The Serpent Handlers

"What they believe is that the Bible is to be taken literally, specifically Mark 16:17-18, which reads, "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; They shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; They shall lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." Within these churches are several families whose history in the tradition stretches back as far as the religion itself, which dates only to 1910. In this book, Brown and McDonald use extensive interviews with the participants-often printed verbatim-to tell the stories of three of the most prominent snake-handling families. Each of these families exhibits a different temperament: the Brown family of Cocke County, Tennessee, is humble and reserved; the Elkins family from Jolo, West Virginia, is somewhat assertive and emotional; and the Coots family of Middlesboro, Kentucky, has a dramatic, show-biz flair." --