Info for Book Groups
I’d be happy to come and discuss Holy Rollers: Murder and Madness in Oregon's love Cult, with your book group if it's in Lincoln County or Florence, Oregon.
T- McCracken
Discussion Questions
Were the families justified in committing the Holy Rollers to the insane asylum?
None of the Holy Rollers came out and said, “Yes, I had sex with Edmund Creffield.” Do you think they did?
Even if they didn’t have sex, did they do something scandalous? In other words, would things that were considered scandalous in the early 1900s be considered scandalous today?
Was George Mitchell justified in killing Edmund Creffield?
Do you really think George was insane when he committed murder, or was pleading not guilty by reason of insanity a legal tactic?
What did you think of John Manning, Multnomah County’s District Attorney, writing a letter to Kenneth Mackintosh, King County’s Prosecuting Attorney, saying that if George had killed Creffield in Portland he’d let him off scot free?
Do you think it’s possible that God really was in communication with Creffield and the Brides of Christ?
Descendents of the Holy Rollers didn’t want the story published almost a century after the events had taken place and all the participants were long dead. How would you feel if someone wrote about something about your great grandparents that would embarrass them if they were still alive?
Do you think you could ever be lured into a cult?
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To get into the mood, you might think about getting an Edmund Creffield Mug Shot T-shirt, just the thing to wear should you have the urge to roll. Shirts, mugs and other stuff with this image are available at CafePress.
Chapters from
Holy Rollers: Murder & Madness in Oregon's Love Cult
Part 1: The Seduction
Chapter 1: Trust Me, Brothers And Sisters
(Life Before Creffield [B.C.])
Chapter 2: God, Save Us From Compromising Preachers
(Creffield's Preachings)
Chapter 3: The Flock
(Profiles of the Holy Rollers Were)
Chapter 4: The Holy Rollers
(Things Start to Get Wild on on Kiger Island)
Chapter 5: Housecleaning
(There's a Sacrificial Bonfire)
Chapter 6: Community Concerns
(Officers Visit)
Chapter 7: Esther, The Chosen One
(Creffield Plans to Marry 16-Year- Old)
Chapter 8: Tar and Feathers
(The Men of Corvallis Act)
Chapter 9: Sane People Don’t Go Bareheaded
(Holy Rollers are Committed to the Asylum)
Chapter 10: More Beast Than Man
( Creffield is Arrested)
Chapter 11: God Will Plead Creffield's Case
(Creffield in Court)
Chapter 12: Scandal
(Shocking Testimony at the Trial)
Chapter 13: Calm Before the Storm
(The Holy Rollers Resume their Lives)
Chapter 14: Giving Up The Ghost
(Men are Gunning for Creffield)
Part Two: The People V. Creffield
Chapter 16: The Widow Creffield
Chapter 19: An Inherited Streak of Insanity
Part Three: The Madness
Chapter 23: Seeking Reconciliation
Chapter 24: Another Holy Roller Page One Murder
Chapter 25: What Can Papa Do For You?
Chapter 26: Human Life is Too Cheap In This Community
Chapter 30: The Final Chapter
(What Happened to Everyone Afterwards)
The Epilogue
(Heaven's Gate)
Newspaper Articles about Creffield & the Holy Rollers
1897-1903: B.C. (Before Creffield)
October to December 1903:Holy Rollers Burn Furniture & Pets
January to March, 1904: Holy Rollers Tarred and Feathered
April to June 1904: Holy Rollers are Committed to the Asylum
July 1904: Creffield is Found & Arrested
September 1904: Creffield's Trial
April 1906: Men are Gunning For Creffield
May 1906: Creffield is Murdered, Murderer is Considered a Hero
May 1906: Holy Rollers Found Starving Near Heceta Head
June 1906: George Mitchell's Trial Begins
July 1906: Hurt Testifies of Debauched Wife and Debased Sisters
July 1906: Esther Mitchell Kills Her Brother
August to October 1906: Seattle Prepares for another Big Trial
November 1906: Maud Hurt Creffield Commits Suicide
April 1909-August 1914: Esther Leaves the Asylum
1953 Stewart Holbrook's Murder Without Tears
1951Startling Detective Magazine, Nemesis of the Nudist High Priest
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