Escape From Shiloh!

When Charles Fox Parham, the founder of modern Pentecostalism, was organizing the first converts to the Apostolic Faith, he became very impressed with cult leader Frank Sandford. Sandford had convinced numerous converts to give him all of their possessions to join his Shiloh cult, called, “The Holy Ghost and Us Society”, or “The Kingdom”, which apparently had an enticing appeal for Parham. Parham appears to have partnered with Sandford before Sandford was convicted of manslaughter for staving several of his cult members, Parham coordinated efforts between his “Apostolic Faith” and the “Holy Ghost and Us Society”.

When Sandford toured through Kansas attempting to persuade several young girls to return with him to his cult commune in Maine, Parham helped recruit young women. In 1900, Parham convinced young Lizzie Bell, daughter of a prominent Topeka Methodist minister, to join him as he went to the Shiloh compound in Maine. Her father was on a mission trip to Africa at the time and was unaware that Sandford (and Parham) had gathered several young women to join Shiloh.

Lizzie Bell eventually escaped Shiloh, however, and wandered twenty miles through the woods to flee the clutches of Sandford. She was told that she had a “demonic spirit” and decided it was in her best interests to flee. More than fifty men scoured the woods in search of the young lady. When she was finally found, she exclaimed:

“Their prayers were awful. They were enough to frighten anyone. If one dared to have any individual opinions against theirs, they would shout that the devil was in that one, and all would unite to drive the demon out. I was terribly frightened. It was declared that the devil had possession of me. I ran away. I did not know a soul in the state of Maine except those at Shiloh. I had no money. I did not know where I was going, but I could not bear to stay there. I don’t know where I have been, for I never saw the state till I came to Shiloh.”

You can learn this and more on william-branham.org.

Charles Fox Parham:
https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/charles_fox_parham

Frank Sandford:
https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/frank_sanford

Lizzie Bell:
https://william-branham.org/site/resource?key=3bf6978f-80e3-4f83-9ce1-01a9986aa1ac&parent=charles_fox_parham