“February 1979. That’s when the world was supposed to end. Obviously, God didn’t get the memo.”- Jim Willis, American Cults.

Religious fanaticism is all too common in our world. Humans have for millenniums, believed in a higher power- something better than them. Many psychologists have theorized that humans created religion in order to encourage cooperation between various groups of our early relatives- and that religion gave people a common goal, or rather, belief, for people to relate to. However, this theory has never, and will never be tested. The true bottom line of religion is simply people believe in what they believe in- be it God or Heaven and Hell, be it Irregulation, or simply nothing at all- people are allowed to believe in what they believe. Who is to say that one religion is correct and the other one isn’t? I certainly am not here to change beliefs. 

What I am here to discuss, however, is when fanaticism with higher powers goes too far, and becomes harmful to all those involved. In this series, I will be documenting various cults that have ended in, will end in, or are continuing to cause tragedies. This week we begin our discussion on the violent cult known as “The Ant Hill Kids”, which has left its members either mutilated, scarred for life, dead, or a combination of all three. This week, we will be discussing Roch Thériault’s early beginnings, and how his childhood was perhaps the first stage of his becoming into one of the most notorious cult leaders of all time.

May 16th of 1947- the year Roch Thériault was born. Thériault was born in Quebec, Canada, to Pierrette and Hyacinth Thériault. His Father, Hyacinth was a house painter by trade, and his Mother, Pierrette, was a homemaker. Thériault was the oldest son of seven children.

Many described Roch Thériault as “obsessive” when it came to Christian religion, especially as a child. In particular, Thériault had a fascination with the last book of the Bible, which is The Book of Revelation. If you happened to have read the bible or been raised with it, then you would know that The Book of Revelation (hereafter referred to as “Revelations”) describes the biblical end of the world. If you’ve ever researched Doomsday cults, then you would also know that Revelations is of particular interest to cults, and has been the foundation for numerous tragedies that have and will, take place (ex, Twelve Tribes, Heaven’s Gate, etc.). This is what I believe will mark the beginning of Thériault’s start in creating his cult.

Maybe he took to such an obsession with religion because his homelife was allegedly, for lack of a better term, abusive. As an adult, Thériault made various claims that his Father would beat him for seemingly no reason, and one neighbor in particular, Leon Vachon, made a statement to a local newspaper that he had witnessed a “game” that Thériault and his Father would play with each other, named “Bone”. Bone was a game where the two would sit at the kitchen table with their boots on, and kick each other as hard as they could until one of them eventually gave in. Vachon also made a statement to the same paper that he had witnessed the Mother screaming at the seven children constantly, and that she was apparently “A piece of work”. However, these claims have been refuted numerous times by Hyacinthe Thériault, and it was stated that as a child, Roch Thériault had never complained about his family beyond “how a child normally complains”. 

However, it is more likely that Thériault took to religion because of his family’s attention to it, not alleged abuse. Hyacinthe was a member of the “Berets blanc”- a catholic fringe group known for its fascism and conservatism. Although we will not be discussing the Berets blanc in detail, it is important to understand that the Catholic off-shoot requires its members to go door-to-door in order to recruit more members and that Hyacinthe had apparently brought Thériault along with him during these door-to-door escapades. Furthermore, Pierrette had apparently forced the family into coming to Catholic Mass every Sunday, and was a devoted Catholic herself. Ironically enough, despite his later creation of a cult, Thériault would come to hate Catholicism due to his family’s obsession with it. However, it seems that although he hated being a Catholic, his family’s religious fanaticism had been endowed to him.

When he turned thirteen, Thériault would drop out of school permanently. In the town he had grown up in, the local school had only gone up to seventh grade- and none of the Thériault family’s kids would further their education there. After he dropped out, Thériault started a new obsession with the Bible- this time with the entirety of the Old Testament. Again, if you’ve ever been raised with the bible, then you would also understand why this is also concerning. The Old Testament is widely regarded as the most violent part of the bible, with every book within it speaking a tale of God’s Wrath and the upcoming battle between “Good and Evil”. Thériault apparently combined the Old Testament with the Book of Revelation, and this “validated” his idea that the apocalypse would be soon and that he, and all those around him, would soon face God’s Wrath. 

Very little is spoken of the seven years between Thériault’s age of thirteen to twenty, but what we can gather is that he was described as a “ladies man” by those who knew him, who also had a deep-seated hatred of Catholicism. When he turned twenty, he ended up marrying Francine Grenier, a woman from a nearby town. She would be the first mother of his children, and had two boys.

Thériault was very controlling of Grenier initially and had controlled the way she had dressed in public. He demanded that she dress “modestly”, so to say, which was long dresses and keeping “covered up” in public. However, he would later on “allow” her to wear mini-skirts and “immodest” clothing further into their marriage. 

I would like to point out this behavior as another warning sign. Many cult leaders and abusers are very manipulative and controlling over seemingly little things. That sense of control is incredibly important to them, as it’s all they have. If even one person refuses to do what they are told, then the whole system goes crashing down. 

During this time, Thériault would continue to develop strange behaviors. After a surgery was performed on him due to a stomach ulcer, he was reported to have developed an obsession with scientific anatomy textbooks (which, in hindsight, is incredibly disturbing). He would eventually join another catholic offshoot (despite his hatred of it), known as the Aramis Club. After a short while, he would even be kicked out of it because he attempted to become the “leader” of the club, which was not appreciated by its members.

This was perhaps the most telling sign that Thériault would become a cult leader, for obvious reasons.

After being kicked out of the Armanis Club, Thériault converted to the Seventh Day Adventist Church, thus starting Stage 2 of his journey into becoming a Cult leader.