Corvallis cult leader profiled.Byline: The Register-Guard AT HIS BEST, Franz Edmund Crefeld was a spellbinding spell·bind tr.v. spell·bound , spell·bind·ing, spell·binds To hold under or as if under a spell; enchant or fascinate. [Back-formation from spellbound. , evangelical visionary who captivated cap·ti·vate tr.v. cap·ti·vat·ed, cap·ti·vat·ing, cap·ti·vates 1. To attract and hold by charm, beauty, or excellence. See Synonyms at charm. 2. Archaic To capture. a portion of Corvallis in the early 1900s. At his worst, though, Creffield (as his name was reported in the press) was a Salvation Army Salvation Army, Protestant denomination and international nonsectarian Christian organization for evangelical and philanthropic work. Organization and Beliefs The Salvation Army has established branches in 100 countries throughout the world. dropout (1) On magnetic media, a bit that has lost its strength due to a surface defect or recording malfunction. If the bit is in an audio or video file, it might be detected by the error correction circuitry and either corrected or not, but if not, it is often not noticed by the human who used religion to create his own commune, where he lorded it over two dozen female followers - including married women and their daughters - with whom he had lurid sexual relations sexual relations pl.n. 1. Sexual intercourse. 2. Sexual activity between individuals. . The story of Edmund Creffield was big news in Oregon a hundred years ago, and his subsequent murder was the stuff of national headlines. One of the most intriguing and prurient pru·ri·ent adj. 1. Inordinately interested in matters of sex; lascivious. 2. a. Characterized by an inordinate interest in sex: prurient thoughts. b. chapters in Oregon's history, the whole affair is captured in a new book called "Holy Rollers: Murder and Madness in Oregon's Love Cult," published by Caxton Press of Caldwell, Idaho. "Holy Rollers" was written by Robert Blodgett, a part-time faculty member in Oregon State University's Department of Zoology zoology, branch of biology concerned with the study of animal life. From earliest times animals have been vitally important to man; cave art demonstrates the practical and mystical significance animals held for prehistoric man. , and by T. McCracken, a Waldport resident who teaches natural history for Lane Community College. Writes McCracken in the prologue: "This is a story that has everything a good book should have: sex, mass insanity, the downfall of prominent families, murder and sensational court trials. And it's all true." McCracken and Blodgett combed through literally hundreds of sources, reading old newspaper stories as well as court records, agency records, archives and other materials. Creffield arrived in Corvallis in 1902 and began holding revival meetings, attended initially by men as well as women. He and his followers would meet in frenzied prayer sessions that grew progressively boisterous - so much so that by the following summer, city officials forbade Creffield to hold meetings within city limits. Undaunted, he moved his group to a nearby island in the Willamette River. The holy rollers, as they were dubbed, quickly branded as satanic any woman who would not do as Creffield ordered. Eventually, Creffield was run out of town and murdered in Washington state, but not before he had destroyed families and enraged en·rage tr.v. en·raged, en·rag·ing, en·rag·es To put into a rage; infuriate. [Middle English *enragen, from Old French enrager : en-, causative pref. a community. "Holy Rollers" is available in Oregon bookstores and libraries, or by calling Caxton Press at (800) 657-6465. This is the second Creffield book to come out of Corvallis in the last two years. Linda Crew's fictional treatment, "Brides of Eden," was published last year by HarperCollins. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion