Among the gospel writers, Mark uniquely records the signs that will follow believers, including a reference to handling snakes. Specifically, in Mark 16:18, it is noted that protection is promised to those who encounter snakes, rather than a command to handle them as a demonstration of faith. This promise is presented as God's protection, pure and simple, without any implication of personal achievement or show of faith. Historically, in 1910, George Went Hensley, inspired by Mark 16:18, introduced snake-handling into church services in southeastern Tennessee's Grasshopper Valley. He brought a rattlesnake in a box to the pulpit, lifted it out, and urged his congregation to do the same. His actions gained attention, and his following grew, reaching approximately 2,500 snake-handlers in America by the early 1940s. Despite the practice leading to deaths from snakebites, with 35 fatalities recorded between 1936 and 1973, including Hensley himself in 1955 at age 74, snake-handling persisted. State laws were enacted to forbid the practice in religious services, yet it continued, particularly in small, rural areas of Tennessee, Kentucky, and other southern states. In these Pentecostal-type churches, believers, feeling the spirit, open boxes containing snakes, lift them high, sometimes handling multiple snakes, allowing them to wind around their arms and bodies, often entering a trance-like state with dancing and speaking in tongues.