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Historic Bibliographies and Reference Aids
American Snake-Handling Sects: A Selected Bibliography
Compiled by: Marsha Maguire
Publication Date: September 23, 1980
Books and Articles
Alther, Lisa. "They shall take up serpents." New
York times magazine, June 6, 1976; 18-20, 28, 35.
N&CPR
Interview with minister of a Holiness church in Carson Springs,
Tenn., and two members of his congregation.
Ambrose, Kenneth P. Survey of the snake-handling
cult in West Virginia. 1970.
Master's thesis—Marshall University, Huntington, W. Va.
Carden, Karen W., and Robert W. Pelton. The
persecuted prophets.
South Brunsick, A. S.
Barnes, 1969. 188p.
BX7990.H6C28 1976
Clements, William M. "The Jolo serpent handlers." Journal
of American folklore, v. 92, Jan./Mar. 1979; 127-128.
GR1.J8, v.92
Film review.
Clements, William M. Review essay: snake handlers
on film. Journal of American folklore, v.90, Oct./Dec. 1977:
502-506.
GR1.J8, v. 90
Daugherty, Mary L. Serpent-handling as
sacrament. Theology today, v. 33, Oct. 1976: 232-243.
BR1.T62, v.33
Dickinson, Eleanor, and Barbara Benzinger. They shall take up
serpents. In their Revival. New York, Harper & Row [1974]
p. 127-143.
BV3773.A66D5
Dorough, C. Dwight. Sensationalism and excesses. In
his The
Bible Belt mystique. Philadelphia, Westminster Press [1974] p.
144-173.
BR535.D67
Gerrard, Nathan L. The serpent-handling religions of West Virginia.
Transaction, v. 5, May 1968: 22-28.
H1.T72, v. 5
Holliday, Robert K. Tests of faith. Oakhill, W. Va., Fayette
Tribune, 1966. 104 p.
BX7990.H6H59
Kane, Steven M. Aspects of the Holy Ghost religion: the snake
handling sect of the American Southeast. 1973.
Master's Thesis—University of North Carolina.
Kane, Steven M. Holy Ghost people: the snake handlers of Southern
Appalachia. Appalachian journal, v. 1, spring 1974: 255-262.
F216.2A66, v. 1
Kane, Steven M. Ritual possession in a Southern Appalachian
religious sect. Journal of American folklore. v. 87, Oct./Dec.
1974: 293-302.
GR1.J8, v. 87
Kerman, Keith. Rattlesnake religion. In Jones, Lealon N., ed.
Eve's step-children: a collection of folk Americana. Caldwell,
Idaho, Caxton Printers, 1942. p. 93-102.
E169.J7
La Barre, Weston. The snake-handling cult of the American Southeast.
In Goodenough, Ward H., ed. Explorations in cultural
anthropology; essays in honor of George Peter Murdock. New York,
McGraw-Hill Book Co. [1964] p. 309-333.
GN8.G6
La Barre, Weston. They shall take up serpents; psychology of
the Southern snake-handling cult. New York, Schoken Books [1969]
208 p.
BL441.L3 1969
Reprint of the 1962 ed., with a new introd. by the author.
Pelton, Robert W. and Karen W. Carden. Snake-handlers: God-fearers?
Or, fanatics? Nashville, T. Nelson, 1974. 110, [49] p.
BX7990.H6P38
Schwarz, Berthold E. Ordeal by serpents, fire and strychnine;
a study of some provocative psychosomatic phenomena. Psychiatric
quarterly, v. 34, July 1960: 405-429.
RC321.N52, v. 34
That old time religion: a catalog from the exhibit, That old
time religion, a documentation of Protestant revivalism, by Eleanor
Dickinson. [Oakland, Calif.] Oakland Museum, History Dept., 1979.
38 p.
BV3773.T48
Thomas, Jeannette B. New Light. In her Blue Ridge Country. New
York, Duell, Sloan and Pearce [1942] p. 164-167.
F217.B6T5
Wigginton, B. Elliot, et al. [Snake-handling] Foxfire, v. 7,
spring 1973: 2-87.
PS1.F68, v. 7
Special issue chiefly describing activities of a mountain church
whose members practice snake-handling.
Wilson, Bryan R. Thaumaturgic sects—healers and snake
handlers. In his Religious sects: a sociological study. New York,
McGraw-Hill Book Co. [1970] (World university library) p. 174-176.
BR157.W54 1970
Films
The Holy Ghost people. Blair Boyd. Released by Contemporary
Films/McGraw-Hill, 1968. 53 min., sd., b&w, 16 mm.
The Jolo serpent-handlers. New York, Karen Kramer Films, 1977.
40 min., sd., col., 16 mm.
The People who take up serpents. G. Robinson Productions, 1974.
53 min., sd., col., 16 mm.
They shall take up serpents. WKYC-TV, 1973. 24 min., sd., col.,
16 mm. (Montage)
Background Sources on Revivalism in America
Boisen, Anton T. Religion in crisis and custom; a sociological
and psychological study. New York, Harper [1955] 271 p.
BL53.B62
Clark, Elmer T. The small sects in America. Rev. ed. New York,
Abingdon-Cokesbury Press [1949] 256 p.
BR515.C57 1949
Cobb, Alice L. Sect religion and social change in an isolated
rural community of Southern Appalachia. 1965.
Thesis (Ph.D.)—Boston University
Dayton, Donald W. The American Holiness movement; a bibliographic
introduction. Wilmore, Ky., B. L. Fisher Library, Asbury Theological
Seminary, 1971. 59 p. (Occasional bibliographic papers in the
B. L. Fisher Library)
Z7845.H6D37
Gerrard, Nathan L. Churches of the stationary poor in Southern
Appalachia. In Photiadis, John D., and Harry K. Schwarzweller,
eds. Change in rural Appalachia; implications for action programs.
Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1970. p. 99-114.
HN79.A133C67
Hollenweger, Walter J. The Pentecostals. London, S.C.M. Press,
1972. xx, 572 p.
BX8763. H613 1972b
Translation of Enthusiastisches Christentum.
Holt, John B. Holiness religion: cultural shock and social reorganization.
American sociological review, v. 5, Oct. 1940: 740-747.
HM1.A75, v. 5
Jones, Charles E. A guide to the study of the Holiness movement.
Metuchen, N.J., Scarecrow Press, 1974. xxviii, 918 p. (ATLA bibliography
series, no. 1)
Z7845.H6J65 no. 1
Jones, Charles E. Perfectionist persuasion: the Holiness movement
and Amerian Methodism, 1867-1936, Metuchen, N.J., Scarecrow Press,
1974. xxviii. 918 p. (ATLA bibliography series, no. 1) Z7845.H6J65
Jones, Charles E. Perfectionist persuasion: the Holiness movement
and American Methodism, 1867-1936. Metuchen, N.J., Scarecrow
Press, 1974. xx, 242p., 242 p. (ATLA bibliography series, no.
5)
BX7990.H6J66
Kendrick, Klaude. The promise fulfilled; a history of the modern
Pentecostal movement. Springfield, Mo., Gospel Pub. House [1961]
237 p.
BX8762.K4
Based on the author's PH.D. dissertation.
Synan, Vinson. The Holiness-Pentecostal movement in the United
States. Grand Rapids, Mich., W. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. [1971] 248
p. BX8763.S96
Weatherford, Willis D. and Earl D. C. Brewer. Life and religion
in Southern Appalachia; an interpretation of selected data from
the Southern Appalachian studies. New York, Friendshp Press [1962]
165 p.
F210.W29
Weisberger, Bernard A. They gathered at the river: the story
of the great revivalists and their impact upon religion in American.
Boston, Little, Brown [1958] 345 p.
BV3773.W43
Weller, Jack E. Yesterday's people; life in contemporary Appalachia.
[Lexington] University of Kentucky Press [1965] xx, 163 p.
F210.W43
Wood, William W. Culture and personality aspects of the Pentecostal
Holiness religion. The Hague, Mouton, 1965. 125 p.
BX8764.W6
There are numerous journalistic accounts of snake-handling in
the United States, particularly in relation to legal problems
and deaths resulting from the practice. These may be located
by consulting popular literature indexes such as Readers' Guide
and the New York Times Index from 1938 to date under the headings
SNAKE CULTS, SNAKE-HANDLING, and SERPENT HANDLING.
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