Would you look at that, a snake becomes such a subtle hair accessory…
“They shall take up serpents,” reads the Bible’s Gospel according to Mark, “and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.” Inspired by passages like this one, people the world over have long demonstrated the strength of their beliefs by handling poisonous snakes during emotionally charged religious services, gatherings of faith healers, and revival meetings.
Here, LIFE.com offers a look at this unique form of worship in pictures from the American South taken in the 1940s by photographers Tony Linck, Francis Miller, and Thomas McAvoy.
