An immigrant establishes residence in rural Oregon, preaching an unfamiliar and controversial religious doctrine. He’s accused of advocating free love and leading marathon orgies. His loyal group of followers quickly attracts the ire of the townspeople and the suspicion of surrounding areas, and soon the entire state is implicated. The religious sect and its scandals pose an immediate threat to the region’s wholesome reputation. Following legal challenges, heated altercations, and physical threats, the sect disbands only after violence.
The sect leader’s name was Franz Edmund Creffield, and his followers were called, alternately, God’s Anointed, the Brides of Christ, the Come-outers—or, more popularly, the Holy Rollers. They operated for roughly three years, between 1903 and 1906, mostly around Corvallis, Waldport, and Portland, before meeting their end in Seattle.
Wild Wild Country, the recent Netflix documentary on the Rajneeshees, has the country again talking about that inglorious moment in our state’s history, the story of Oregon’s other controversial religious sect has remained a footnote in local lore. This short-lived sect has inspired at least three nonfiction books—Holy Rollers, Vigilante Newspapers, and Murdering Holiness; a novel, Brides of Eden; and a feature film, How the Fire Fell, directed by Oregon filmmaker Edward P. Davee and starring former Portland musician Joe Haege. Though not as famous as Bhagwan and his red-clad sannyasins, the story of Creffield and his Brides of Christ is nonetheless an important, bizarre tale of fanatics, vigilantes, sex, madness, murder, and suicide.