Secret fire-worshipping cult operating out of local campground

A family of suspected cult members kneel down in worship of their fiery almighty.

FBI spokesperson Alfred Demni said reports indicate that the religious sect gathers during weekends inside the secluded compound of Camper's Paradise - a recreational camping facility located on Walker Lake - where members conduct questionable after-dark rituals apparently intended to idolize the common flame.

"Cult members have been observed gathering in circles around small fire altars, holding their hands out toward the fire in worship," said Demni. "Many get so entranced that they close their eyes and tilt their heads back while reaching their hands out, as if they're trying to channel the power of the fire into their bodies. These and other behaviorisms definitely draw parallels to the occult practices found in Satanism or Paganism."

Though officials have so far been unable to determine the origin of the cult or estimate its number of members, preliminary reconnaissance reports suggest that the Camper's Paradise group of fire-worshippers represents only a single faction of a large network of campground sects spread throughout the United States.

"Anytime you see people who willingly choose to forgo watching television or going to a nightclub in favor of sitting around [and worshipping] a fire all night, you're probably looking at cult members," said Demni, acknowledging the investigation's widespread accounts of similar behavior. "These misguided people usually restrict their behavior to secluded campgrounds, but cult members have been known to instinctively hold their hands up to fire in almost any situation - for instance, when the cook opens up a grill at a backyard barbecue. The first thing they do is put their hands up to it [in worship]."

Fire-worshippers sacrifice a virgin white marshmallow.

"Newly recruited members are forced to swear off modern technology such as electricity and running water," explained Demni. "They are then assigned a lot number and encouraged to construct makeshift living quarters. Once they get settled, the cult members build a circular altar using rocks, paper and wood, around which they sit for countless hours with their arms outstretched in praise and worship. Their fire-worshipping rituals continue for the duration of the weekend, and in some of the more devoted cases, for an entire week or even the entire summer."

Although officials were unwilling to divulge further details regarding the cult's eccentric rituals, Demni did confirm eyewitness accounts of more abhorrent occult practices such as the sacrificing of virgin white marshmallows.

August 2002