Hospitals worldwide are on alert today as a rash of mysterious burn cases surface across the globe. From Paris to New York, people of all ages are walking into ER’s with severe burns to their hands from mishandling of lit torches. The cases all appear to stem from a craze that involves friends passing the torch to as many other people as possible.
One such victim is 32-year-old Jez Hartwood from Louisiana. “When my friend Emily emailed me about it, this just seemed like a good idea. Everyone I know is doing it and I just didn’t want to be alone.... in the dark you get so scared, so you will do almost anything. She said that if I didn’t do it, a Rift would claim our friendship.”
We spoke to a Detective Carnby of the Central Park Police Dept., where the first batch of cases originated, who offered the following advice, “If someone offers you a torch, pass it on quickly. DO NOT hold on to it. The only way to escape severe trauma is to pass it on quickly.”
Already, stories are coming in that these events are linked, with rumors of amazing incentives for those who manage to pass these torches to the most people.
After some investigation, the source of this disturbing craze appears to be a mysterious website that encourages people to “pass the torch.”
http://www.centraldark.com/keepthefireburning/mailing/
