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CORVALLIS - At his best, Franz Edmund Crefeld was a spell-binding, evangelical visionary who captivated a portion of Corvallis in the early 1900s.

At his worst, though, Creffield (as his name was reported in the press) was a Salvation Army dropout who used religion to create his own commune, where he lorded over two dozen female followers - including married women and their daughters - with whom he had lurid sexual relations.

The story of Edmund Creffield was big news in Oregon a hundred years ago, and his subsequent murder was the stuff of national headlines as well. One of the most intriguing and prurient chapters in Oregon's history, the whole affair is captured in a new book called "Holy Rollers: Murder and Madness in Oregon's Love Cult," published by Caxton Press of Caldwell, Idaho.

"Holy Rollers" was written by Robert Blodgett, a part-time faculty member in Oregon State University's Department of Zoology, and by T. McCracken, a Waldport resident who teaches natural history for Lane Community College. Writes McCracken in the prologue: "This is a story that has everything a good book should have: sex, mass insanity, the downfall of prominent families, murder and sensational court trials. And it's all true."

McCracken and Blodgett combed through literally hundreds of sources pursuing the story, reading old newspaper stories as well as court records, agency records, archives, and other materials.

"It was amazing to go through these documents and articles and read about this strange man, who was reviled by so many, yet clearly captivated a number of women," Blodgett said. "That's what makes this book somewhat different - it is based entirely on records that we dug out of our research."

Creffield arrived in Corvallis in 1902 and began holding revival meetings attended initially by men as well as women. He and his followers would meet in frenzied prayer sessions that grew progressively boisterous - so much so that by the following summer, city officials forbade Creffield from holding meetings within city limits. Undaunted, he moved his group to a nearby island of the Willamette River, where "The Holy Rollers," as they were dubbed, quickly branded as satanic any woman who would not do as Creffield ordered.

Eventually, Creffield was run out of town and murdered in Washington state, but not before destroying families, enraging a community, and leaving a legacy of sex, murder and madness.

"Holy Rollers" is available in Oregon bookstores and libraries, or by calling Caxton Press at 1-800-657-6465.