Episode 159 - The Final Sacrifice - The Solar Temple Suicides

On an autumn day back in 1994, authorities from a tiny ski village in Canada’s Laurentian Mountains responded to reports of a house fire.
What they discovered inside was chilling: two bodies, at first believed to be suicides. 

But the investigation didn't end there. Three more victims would be discovered, stabbed to death.

The very next day, two small towns in Switzerland were rocked by eerily similar tragedies.

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Special Thanks:
Sarah Booth - Actor
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TRAILER

Mike Kropveld - Founder & Executive Director
Info-Cult

Research & Writing:
Matt Snell

Editing:
Aiden Wolf

Sources:
The Order of the Solar Temple: Temple of Death, ed. James R. Lewis
The Pleasure of Believing: Toward a naturalistic explanation of religious conversions, by Fabrice Clement
The Order of the Solar Temple (Witness Documentary Series)
Radio Canada International: History Canada: October 4,1994: An international cult tragedy begins
The Guardian: An apocalyptic cult, 900 dead: remembering the Jonestown massacre, 40 years on
Salon: Jim Jones' sinister grip on San Francisco
New York Times: 16 Burned Bodies Found in France; Cult Tie Suspected
The Guardian: Conductor on trial for cult deaths
Getty Images: Cult Survivor Thierry Huguenin
Vuarnet Official Website
World History Encyclopedia—Knights Templar
Wikipedia: Priesthood of Melchizedek
Newspapers.com Sources:
The Gazette, Montreal, 11 Mar 1993, Thu · Page 4
The Gazette, Montreal, 02 Apr 1993, Fri · Page 3
The Winnipeg Sun—13 Mar 1993, Sat · Page 9
The Gazette, Montreal, 05 Oct 1994, Wed · Page 3
The Gazette, Montreal, 06 Oct 1994, Thu · Page 1
The Ottawa Citizen 07 Oct 1994, Fri · Page 1
The Gazette, Montreal—08 Oct 1994, Sat · Page 4
Calgary Herald—24 Mar 1997, Mon · Page 3
Edmonton Journal—22 Apr 2001, Sun · Page 42
Controversial New Religions, ed. James R. Lewis and Jesper Aagaard Petersen