21. Pain to Ward Off Demons, Satan, and Witchcraft
On the ground floor, Margaretta Peter and her followers began to hit each other, on the theory that pain would ward off the demons, satanic forces, and witchcraft all around them. They kept at it until the neighbors finally called the police. They arrived to find Margaretta’s followers senseless on the floor, while she continued to beat them. The next day, she told her congregation that more pain was needed to fend off Satan. She then grabbed an iron wedge and began to bludgeon her brother, while her followers went back to beating each other up. Margaretta then announced that her dead mother’s ghost ordered her to sacrifice herself. Her sister stepped up and insisted that she be sacrificed instead. Margaretta accepted and began to bash her sister with the iron wedge. The rest of the congregation joined in, and soon, the sister was dead. When a follower protested, Margaretta assured her that her sister would rise from the dead in three days.