Thugee

In preparation for my upcoming trip to India, I'm watching lots of films from that area.

Sometimes it's Bollywood. Other times it's Hollywood (See Slumdog Millionaire).
Lately I've been watching films set during the British Raj.

Most recently, Gunga Din, starring Cary Grant and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., features an ancient cult; the Thugee.

The Thugee were also the villains in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. They were worshipers of the goddess Kali, wife of Shiva. Basically, they were the lord and lady of death.

The cult was supposedly wiped out in the 1830-40s, but not until they had killed tens of thousands of people. Strangulation was their modus operandi. They would pre-dig the graves and loot the bodies.

What if there's some remnant still alive today?

And why does this mystery have such a grasp on our western mindset?