End of the World 2012 - Doomsday : Cults Await Mayan Apocalypse, Alien Saviors at French Mountain

As the alleged end of the world - Dec. 21 2012 - draws nearer, anxiety, fear and prophetic theories are understandably running wild.

Recently the U.S. government and NASA released information designed to debunk the more popular 2012 apocalypse theories, such as the Mayan calendar predicting end times on Dec. 21, or a rogue planet colliding with Earth on that day.

In a post to the government's official blog titled, "Scary Rumors About the World Ending in 2012 Are Just Rumors," the government attempts a rare feat and tries to matter-of-factly level with Americans.

"False rumors about the end of the world in 2012 have been commonplace on the Internet for some time," says the government in its post.

"Many of these rumors involve the Mayan calendar ending in 2012 (it won't), a comet causing catastrophic effects (definitely not), a hidden planet sneaking up and colliding with us (no and no), and many others. The world will not end on December 21, 2012, or any day in 2012."

"Unfortunately, these rumors have many people frightened, especially children. NASA has received thousands of letters concerned about the end of the world," said the post.

Apocalypse 2012 rumors have some people so fired up, they've quit their jobs, and devoted the rest of their time on Earth to awaiting the end.

Various cults have gathered around a mountain in southwestern France to anticipate the apocalypse. The cults' members have converged on the tiny town of Bugarach, France, praying aliens will emerge from the nearby 4,040ft cloud-shrouded summit of the Pic de Bugarach Mountain on Dec. 21 and save them from the Armageddon.

"We saw how hippies and New Age oddballs have thrown up makeshift camps in the shadow of [the mountain]," reported The Sun.

But Bugarach's mayor, Jean Pierre Delord, is worried about the numbers of New Agers arriving in the town.

Police and troops have been drafted in to deal with the sudden influx and stop believers from scaling the mountain. Although many believe this is merely a cover for the investigation of dozens of recent UFO sightings.

David, who quit his job in Tours, France to move to Bugarach, told The Sun: "There are serious things going on here - I want to know what these objects are. Things exist and people have a right to know."

David, who wouldn't provide his last name, added that he doesn't necessarily believe the whole world will end on Dec. 21, but revealed he does "think the capitalist system is going to collapse then."

With its deep network of caves, the mountain is thought to have inspired the Steven Spielberg movie "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" and the classic novel "Journey To The Centre Of The Earth."

Alien-fever and conspiracy theories are running high in the mountain town as the final days tick away.

Street artist and local children's coordinator Alain Didier insisted he had seen UFOs, according to The Sun.

Patrice Etienne, who runs an organic cafe in the village, is certain the mountain holds a major secret. "People walking on the mountain report that their cameras jammed when they tried to take pictures. They heard strange noises coming from underground," he said.

"We have seen military aircraft, police and soldiers. It's like a Spielberg movie. They are looking for something. There is something in this mountain, definitely."

According to The Daily Mail, The Internet is full of myths about the small town. "These include beliefs that the mountain is surrounded by a magnetic force, that it is the site of a concealed alien base, or even that it contains an underground access to another world," noted the paper.