ROCH THERIAULT: Sadist, Murderer, and Cult Leader Of The Ant Hill Kids – Canada’s Deadliest Cult
Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories
Darren Marlar
4.6 • 4.1K Ratings
🗓️ 29 May 2025
⏱️ 158 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Join the DARKNESS SYNDICATE: https://weirddarkness.com/syndicate
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.
DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.
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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(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)
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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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WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.
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Originally aired: May 29, 2025
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/AntHillKids
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Do you like my horrorable humor episodes called Mind of Marler? |
| 0:05.9 | If so, and you'd like more, it now has its very own podcast. |
| 0:10.0 | Comedic creeps, sarcastic scares, frivolous freights, macabre madness. |
| 0:15.1 | Every week I dive into strange history, twisted true crime, and paranormal weirdness. |
| 0:19.9 | All the stuff he'd expect from me on weird Darkness, but delivered with dark comedy, satire, |
| 0:25.0 | and just the right amount of absurdity. |
| 0:27.5 | Monsters, myths, mysteries, mirth, and more every Monday with Mind of Marler. |
| 0:32.4 | I like alliteration, can you tell? |
| 0:34.3 | You can find a list of where you can subscribe to the podcast at weirddarkness.com |
| 0:38.5 | under the menu tab for podcasts. |
| 0:42.5 | Now there's a new way to share weird darkness with the weirdos in your life. It's a skill |
| 0:47.3 | on your Amazon Echo device. Just say, play Weird Darkness, and you'll immediately start hearing |
| 0:52.3 | the newest episode. With your Amazon Echo or Smart device, you can let me keep you company all day and all night. |
| 0:58.9 | And it's easy to tell your friends how to tune in, too. |
| 1:01.5 | Just tell your Amazon device, play Weird Darkness to start listening. |
| 1:06.2 | Cults thrive in the darkness of ignorance and fear. |
| 1:09.7 | Shetting light on their practices is the first step |
| 1:12.7 | towards liberation. |
| 1:14.0 | At first glance, it looked like a simple back-to-the-land movement, a small group of people retreating into the |
| 1:28.6 | Canadian wilderness in search of spiritual purity and a simpler life. |
| 1:34.0 | Their leader, a charismatic man named Roke Terrio, claimed to be a prophet sent by God. |
| 1:40.8 | He preached about the coming end of the world, about salvation, about healing. |
... |
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