Jeff Guinn, in an interview with NPR.

"Then it turns out that the murderers are supposedly a hippie cult. They're led by a tiny man, 5-foot-2, who continues to do outrageous things all during the trial. He doesn't show any remorse. It's so bizarre," the author said of Manson and the Manson Family murders, which involved seven victims, including actress Sharon Tate, who was pregnant.

Manson's height became a topic of discussion when the character playing extremely tall serial killer Ed Kemper raised it in the Mindhunter series. “Manson is really small, like really small. Try not to stare,” the character said.

Manson spoke about his height in a 1993 interview with Diane Sawyer.

“Everyone says I’m 5-foot-2. When I was arrested, I was 5-foot-7,” Manson said to Sawyer. “Then I went down to 5-foot-6. Then I went down to 5-foot … by the time that you all die, I will be about 3 feet tall."

When she pressed him on how tall he really was, Manson said that he was 5 foot 6 inches tall and "three-quarters."