Comments on: Thriller Thursday: Snake Handling Can Be Murder

By: J.D.

J.D. — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 13:16:56 +0000

When I was young I dated a girl whose father went to this church, and made his family go with him, so I was famiiar with Summerford and would sometimes go just to be with my girlfriend because she wasn’t yet allowed to go on dates….however I always sat as far in the back as I coud get. I never understood it neither, but I’ll be the first to admit that I saw things happen there that were beyond rational explanation.

One night, for example, I witnessed a woman get bitten by a copperhead snake! She fell out on the floor, and in my young mind iwas thinking, “I guess someone has called an ambulance”, but an ambulance never showed up and this lady eventually rose to her feet and started dancing around and handling snakes again! So in my rational mind I was telling myself that she didn’t really get bitten, so after the snakes were put away I went up and asked the lady if I could see her hand, and when she presented her hand indeed there were the 2 holes where the fangs had entered her skin with blood running from them!

Still wasn’t enough to convince me that God intended for us to handle snakes. I’ll quote another man I heard one time when speaking about snake handling, “The good Lord might tell me to pick up a snake, but I guarantee you I will kill it first!”

By: Julia Duin

Julia Duin — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 21:50:22 +0000

I hope Jen’s blog entry is not indicative of the quality of her book. There are several inaccuracies in here. First, Dennis Covington did not become a regular serpent handler. He did it once – albeit quite briefly. Many folks in the serpent handling community despise his book and it’s been openly criticized by more recent scholars. Second, where does she get the 15,000 figure in terms of how many participate? That seems quite high to me. And the fines involved for possession, transport, etc., of poisonous snakes are often way more than $100-$150. Ask Jamie Coots – one of the premier handlers in Kentucky. He’s had to pay out more than that. He was just on trial in Knoxville so it’s not hard to google info on him. I’ve written about this phenomenon in the past 18 months for both the Washington Post and Wall St. Journal, so I know a bit about it. Unlike the Summerford case, no one is made to handle those snakes. In fact, you’re not allowed to unless those leading the service know you are. And, Jen, did you visit one of these churches to do your research? I hope you did. The folks involved are actually very sweet.

By: Valentine Logar

Valentine Logar — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 20:36:33 +0000

Being a good Southern Girl with family from smaller towns, I know some of these people they frighten me. I love snakes, they fascinate me however, I do not play with them; ever.

This was very interesting and the books sounds interesting as well.

By: Jen Blood

Jen Blood — Thu, 30 May 2013 23:00:28 +0000

In reply to Lauralynn Elliott.

I’ve never understood it either, Lauralynn! I agree: after all, God is the one who gave us common sense in the first place, right? So, it stands to reason we’re expected to use that common sense to keep ourselves out of tricky spots. But to each his own, I guess!

I’m glad to hear the book sounds interesting to you, and tickled to hear you picked up the first in the series. 🙂 I hope you enjoy it!

By: Jen Blood

Jen Blood — Thu, 30 May 2013 22:56:39 +0000

In reply to Stacey Joy Netzel. I actually don't mind snakes either, Stacey -- but, yeah, I totally draw the line at passing them around (or stomping on them!) in some sort of religious ritual. And, like you, I far prefer the little ol' non-poisonous ones, given the choice!

By: Lauralynn Elliott

Lauralynn Elliott — Thu, 30 May 2013 14:40:32 +0000

I’ve never understood snake handling as proof of faith. Does that mean I should walk out in front of a bus because I believe God will keep it from hitting me? LOL. God expects us to use common sense to take care of ourselves.

This book sounds really interesting. Since I live in the South, I could probably recognize some of the characters. 😉 I just bought the first book in the series and added the other two to my Amazon wish list. I LOVE a good mystery!

By: Stacey Joy Netzel

Stacey Joy Netzel — Thu, 30 May 2013 14:18:03 +0000

Yikes, what a story! I love snakes, but not enough to handle them in some religious ceremony like that. A little grass snake will do me fine. 🙂 Love the character name, Diggs.

By: Jen Blood

Jen Blood — Thu, 30 May 2013 12:56:39 +0000

Thanks so much for welcoming me to your blog! The first time I ever heard of snake handling, it was on an X-Files episode — “Signs and Wonders,” in season seven. I was fascinated then, and continue to be fascinated now. While Glenn Summerford clearly had some, ahem, issues, it’s interesting to note just how many of these ceremonies take place around the country, during which no one is harmed… or people are bitten and show few ill effects, even! it’s a weird, weird world!