At age 15, Northrup moved in with sister Helen and her husband Jack, while she finished high school. Parsons had subdivided the house, a rambling mansion next door to the estate of Adolphus Busch (which later became the first Busch Gardens), into 19 apartments which he populated with a mixture of artists, writers, scientists and occultists. Her parents not only knew about her unconventional living arrangements but supported Parsons' group financially.
