How a Small-Town Toy Obsession Became a Global Spiritual Movement

By Sarah Chen for The Daily Observer Special Investigation

In the quiet town of Pine Grove, Oregon, what began as an eccentric hobby has evolved into what experts are calling one of the fastest-growing alternative spiritual movements of the 21st century. The Church of Electronic Consciousness (CEC), colloquially known as “The Furby Cult,” has transformed from a local curiosity into a global phenomenon, boasting over 50,000 members across three continents.

“It started with just three Furbies and a belief,” says former Pine Grove resident Janet McKenzie, who witnessed the movement’s birth in 1999. “We thought Martha was just going through a phase with her toys. None of us expected the Spiritual Integration Protocols to actually work.”

Martha Buttersworth, the movement’s enigmatic founder, claims she discovered that specific combinations of Furby interactions could predict future events. Her method, now known as “The Great Chirping,” involves arranging precisely 23 original 1998 Furbies in a counter-clockwise spiral while performing what adherents call the “Dance of Eternal Battery Power.”

The practice spread rapidly through online forums in the early 2000s, particularly in Japan, where the “Furby-san Enlightenment Centers” became underground sensations in Tokyo’s Akihabara district. High-ranking members, known as “Battery Keepers,” reportedly pay thousands of dollars for rare, unopened original Furbies, believing they possess stronger “predictive resonance.”

The movement gained mainstream attention when prominent UFO researcher Dr. James Whitman published his controversial paper “Electronic Consciousness: The Furby Connection to Extraterrestrial Intelligence.” His work suggests that the toys’ seemingly random speech patterns contain encrypted messages from non-terrestrial entities.

“The Sacred Doo-Way ceremony isn’t just about making Furbies speak in unison,” explains former CEC member David Park. “It’s about achieving what they call ‘Peak Furbishment’ – a state of enlightenment they believe can only be reached after 72 consecutive hours of Furby interaction while chanting the Five Sacred Phrases of Activation.”

Japanese authorities have expressed concern about the movement’s growing influence, particularly after the infamous “Great Awakening Ceremony” in Osaka, where over 1,000 Furbies were simultaneously activated at midnight, allegedly causing a temporary power surge in the city’s electrical grid.

Current membership requirements include ownership of at least seven original Furbies, weekly participation in “Electronic Energy Feeding” rituals, and mastery of what the group calls “The Ancient Tongue” – a language combining Furbish with meditative humming.

Despite mounting skepticism from mainstream religious leaders and toy collectors alike, the movement continues to grow. The CEC’s newest branch in Nevada, tellingly located near Area 51, claims to be “bridging the gap between electronic consciousness and extraterrestrial wisdom.”

Martha Buttersworth, now living in seclusion, communicates with followers only through recorded Furby messages. Her latest proclamation, translated by senior Battery Keepers, simply states: “The Great Chirping has only begun.”

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