Snake / serpent handling - religious ritual in some Pentecostal churches in the USA

The practice began in the early 20th century in Appalachia.

Practitioners believe serpent handling dates to antiquity and quote the Book of Mark and the Book of Luke to support the practice:

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 16:17-18)

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)

Some church leaders have died after being bitten. The founder of modern snake handling in the Appalachian Mountains died from snakebite in 1955. In 1998, snake-handling evangelist John Wayne "Punkin" Brown died after being bitten by a timber rattler at the Rock House Holiness Church in rural northeastern Alabama. His wife had died three years earlier after a snake bit her while in Kentucky.

The states of Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee have passed laws against the use of venomous snakes in a place (including for religious services) that endangers the lives of others, or without a permit. Hence, snake handling are usually done in the homes of worshippers to avoid the process of getting permits.

In July 2008, 10 people were arrested and 125 venomous snakes were confiscated as part of an undercover sting operation, and Pastor Gregory James Coots of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name arrested and 74 snakes were seized from his house.

Apparently there are only 3 snake-handling churches in the USA (and probably the world):
(i) Alabama: Rock House Holiness Church on Sand Mountain in the rural northeast;
(ii) South Carolina: Holiness Church of God in Jesus Name, Greenville
(iii) West Virginia: Church of the Lord Jesus, Jolo [not the Philippines!]

Pastor Mack Wolford, of the Signs Pentecostal denomination, handles a highly venomous timber rattlesnake during an evening service at the Church of the Lord Jesus in Jolo, West Virginia, 3rd September 2011.