The newest club at the University of Minnesota Morris has all the earmarks of a college prank, starting with its name: "Queer Devil Worshipers for a Better Future."

But in the past few weeks, some conservative websites have run news stories warning, as one put it, that "gay, capitalism-hating devil worshipers" are waging "a war against conservatives on campus."

The club, which claims all of seven members, apparently started in January when its founder, Reed Larsen, sent a campus e-mail inviting students to join. It even managed to get university recognition as an official student organization, complete with a "Statement of Unfaith" in which members profess to believe, among other things, in magic and the song "Bubbly" by Colbie Caillat.

According to its "official" documents, posted on the university's Campus Connection website, the club's stated purpose is "to give ourselves over to the Void, embrace the deviant and the strange, promote compassion and reason in our community, and become an inscrutable and unknowable force on the campus." Members must swear an "Infernal Oath" promising to defend others "from bigotry, oppression, violence, and psychic vampires whenever possible."

Meanwhile, its executive officers hold titles like "Void Mother" and "Dark Sovereign" and are supposed to be elected "the week of a full moon in the spring."

On March 16, the Daily Caller website broke the news with the headline: "SATAN-LOVING Students on Minnesota College Campus Combat 'Conservatism,' Transphobia, NAFTA." It quoted extensively from Larsen's January e-mail, in which he wrote: "I'm looking to start a Satanist group at Morris to address the budding conservatism on this campus — which I find abhorrent." The story made a point of noting, "Encounters with people supporting Satan and his minions are not frequent on America's college campuses, but they do happen."

Within days, the Caller's story was picked up by other websites, such as Tea Party News and Conservative Underground. "So this is creepy and troubling," wrote the College Fix, which bills itself as "Your Daily Dose of Right-Minded News and Commentary." "As part of the oath, members must oppose capitalism as a form of oppression," it reported. "This is about as twisted as it gets on campus, folks."

Larsen did not respond to a request for comment. But there are clues, scattered throughout the club's official pronouncements, that hint at his and his fellow members' mind-sets. The official duties of the Void Mother, for example, include approving all submissions to its monthly newsletter, "Have you Heard the Bad News," and "At the end of their term, they are responsible for giving all souls in their possession unto the pit." The Chancellor of Darkness, another officer, "shall commune with the bureaucratic monolith, demand funds and maintain the records of our ever-growing wealth."

As one online commenter cautioned, "this sounds like Onionesque mockery. Absent some sort of aggression, ignoring them probably would be best. …"

Maura Lerner • 612-673-7384