Cults I Have Loved and Known.

by Andrew Humphreys on 26 March 2010

I’ve always had a soft spot for cults. Not the kind of cult that hurts people or anticipates the end of the world. Those guys are plain crazy. But the kind that stumbles along baking quality biodynamic muffins and producing nothing more deadly than a double-sided photocopied pamphlet.

FOLATE, the semi-secret, chicken-loving organisation Martin encounters in Martin Westley Takes a Walk, may or may not be a cult. For what it’s worth, I never thought of the Friends of Love and the Earth as cultists, even though they did their best to lead a semi-rural existence, slept on hessian sacks and followed their own charismatic leader in Troilus Budd. To me they were good-natured, half-assed extremists, a collective and not a cult. I figured they were mostly harmless.

As a rule, I respect experiments in social organisation, and I like the fact that there will always be people willing to try something new – to hope for something better, not just for themselves but for their community. There’s nothing crazy about that, is there? Yes, the execution generally leaves a little to be desired, but at least the ideas are pure.

Other cults I have loved and known include but are not limited to:

The Cult. Electric is a pretty decent album, with great production by Rick Rubin. When I was in high school, I thought Billy Duffy was a badass.

Blue Öyster Cult. “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” is still the perfect 70s rock song.

Cult of Mac. Also available in book form.

The Cult of the McRib. Not a muffin, but still good.

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About the Author

View All Posts by Andrew Humphreys

Andrew Humphreys

Andrew Humphreys has twice been named as one of the Sydney Morning Herald's best young Australian novelists.His first novel, The Weight of the Sun (2001), examined the relationship of a nose bleeder and his mask-wearing mother. His second novel, Wonderful (2004), traced the glittering career of a movie star monkey and his perpetually drunken trainer, from Hungary via Africa to Hollywood's Golden Age. His third novel, Martin Westley Takes A Walk, is about a man named Martin Westley who takes a walk.Andrew lives on Sydney's northern beaches with his partner and their twin sons. He has worked as a writer, editor and publisher of magazines including Rolling Stone and Soap World, but has insisted on calling himself a full-time writer of fiction since 2001, even though - despite the appearance of his novels in bookstores, and his short stories in publications such as Meanjin and the Griffith REVIEW - nobody (including his accountant) has ever believed him.If pressed, he will acknowledge that these days he is best described as a full-time father who writes books occasionally.