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"She later died the next day" Oh no... "He decided it was his job to resurrect her" *Ohhhh noooo.....*

It's a bad sign when he says "now we're going into the bad stuff" and two people are already dead, including a small child.

Gabrielle's hometown is the same as mine and she often goes to schools to talk about her experiences in a cult and how someone ends up joining and staying in one despite the abuse. She's an incredible woman with a immense sense of humour!

I love watching old wendigoon videos and hearing him gush over having a few thousand subscribers when he's at 2.5 million now

Georgia Brown is the name of the absolute angel of a social worker responsible for bringing to light the horrific crimes committed against the children and was an important contributor to getting Roch thrown in prison. She later committed suicide after being unable to live with the horrors she witnessed throughout her investigation. Never forget her name. Georgia Brown.

I know this is kind of a “read the room” situation, but you kinda look like human Tom Nook

22:46 Matthew really just rolled up and said “he’s dead, I killed him, you’re welcome.”

I love how it seems to be a common occurrence that those who harm children are extremely hated by literal murderers. Even they know that there is no more heinous crime than hurting a child.

He kept his word, he's doing a video on it.

"Gabriella tried again" is perhaps the most hopeful statement for humanity I've heard in years.

That poor little 2 year old boy, that really bummed me out 😢 I hope your soul is at peace little guy x

If I recall correctly from reading Gabrielle's book many years ago, Roch stabbed her hand on a table and left her there for hours. He decided to "amputate" when he realised it was getting infected, but he didn't use a chainsaw, he used a carpet knife, and (I think), an axe to break the bone.

You know it's a special kind of bad when the least gruesome death is a two month old being abandoned outside to freeze.

The frog thing is a sort of urban legend, of course, but an actual psychological thing. I think that a lot of how cults get you is that you don't want to face the fact that you were wrong about someone. He started as nice, and you can't admit that you misjudged him. Then, he does something horrible, but you excuse it. But he does something else horrible, and you don't want to admit that you were wrong that time, so you excuse it again...

First time I read about this I remember just feeling incredibly enraged that this happened hardly a decade before I was born. They were basically immune to investigation just because they called themselves a church and even after 17 kids were removed from the situation it was allowed to continue, no charges were pressed at that time.

I feel like everyone misunderstands Macdonald. He didn't kill the cult leader because he thought what he did was horrible. But because he wouldn't shut up about it. He basically killed dude for being annoying. Not for being evil.

Gabrielle came to our school and explained to us without edit how he cut her arm. She was extremely clear and direct with her words. I can still see her pacing quietly on stage, a grave matter of factly voice. I was 16 yo her story stayed with me every since.

Cult leaders also remove responsiblity from themselves and place that on to the victim. You convince the victim that it's their fault they suffer and they will be willing to punish themselves and thank the leader for pushing them to "grow".

This story is crazy to me because my family actually owns property on Burnt river since my mom was a little girl. I remember her telling me about a cult who had lived in the area a long time ago. Such a bizzare story that is a little closer than I would like lol

I really like you humanizing the victims. So often victims of cults are portrayed as gullible people when they're usually no different from everyone else. It only helps the formation of cults because many victims don't even question it because "they're too smart to enter a cult" or "they know better"

Matthew Gerrard MacDonald. Never forget that name. He killed Roch and went straight to the guards and gave them the shiv and said to them “That piece of shit is down on the range”. He was already serving a life sentence for a previous murder he committed and was given another life sentence for Roch’s death. A man with nothing to lose can be a scary thing to evil and a blessing for the good folk.

I just in the last two weeks started watching your channel and its so wholesome to see how grateful you are, I've watched older and much more recent videos and you are consistently grateful for the community and the creators your speaking about its very refreshing

I just love the different way you make videos about topics like this. So enjoyable while still being very conscious about how sensitive the topic is.

One of the survivors of the Jonestown massacre made the salient point that nobody joins a "cult": People join churches, or people join a political group or a social movement. They believe in something beyond themselves, a larger goal, and it makes sense that it would take more than one person to accomplish such goals. The goal will then shift over time, as a group becomes more insular. It can end up being a world away from the group or the cause which initially drew in members, but, by then, it may be too late to leave.

I read Gabrielle Lavallée's biography, titled "L'Alliance de la Brebis", and I have to say it's the single most upsetting, horrifying, gut-wrenching thing I've ever come across. To this very day, I'm still traumatized by some of the things I've read in that book. The memory of those events still haunt and sicken me to a degree I can't quite describe, and I remain baffled by the fact that Gabrielle somehow survived what has been done to her. Something that isn't mentioned in this video is that she was left on the cold wooden floor of the very same room she was amputated in as the other members later went to bed, and she spent the whole night there, crying and bleeding, with her severed arm lying a mere few feet away from her. She described it as being almost an out-of-body experience for how surreal it was, to just see her own limb on its own like that and discarded in a dirty corner like some piece of junk. Before that, other tortures included her being lifted up by the ankles and dropped on her head repeatedly until she passed out, left outside naked in the harsh winter cold for nearly an hour, beaten up by all the members at once, thrown from a balcony and dragged back up only to be thrown again, and sexually assaulted by Roch countless times. ...I'm just gonna say it: the fact that she lived to tell the tale is a miracle.

There's a class they make you take at most women's shelters with a whole packet dedicated to identifying manipulative &/ narcissistic relationships. I think EVERYONE should take that course. In fact I'm going to find my packet to upload.

The amount of gratitude and humility that you expressed is one of the most genuinely human act that I’ve seen on the internet in a while. I can feel it through the screen two years later where now have 5.1 million subscribers including me. Awesome channel with awesome content made by an awesome person!

That Matthew guy who was Rochs cellmate is a complete savage, he got vengeance without even caring for it.

"This is where it gets a little intense." That's fine, i've seen some messed up shit "He then grabbed a scalpel and-" AAAAAAAAA

Solange went through just pure torture. He removed a portion of her intestines and shoved everything back in. She would have been in agony and also leaking fecal matter into her abdomen causing complete sepsis. The only thing to be grateful for is she died on her own before he attempted anymore “surgeries “

I can never forgive someone who brings their kids into cults. You let that man torture your baby??! I hope his mother never finds peace

Abuse rarely starts with the physical abuse. It starts by emotionally wearing you down until you believe abuse is "normal". This guy was seriously twisted. Gross. I feel for the people who endured his abuse.

It's never mentioned enough, but there was one amazing social worker, and I hope she's resting easy now, but she fought so hard to get those kids away from the cult. There were other social workers that said they were safe where they were but she kept trying and trying to get enough dirt on Roch and eventually she managed to keep all of his kids away from his abuse. Georgia Brown was a blessing and she played a big part in getting those children to safety.

Talking about how thankful you are for your subscribers and now being over 3 million. Congratulations man, you should be very proud. You do amazing work and I'm glad it's going well ❤

i love that i found your chanel. you do such an amazing job covering these topics in a respectful way

I wasn't even aware that such a cult existed until now, people are scary

I love what that Matthew guy said to the guards 😂 he should have got a reduced sentence for that.

As someone who watches dark and disturbing videos, this one always makes me sick to my stomach. It’s scary to say the least just what some people are capable of doing while getting others to join along.

I always appreciate how you approach subject matters like this with respect. It's one of the reasons I'm a big fan of yours. (And because I just enjoy the content you put out) I never heard about this cult until I watched this video for the first time last year. Thank you for making this.

The "frog in the water" thing isn't actually true- a frog will jump out of the water when it gets too hot. The original experiment was conducted using frogs that were lobotomized, which is why they didn't behave normally. It's a useful analogy though, which is why we use it even if it's not actually true.

Yikes, what he did to that woman with the stomach pains was something straight out of a nightmare.

Just found your ch & I have to say you’re a breath of fresh air. No drama just sincerity. Love it.

I want to note that the slowly boiling frog thing only works on frogs that have had their brains removed. It's like a nerve thing. Intact frogs will jump out long before they're boiled. Also if you put a frog in already boiling water, it wont jump out cause it'll die pretty much instantly.

I really respect how you handle the subjects you do without acting all mystical voodoo or horror nightmare on us. You just talk about stuff that’s interesting like a normal guy, and we appreciate it. Much love

my moms analogy for people staying in situations like this despite whats happening to them is "cant see how much shit you're in if you're swimming in it"

That's crazy you only had 180k subs and were so earnestly joyful, 2 years later and you have 3.38m... GREAT WORK, GREAT CONTENT! Thanks!

i know this is late but i love your videos and the way you are so outwardly grateful about the audience you have warms my heart and lets me know how good of a person you are. keep up the great work

The frog senario only applies to frogs that were lobotomized, actually, unlobotomized frogs jump out. This is important to know because it's not just "bringing up the heat slowly" that gets these kind of abusive cults get going. Roke already had "lobotomized" his victims by tricking and charming them into befriending him before he invited them to the "boiling pot" of the cult.

I actually met Gabrielle Lavallée about a decade ago when I was in secondary school. She was doing talks about her life with the cult to sensitize us about the dangers of cults and how effective cult leaders can be. The fact that this woman still lives on and has the strength to be open about those atrocities is commendable. I will never forget how after the talk, I came to her and talked about how I could relate to her early life (she had a very tough childhood, and at the time she was recruited, she had done many things that left her mentally vulnerable, which is the type of people cult leaders love to prey on the most), and how her story opened my eyes to how easily I could have be dragged into something similar at the time. She gave me a long hug, and thanked me... She's an incredibly kind lady, and I hope she's still doing well. Also PS: You forgot a VERY important thing about Roc; he referred to himself, and forced his own followers, to call him "Moise", the French name for Moses. He really took the messenger of God thing to the next level.

how great that I just watched this and you're so humble and talking about how great it is to have 180k subs and now you have 3.19 mil subs. So great

Love how you speak and give light to these people our history tries to snuff out! Also love the way you narrate please dont change man!

The fact that a guy can get just 12 years in prison chopping someone's limb off with a chainsaw is insane.

I can't stop thinking about that poor 2 year old little boy. Children really are at the mercy of their parents.

I think it's important to emphasize that not everyone that is unhappy and in a bad situation is prone to joining a cult. People that fall victim to this have very particular characteristics. Not anyone can be brainwashed. Cult leaders notice easily influencable people and prey on them.

That’s the first time I haven’t skipped a promotional ad lol. Great job!

"As far as I'm concerned, that should have counted as community service hours" fucking A+ right there omg

the story about the woman leaving her 2 month kid out in the snow is so heartbreaking. imagine having to make a decision like that :(

I grew up hearing about the stories of these cults in the 60's and 70's. I'd never really understood the mentality of cult, as no child should. But because we were exposed to knowing that they're out there, it was horrifying, but more so devastating to know that everybody struggles with putting in things in perspective, even parents. Sincerely thanks, Wendigoon because without somebody telling the story, it's difficult to formulate what to tell our children, and I mean this!

Thanks for the video. Intresting one! I heard of this cult as a kid but never new any of the details. Wildly disturbing!!

it’s really weird that human brain - even when showed otherwise - can still think that somebody can’t do any wrong just because they’re attractive or charming. it’s kinda scary how many serial killer stories have this premise.

Whoever killed roch, that was genuinely one of the most badass moves I’ve ever heard of. And then to just drop off the weapon he used and admit to it. Not trying to glorify murder, but that was still dope.

Came back to rewatch some cult stuff but over 2 years ago this was the first ever sponsor wendigang video 🙇‍♂️ that’s dope, as of August 27th, 2023 your 7k from 3mil 🎉❤️

haha 10,000 subs, look at you now bro! 2.37 Million!! Good shit, keep up the good work bringing the dark into the light so we can learn from it.

Wendigoon’s work ethic is impressive

One name that deserves to be brought up alongside Gabrielle's is Georgia Brown. She was a social worker who spent years making surprise visit after surprise visit, carefully documenting everything that happened, to get the children away from Roch. She passed away in 2015 after taking her own life.

I am watching this video as you are now at 3.26 MILLION subscribers. Great work!

I'm glad you mentioned the cults podcast, it is such an amazing and informative show that I've been listening to since around 2018

I think when people question how cults like this can form, it's important to realize that you'll basically only ever hear about "successful" ones.

Its crazy that this sounds like a horror movie that you’d think would never happen in real life

I'm from quebec and heard a lot about this in high school. Gabrielle Lavallée even came to our school to talk about it as prevention about cults. She even said she still have that needle in her back, which is chilling to even think about. Your point about the frog feels exactly how she explained it. I hope no one has to ever live that sort of thing ever again

First time I’ve had to tap out of a wendigoon video 😭😭 I’m sick to my stomach and I can usually handle a lot

Matthew MacDonald is probably also a terrible person given that he's on a life sentence as well, but he did at least one good thing. But Gabriella is 100% a hero.

I'm from Québec, as a kid I remember adults talking about "Moses" and his cult, I had no idea how fucking bad it was, thanks for telling the story

Rewatching this now that Wendi has over 2.5 million subscribers and a bunch of sponsors, so proud of this guy

So much content for one channel. Thats impressive

This cult was in the forest by my cottage in the 80’s and I would always hear stories from my mom and aunt about a woman running out of the forest with one arm and barely any teeth. We would call it the Burnt River cult until one day I actually did research. This guy was sooo fucked up that I don’t have any words. It’s so scary that this was happening while my entire family was having a grand ole time, swimming, cottaging and enjoying the outdoors. Yikes.

One of my favourite things about Wendigoon is that he doesn't use creepy music or editing to make his videos scarier, it makes the dark subject matter a lot easier to handle that way.

You handled this Story rlly good. Love your channel

Your videos are very well done!! i really appreciate your outlook on things.

I love how respectful you are when talking about these victims

dad dropped a new vid, time to avoid the exam & essay i totally don’t have due tonight

crazy to see how fast and how hard you improved dad keep it up

Thank You so Much for answering His Call. Today, 1 year later, you have grown from 180k subs to 3.8 Million! 🤚🏽New Sub God is Blessing You 🙏🏼

Dang, that "frog in a pot of water" analogy really reminded me of abusive relationships, especially one I had. At certain points you would absolutely let someone rip out your intestines. You really don't realize how bad it is until it's finally over, whether it be in life or in death.

Multiple assaults and a nonconsensual amputation: 12 years in prison wtf, Canada's legal system

My mother and her sister were in this cult, she would always tell me her experiences and they traumatized her for she lived in it through her whole life. This is a nice video to watch and you explained it well

You are a great storyteller. Thanks for the awesome content

The prisoner who shivved the Cult Leader should've gotten parole or something

If someone's supposedly basing their group on the Bible & starts giving times for Christ's return, you know they're off the rails. The Bible clearly says no one knows the time of Christ's return. Matthew 24.

Great but horrifying story. You always tell these stories so well. Thank you 👍🏽

Just discovered your channel early into 2023 yet to see a non sponsored video. Funny considering this is your first sponsor. Keep doing what you're doing its entertaining and we appreciate thw work and research you do to produce these videos.

I've never genuinely cried about a case, but oh my God. Gabriela is an angel. She already lost her arm and had nothing to stop it from getting infected, and yet she went out to do the same thing that caused her such a painful punishment and potentially saved multiple lives. Roch was an utterly despicable man, and I hope he's rotting where he belongs now.

I love how he casually compliments young stalin’s hair

the growth in two years is insane big props man

I hope the people who were in this situation are resting in peace. It’s so sad.

Some of Solange’s final words before dying in agony were: “I didn’t know it was possible for someone to suffer so much.”

I'm currently reading Gabrielle Lavallee's (the cult member who had her arm amputated by Roch) book and although I am very used to gruesome true crime stories, this is a really hard one to get through. Roch makes Manson look like a choir boy. Edit: She's the mother of the 2 month old baby who died but it's doubtful she did it on purpose. Edit 2: the guy who was castrated was actually operated on . Edit 3: Gabrielle 's arm was amputated by a curved carpet knife, not a chainsaw. This is all from Gabrielle Lavallee's book and she actually came to speak at my high school. I guess a lot is lost in translation.

New subscriber here! Thank you for giving a bit of explanation to why people join cults. I've never heard anyone explain it that way, I've always said "how do people fall into a cult?!" I get it now so thank you for actually diving into the WHY?!

Very good video. I like how you talk and you stay very fair that's real cool. Subscribed immediately