Case file · Apparition / miracle
Serpent handling churches
Around 1910 preacher George Went Hensley began handling venomous snakes in the hills near Chattanooga, taking Mark 16:18 literally. The practice spread through Holiness churches of Appalachia.
1910 CE · 35.38, -85.11 · status: claim
The account
Believers say the Spirit protects the faithful; many handlers, Hensley included (1955), have died of bites. Several states outlawed the practice.
The sceptical view
Deaths and serious injuries show that bites are not prevented; survival depends on the snake and on luck.