A religious cult leader, who convinced his followers that the world was going to end at the end of the 1970s, subjected them to increasingly twisted tortures if they doubted his word, or tried to leave the group.

Roch Thériault was previously a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, but developed an even more extreme interpretation of its end-of-the-world philosophy.

He formed his own breakaway group called The Ant Hill Kids, based on his dream of humanity working together “Like ants in an ant hill.”

But while Thériault perched equality, he ruled his cult with an iron fist.

All female members of the group were obliged to have sex with him, and he fathered at least 26 children with his numerous “wives” and concubines.

Group members raised money by making and selling bread and cakes, while Thériault sat back and gave orders.

He exacted horrific punishments on anyone who broke his rigid rules.

He banned group members from remaining in contact with their families or with former friends in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, because it was against his strict values of “freedom.”

The Morbid Truth podcast explains: “He subjected individuals to suspension from the ceiling meticulously, plucked every hair from their bodies or resorted to degrading acts like defecating on them.”