Chelsea's Color-paloza

"Welcome to Bummersville! Where Cristina is going to tell you about the Anthill Kids. Now, seeing as this gets Extremely Depressing and Disturbing (even for Bummersville), we want to let you know that Chelsea's section, where she talks about a creature that started from a creation myth and became a cryptid, starts at 58 minutes into the Podcast."

Presented by: Cristina
Category: Cult

Content Warnings: Abuse (Physical, Sexual, Psychological), Child Abuse, Murder, Surgery

Roch Thériault was a cult leader living in Canada in the 70s and 80s. After dropping out of school in 7th grade to study the Bible (specifically the Old Testament), he lived a relatively normal life until his 20s.

In the late 70s, he began gathering followers and set up a commune. Called the Anthill Kids due to their business, his beliefs were similar to that of the Millerites in that he believed that theend of the world was imminent, setting the time at February 1979. He encouraged his followers to live free of sin while manipulate the women to sleep with him and have his children.

He abused his followers in horrific ways. People who attempted or spoke of leaving, he would beat their knee caps. Others we would hang from their limbs, pluck their hairs individually or defecate on. Followers who disobeyed him were made to break their own legs or sit on hot stoves. Children, his own, might find themselves nailed to trees.

Throughout this, he managed to convince authorities of his innocence, even after the death of one boy who was left outside at night in the winter and froze to death earned him time in prison. One social worker even argued in court that he should have his children returned to him.

He was finally arrested for the last in 1989 after one of his Mengele-esque surgeries killed one of his followers. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and would have been due for release in 2015 had he not been killed by his cellmate.

Takeaway: Don't let your kid drop out of school to study religion.

Presented by: Chelsea
Category: Cryptid

The Grootslang (literally "big snake") is a cryptid native to South Africa. With the body of a snake and the head of an elephant (with some depictions showing it's trunk below it's mouth), it was said to have been created by the gods who realized too late that it was too powerful They tried to destroy the Grootslangs, but some number of them escaped to reproduce and torment the locals to this day.

Notable sightings include an account from a Dutch doctor who claimed to have seen one in late 1867 as a boy. His father attempted shoot it, but it escaped. Periodic sightings persisted to the modern day, with a heyday in the early 1960s.

The Grootslang is said to dwell in a cave called the "Wonder Hole" or the "Bottomless Pit". The cave is also said to be filled with diamonds, a bold claim given that no one has ever actually been there. One prospector attempted to explore it, nearly drowned and never tried again.

A relatively obscure cryptid, it can still be found in cartoons and tabletop games.

Takeaway: Sometimes the gods mess up.