These Signs Shall Follow: Endangered Pentecostal Practices in Appalachia

Click to join the conversation with over 500,000 Pentecostal believers and scholars

The thesis “These Signs Shall Follow: Endangered Pentecostal Practices in Appalachia” by Melanie Rae Harsha documents and analyzes a set of Pentecostal and Holiness practices—some common, others regionally endangered—particularly in Appalachian communities.

Here is a complete list of the practices discussed throughout the final draft:

Core Pentecostal “Five Signs” from Mark 16

Harsha’s thesis centers on these five practices (often called signs following):

1. Casting out devils — exorcism or prayer to cast out evil spirits.

2. Speaking with new tongues — glossolalia, or speaking in unknown languages (central to receiving the Holy Ghost).

3. Taking up serpents — literal serpent handling (practiced by certain Appalachian Holiness churches).

4. Drinking deadly things — voluntary drinking of poison (most often strychnine).

5. Laying hands on the sick — faith healing and anointing with oil for recovery.

Additional Religious and Cultural Practices Discussed

Beyond the Five Signs, the thesis also examines a wide range of Pentecostal customs and worship behaviors found in Appalachian Holiness churches:

• Prayer — central in every service, including group prayer and individual spontaneous prayer.

• Receiving the Holy Ghost — the baptism of the Spirit accompanied by tongues.

• Repentance of sins — continual confession and seeking purity.

• Testimonies — sharing personal faith experiences in services.

• Singing and gospel music — musical worship with piano, guitar, and voices.

• Holy dancing and running — physical expressions of joy and the Spirit’s movement.

• Being “slain in the Spirit” — entering a trance or ecstatic state of divine possession.

• Modest dress and strict moral codes — holiness codes regarding clothing, alcohol, and conduct.

• Foot washing — ritual humility enacted in certain services.

• Fire handling — occasionally practiced along with serpent handling.

• Communal support and hospitality — providing help, food, and transport for members.

• Media-informed evangelism — through documentaries and shows like Snake Salvation.

Practices Characterized as “Endangered” in Appalachia

Harsha explicitly identifies these as endangered or rare within Appalachian Pentecostalism:

• Serpent handling (the hallmark endangered ritual).

• Drinking poison (strychnine).

• Fire handling (less common but present).

• Full observance of all five signs as a cohesive set of rituals.

In summary, Harsha’s ethnographic and historical study explores how these Pentecostal practices function as expressions of faith, identity, and belonging—while highlighting that serpent handling and related “signs following” traditions represent an endangered strand of Appalachian religious culture.