Snake Handling Churches of West Virginia

[Raging Bird]

Anyone know anything about this? Might make a field trip out of this sometime soon.

 

[peckerwood0414]

Anyone know anything about this? Might make a field trip out of this sometime soon.

yea, they got alot of them places in southern West Virginia and East Kentucky..I lived in Leslie Co Ky 4 awhile, and they are a few if them. They're pretty friendly towards people that just want to kinda spectate but expect em to try to "save" u and shit..but I thought either Ky or WV made that shit illegal so you might have to look a little harder for the "right" pentecostal spot

 

[acrata4ever]

w va is the only state where it isnt a crime. and i soooo wanna try it.

 

[Raging Bird]

yea, they got alot of them places in southern West Virginia and East Kentucky..I lived in Leslie Co Ky 4 awhile, and they are a few if them. They're pretty friendly towards people that just want to kinda spectate but expect em to try to "save" u and shit..but I thought either Ky or WV made that shit illegal so you might have to look a little harder for the "right" pentecostal spot

Hey, good to hear. Always felt more suspicion in small town Appalachia than anywhere else in the country, kind of wondered if the religious communities wouldn't be a little more accepting. You ever been?

 

[peckerwood0414]

yea I went to one in I wanna say near Bledsoe Ky..Not far from WV..It was a little unique to say the least. People down there ARE suspicious and with good cause..I mean everyone in history has treated them like shit and exploited them and made fun of em so can ya blame em for being a little hostile to outsiders? But they are good people if you get to know em..(Thats how I got my nickname bein a hillbilly in a NY penitentiary lol)

 

[Raging Bird]

Yeah I feel all that. You got any advice on how to keep on peoples' good side? I try to look less like a city asshole in general and that seems to help a little.

 

[Nelco]

w va is the only state where it isnt a crime. and i soooo wanna try it.

They got the whole snake handler thing confused with that kundalini stuff I was telling you about.
Your such a naughty boy...you and your snakes. Hahahaha!
yeah but you gotta watch playing with the dark side or you might get unstuck before it's to late

 

[acrata4ever]

And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (Mark 16:17-1

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10:19

 

[Nelco]

we just made an open door for innocents...oops.
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
2nd corithians

it should be entertaining watching the ones that misconstrue though..maybe you'll get to see someone piss themselves or what not.

 

[Raging Bird]

I better get bitten.

 

[acrata4ever]

well from what ive heard from others who have tried it, its a life changing experience. like going to nepal for a few months, or dying and coming back to life. when you hold death in your hands willingly and all thats keeping you from death is faith or chance its exilerating. the reporter i saw years back said the whole room turned white the music became a wash of voices and the snake in his hands was shiny and he had absolutly no fear of anything.

 

[Raging Bird]

Yeah I want an NDE.
Any specific info on where these people went?
Jolo, WV sounds promising.

 

[180 Degrees]

I live in southeast KY and know a few people that attend these types of churches regularly. If you're ever in the area, I'll hook you up with a few of these guys.

 

[Raging Bird]

180 -

Anywhere accessible by train? I'm probably heading out that way in a week or so and I'd love to take you up on that.

 

[180 Degrees]

Just coal trains .... and they're everywhere.

 

[Shulseee]

Do NOT ride a coal train. Way too dirty (hard to just breathe), and if you get caught, it's a fifty fifty chance that you're gonna catch a beating/be offered a beer. Actually the second part isn't that bad. But still, it's hard to breathe.

 

[180 Degrees]

I have worked as a coal miner and have actually ridden amongst the coal being hauled. Before that coal gets transported, it is washed several times before leaving the prep plant. You said it's hard to breathe? ... where do you get that from? I have worked underground mining coal and could breathe easily under there. Like I said, when coal is in the cars of the train, it's very clean!!! No dust particles whatsoever. You can dig around some and actually engineer a comfy ride. Anyway, I suggest you re-think your coal riding adventures, especially when that's all you have in certain areas. Cheers!

 

[Shulseee]

For me personally, it might have been paranoia that made it hard to breathe. I only rode once, and was told a bunch of horror stories from the guys i was with. I was pretty young at the time, and they gave me a pretty hard time. That being said, given your experience and the fact that you have done it more times than I have, I'd say i would be willing to give it another try.

 

[180 Degrees]

LOL, yeah but seriously, I have in fact rode atop loaded coal trains and it's not that bad at all. Once you get up there, you just have to push away at the coal to make an area to sit in. I actually find it to be comfortable. I have worked as an underground coal miner as well as an auger miner on the surface. Coal is not externally "dirty" as people may think. For example, you CANNOT take a piece of coal and write something on a clean, white sheet of paper. You can with charcoal ... but not coal that is mined. Furthermore, after it is mined, it goes through a prep plant to be washed and separated from other rocks before it is even loaded for distribution. When coal companies and buyers speak of the "cleanliness" of coal, they are referring to ash content. Ash content is what is actually inside the coal, thus, the amount of emissions that are expelled once coal is burned. Anyway, do be careful trying to ride these types of rails. I have only ridden atop of a coal train, which are plentiful around my neck of the woods. And it was just a couple times for a couple short trips. So, I do not consider myself an experienced train hopper. I really want to do the box cars BAD! If you're riding atop a car loaded with coal and you haven't dug yourself a sufficiently deep enough seat, then BEWARE some of the low clearance tunnels running through Appalachia.!!!! CHEERS!

 

[Raging Bird]

Don't worry - I've ridden coal in and out of Clifton Forge, VA many times, through WV, KY, and elsewhere around the country. The only times it's been particularly dirty have been after it's rained, and I have definitely never had any trouble breathing.

180 - Awesome. I'll send you a PM when I figure things out, because I'm really trying to get out there and it'd be great to have a connection instead of just walking up to one of these places.