Here are some comments from The Watchtower concerning fire-walking.
Note that the 1955 comment was somewhat reasonable, but in the 1970's and 80's they were back to saying that evil spirits were protecting the fire-walkers.
--VM44
*** g35 11/20 p. 116 British Empire *** (From Leolaia's Golden Age Goodies thread)Fire-Walking in Britain
Unwilling to learn anything from the Bible a flock of British scientists built a pit filled with seven tons of oak logs, one ton of firewood, one load of charcoal and ten gallons of kerosene, and after it had been burning for eight hours, and the surface heat was found to be 800 degrees Fahrenheit, they saw Kuda Bux, a young Hindu, walk the length of the pit, pausing fire seconds at each step, and emerge unscathed. This happened at Carshalton, Kent, and was a case of demonism, pure and simple. Two British medical students who attempted to emulate the feat were severely burned after a few steps and had to jump to safety.
*** w55 9/1 p. 528 par. 15 Part 1—What Do the Scriptures Say About "Survival After Death"? ***
15 Instances of fire walking, which have been observed in India and elsewhere, have generally been attributed to some occult influence or power, but science has been able to prove with some success that there is a trick about this, dependent upon ordinary laws of nature, thus removing this from the realm of the really occult. But the more science investigates the more it is faced with the evidences of a truly occult power, of invisible forces producing supernatural acts and happenings among men.
*** g73 12/8 p. 23 Fiji—Palette of the Pacific ***
The Fijian ceremony is no less spectacular. They heat up a huge pit full of large boulders (from their home island of Beqa) until these are white hot. This takes about eight hours. Then the bete (priest) leads the colorfully dressed fire walkers over the stones without a single burn. While medical authorities cannot explain how it is possible, students of the Bible realize that it is due to the power of wicked spirits.
*** g81 2/8 p. 30 Watching the World ***
Atheists Fire Walk
The Hindu newspaper of India reports that a group of atheists held a fire-walking demonstration at their center in Vijayawada. "The volunteers took a few paces across a six-foot diameter pit of red hot coal and came out unscathed," says the report. "The demonstration was organized by the Atheist Centre to end the belief that only the saintly can walk on fire." Apparently the same forces that assist "saintly" Hindus to keep their feet cool also see a common cause served by assisting atheists.
*** w81 9/15 p. 15 Insight on the News ***
Insight on the News
Fire Dancing Just a "Gimmick"?
After watching a group of people dance on a bed of burning coals in Greece, a visiting American wanted to try it himself. He jumped onto the coals—but with disastrous results. He burned the skin off his soles. Not only was intense pain a problem, but he was almost lynched by the fire-dancing religionists who viewed him as desecrating their ceremony. Police had to rescue the screaming man from the mob.
"I thought that they just skipped over as quickly as possible, that it was largely a gimmick," said the 29-year-old American from his hospital bed. He added: "The blind religious ecstasy the fire dancers are in when they do it is quite incredible. I would not advise anyone else to try it. All I managed to prove was that these people are genuine."
Fire walking and fire dancing, appearing in many cultures, need not necessarily be viewed as a "gimmick" or trick. It can be "genuine" in the sense that superhuman forces are involved. Because wicked spirit forces are behind the magical and occult practices mentioned at Deuteronomy 18:10-12, the true God viewed such as "detestable" in his eyes. These demon angels understand methods of insulating flesh from hot surfaces.