Holy Rollers: Murder and Madness in Oregon's Love Cult [Paperback]

Theresa McCracken (Author), Robert B Blodgett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2002

Distributed by the University of Nebraska Press for Caxton Press

When Edmund Creffield and his "Holy Roller" religious cult made headlines in 1903, it was page one news - not just in the Pacific Northwest, but around the nation. Yet few people in the region today have heard Creffield's name or his story. In fact, the descendants of the people who were involved still refuse to discuss those events of a century ago.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A gripping book offering special insight into the dark side of mass psychology, religious hysteria and unbridled charismatic religious authority."—The Midwest Book Review

(Midwest Book Review )

About the Author

T. McCracken lives in Waldport, Oregon. She teaches Natural History for Lane Community College and works as a naturalist on the Discovery, a ship that does sea life cruises out of Newport. Robert Blodgett lives in Corvallis, Oregon. He is a paleontologist/stratigrapher unravelling the fossil and rock record of ancient western North America.

Product Details

• Paperback: 295 pages
• Publisher: Caxton Press; First Edition edition (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870044249
• ISBN-13: 978-0870044243
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,588,681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Story From 100 Years Ago...With A Message For Today, August 24, 2003

By 

W. C HALL (Newport, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Holy Rollers: Murder and Madness in Oregon's Love Cult (Paperback)

It happened a hundred years ago. But it could be happening right now. "Holy Rollers; Murder and Madness in Oregon's Love Cult" can be read and appreciated on many levels. On the surface, it's a great true crime potboiler, filled with religion, sex and murder. But its also a cautionary tale about the vulnerability of seemingly normal, well-adjusted people to the seductions of mass insanity. Whether it's Edmund Creffeld in 1905, Adolph Hitler in 1933 or Jim Jones in 1978, we've seen it happen again and again. In fact, the story in this book has a peculiar kind of resonance in that one of the key locations--Waldport, Oregon, also was the place where the Heaven's Gate cult held its first public gathering.

Edmund Creffeld was a Salvation Army dropout who arrived in Corvallis, Oregon in 1900 to start a new church. Within a few short years, he had persuaded some of the community's leading citizens--primarily of the female gender--to join his cult of madness. They literally practiced "holy rolling," sometimes turning themselves over and over for hours and hours at a time, becoming all the more caught up in the cult of Creffeld's strange personality. Creffeld was tarred and feathered (really!) and run out of town. That didn't stop him, nor did a stretch in the state prison. His ultimate, violent end seems almost foreordained.

T. McCracken and Robert Blodgett have combined their talents to produce an amazing story. Thanks to exhaustive research in newspapers and other contemporary sources, they're able to re-create the wild ride of Creffeld and his cult in vivid, day-to-day detail. I finished the book in a single sitting; I predict you will, too.--William C. Hall

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holy Rollers Rocks, October 23, 2002

By 

Juliana A. Callahan (Batavia, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Holy Rollers: Murder and Madness in Oregon's Love Cult (Paperback)

The authors give us a true account, set in "the good old days", showing us that murderous cults didn't start with the Manson family, and religious fanatacism isn't an import nurtured only in foreign lands. Immediate and enthralling as any real crime story currently on the shelves or TV, this page-turning ride has just the right amount of wry, observational wit to balance the horrors. I loved it.

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Read, June 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Holy Rollers: Murder and Madness in Oregon's Love Cult (Paperback)

This was definitely a page-turner! I live in this area. So, it was interesting to imagine that this went on right here! I had never heard about it, and I have lived here for the last 25 years. Makes me want to examine all the houses and areas they went to.

The book is written with a newspaper sensationalism kind of feel, but that shouldn't bother you too much.