Taking Up Serpents: Snake Handlers of Eastern Kentucky

"Kimbrough is an expert truly familiar with his subject from years of participant observation. His is the definitive oral history, written with sympathy and providing rare insight into a fascinating practice that continues to survive its obituaries." -Ralph W. Hood, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

The Holiness serpent handlers, who originated around 1910, are one of the most controversial religious groups in America. Their practices have brought them into conflict with authorities many times, and the often sensationalized media accounts of their services fascinate and horrify us. But as David Kimbrough so ably documents, snake handlers are sincere worshipers who honestly believe that they are protected by God when they take up serpents.

Partly because of his own Appalachian roots, Kimbrough was able to overcome the distrust of the congregations, and as a result he received extraordinary access to their churches and homes. During the course of his research, Kimbrough took part in more than three hundred services in snake-handling churches, many of which were documented by photographs included in this book. He also made an exhaustive search through published accounts of snake-handling services in eastern Kentucky.

Kimbrough traces the snake handlers' belief system to fundamentalist strains that rejected the kind of "intellectual" faiths associated with educated eastern ministers. They sought a folk religion, and lay preachers arose from their ranks to deliver the emotion-laden sermons they demanded. For Kimbrough, snake handing represents an intensification of the fundamentalist impulse rather than a deviation from it.

David L. Kimbrough received his Ph.D, in history from Indiana University. He is an independent scholar who lives in Stanford, Indiana.