ROCH THERIAULT: Sadist, Murderer, and Cult Leader Of The Ant Hill Kids – Canada’s Deadliest Cult

Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

What began as a backwoods commune in Canada turned into one of the most horrific cults in history — led by self-proclaimed prophet Roch Thériault, whose reign of terror is almost too disturbing to believe.
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ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy.
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IN THIS EPISODE: Deep in Quebec's wilderness, Roch Thériault assembled believers to await the apocalypse he claimed would arrive February 1979. His spiritual settlement transformed into history's most disturbing cult experiment, where unauthorized surgeries, calculated torture, and mind control tactics replaced daily prayers. For twelve years, the "Ant Hill Kids" remained secluded from authorities, their isolation enabling atrocities as their self-proclaimed Moses pursued increasingly dangerous delusions.
CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Lead-In
00:02:25.607 = Show Open
00:04:41.589 =PART 1: THE FOUNDATION OF MADNESS
00:07:14.970 = The Making of Moses
00:18:02.162 = The Prophet Emerges
00:28:36.412 = Eternal Mountain
00:41:05.850 = PART 2: DESCENT INTO DARKNESS
00:41:32.068 = The First Death
00:49:21.345 = The Second Settlement
01:00:34.694 = The Final Atrocities
01:12:52.195 = PART 3: AFTERMATH AND LEGACY
01:13:17.481 = The Prison years
01:20:54.620 = The Survivors’ Stories
01:31:42.097 = Cultural Impact and Collective Memory
01:42:25.997 = PART 4: UNDERSTANDING THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE
01:42:59.741 = The Psychology of Cult Control
01:54:39.106 = The Psychology of Roch Thériault
02:05:54.259 = The Question of Evil
02:21:58.286 = PART 5: LESSONS FROM DARKNESS
02:32:40.752 = Show Close
SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…
BOOK: “Alliance of the Sheep” (“L'alliance de la brebis)” by Gabrielle Lavallée: https://amzn.to/4dDwv1u (Only available in the original French. An English translation has apparently not been authorized or published.)
BOOK: “Savage Messiah" by Paul Kaihla and Ross Laver: https://amzn.to/3FzXxKn
FILM: “Savage Messiah”: https://amzn.to/43O6yJ8
https://theprofilehhs.com/4728/editorials/the-ant-hill-kids-theriaults-early-beginnings-stage-1/
https://theprofilehhs.com/4751/editorials/ant-hill-kids-theriault-and-february-of-1979-stage-2/
https://theprofilehhs.com/4746/editorials/ant-hill-kids-theriaults-surgeries-and-samuel-stage-3/
https://theprofilehhs.com/4802/editorials/ant-hill-kids-theriault-and-the-end-of-his-world-stage-4/
https://allthatsinteresting.com/ant-hill-kids
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/chilling-insight-doomsday-cult-members-13995059
https://murderpedia.org/male.T/t/theriault-roch.htm
https://www.dannydutch.com/post/the-ant-hill-kids-inside-the-twisted-world-of-roch-thériault-and-his-apocalyptic-canadian-cult
https://medium.com/obscure-horror/roch-thériault-and-the-ant-hill-kids-c0fb66a6b14c
https://www.paradigmshift.com.pk/ant-hill-kids/
https://maryboro.ca/story/cult-leader-roch-theriault-on-trial/
https://cvltnation.com/ant-hill-kids-break-legs-sledgehammer-go-hell/
https://www.propensitypod.com/episodes/ant-hill-kids
https://www.toronto.com/news/crime/behind-the-crimes-murder-mutilation-abuse-part-of-life-at-ant-hill-kids-commune/article_70440d6e-a838-5b34-856d-b696402a10c9.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LesjWnLH_I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wBXOkcvhDg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krM7UUjzykI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wo1T9hsKzo
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"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
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Originally aired: May 29, 2025
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/AntHillKids