Dark Poutine - True Crime and Dark History
True crime, legends, folklore, dark history and other creepy topics from the perspective of real live Canadians.
Satanic Panic: A Canadian Export
Episode 340: In the early 1980s, a wave of fear with its origins in Canada, swept across North America, igniting what would become known as the Satanic Panic. This moral hysteria, fueled by sensationalized media reports and dubious claims of widespread satanic ritual abuse, had its roots in a controversial book published in 1980 titled “Michelle Remembers.”
As the panic spread, it manifested in several high-profile cases across Canada. One of the most notorious incidents occurred in Martensville, Saskatchewan, where unfounded allegations of ritual abuse at a local daycare center led to multiple arrests and a community torn apart by suspicion and fear. Other cases emerged in various provinces, each feeding into the growing narrative of a vast, underground network of satanic cults preying on innocent children.
Sources:
Michelle Remembers by Smith, Michelle | Internet Archive
Michelle Remembers — fiction disguised as fact
Devil Worship Exposing Satan's Underground [Geraldo Rivera] [1988] [VHS] | YouTube
[VHS] Law Enforcement Guide to Satanic Cults - (1994) | YouTube
Parents From McMartin Preschool Scandal Discuss Aftermath Of Child Sex Abuse Case | Oxygen Official Site
UNCOVER SEASON 6- SATANIC PANIC: Transcripts | Listen | CBC Radio
Hell to pay: Revisiting the Martensville satanic sex scandal (2003) - The Fifth Estate | YouTube
1995 CanLII 4037 (SK CA) | R. v. Sterling | CanLII
2003 SKQB 559 (CanLII) | K. v. Miazga | CanLII
2007 SKCA 57 (CanLII) | Kvello v. Miazga | CanLII
Aug 12, 1990, page 8 - The Independent at Newspapers.com
Did Satanic Panic Influence The West Memphis Three Case? | Oxygen Official Site
West Memphis Three: What You Should Know About Their Wrongful Conviction
High Magick
Satan Wants You | Film
Satan Wants You | JustWatch
The Strange Origins of the Satanic Panic | CBC Arts
Believe the Children: Re-Reading the Satanic Panic Through Michelle Remembers
How a doctor and his patient sparked a global ‘Satanic Panic’
It’s Time to Revisit the Satanic Panic | NYT
Satanic panic: Documentary takes a new look at Michelle Remembers book
America's Satanic Panic Returns — This Time Through QAnon
We Believe the Children: A Moral Panic in the 1980s | Amazon
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Podcast Episodes
Black Friday: The 1987 Edmonton Tornado
Episode 402: On July 31, 1987, an ordinary summer afternoon in Edmonton, Alberta, ended in catastrophe. A powerful tornado cut through the city’s southeast, killing 27 people and leaving entire neighbourhoods destroyed i…
Vancouver’s 1907 Anti-Asian Riots
Episode 401: At the start of the twentieth century, Vancouver, B.C., was a fast-growing Pacific port. Most residents were white settlers of British or European descent, but Chinese and Japanese communities were already w…
The Clara Ford Affair: Race, Rumour, and the Shooting of Frank Westwood
Episode 400: In October 1894, 18-year-old Frank Westwood was shot on the doorstep of his Parkdale home. The killing shocked Toronto and sparked a frantic search for a suspect. Weeks later, a mixed-race tailor named Clara…
Out With the Old: The Dark and Weird Side of New Year’s Traditions
Episode 399: As the clock strikes midnight, not everyone welcomes the New Year with champagne and resolutions. In this episode of Dark Poutine, we explore the darker, stranger, and sometimes dangerous traditions used aro…
Christmas Special 2025: The Great Canadian Butter Tart Heist
Episode 398: It was supposed to be a quiet Canadian Christmas—until every butter tart in the country vanished overnight. From Nanaimo to Newfoundland, kitchens were left empty, bakers bewildered, and the RCMP at a loss.…
Demon of the Belfry: The Murders of Blanch Lamont and Minnie Williams
Episode 397: In April 1895, two young women, both twenty-one, from San Francisco’s Emmanuel Baptist Church vanished days apart. Blanche Lamont, a dedicated teacher-in-training, and Minnie Williams, a hardworking domestic…
Road Trip: Deadly Prophecy — The Children of Thunder
Episode 396: In this episode, we learn about an enigmatic narcissistic psychopath who led the Californian cult called The Children of Thunder. Glenn Taylor Helzer, and the other leadership was comprised of his brother Ju…
Bound by Silence: The Murder of Dr. Edith Wightman
Episode 395: On a cold December day in 1983, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, was shaken by a deeply unsettling crime. Dr. Edith Wightman, a respected scholar, was discovered dead in her office: bound with tape,…
Guardian UFO: The Carp, Ontario Mystery
Episode 394: On an August night in 1991, the quiet fields near Carp, Ontario, were interrupted by strange lights arcing across the sky—a sight so odd it left locals searching for answers. Soon, anonymous packages began t…
Really, I Did It: The Murders of Julia Howe & David Creamer
Episode 393: On a cold February day in 2022, tragedy struck the small communities of Creston and Kimberley, British Columbia. Julia Howe, a familiar face to her neighbours, was found lifeless in the bathroom of her partn…
