Dear Brooks,
I am studying the Chinese Sinhala vinaya commentary
I found what seems the type of cult I was talking about in a earlier reply. About what scholars say that maybe Buddhism started as ghost cult.
The books was posted by Bhante Sujato down here
While I was reading I found what I just mentioned again
See where it’s written that hungry ghosts are as deities. That’s why I believe some suttas are referring to seeing deities but it’s actually ghost.
Even worst proof yet is that it mentions here also that all deities is included under yakkhas. @brooks that is probably exactly what they centered their cult around. Meaning their main concern