Estus Washington Pirkle (March 12, 1930 – March 3, 2005) was an American

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister, evangelist, and filmmaker.

Early life

Estus Washington Pirkle was born in Vienna, Georgia on March 12, 1930. He was one of eleven children to Grover Washington Pirkle and Bessie Nora Jones. He grew up primarily in Sycamore, Georgia. He graduated from Norman Junior College and attended

Mercer University Mercer University is a Private university, private Research university, research university in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the s ...

in Macon and

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is a Baptist theological institute in Fort Worth, Texas. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It was established in 1908 and in 2005 was one of the largest seminaries in the wor ...

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Pirkle became a pastor travelling through the

southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

, including his home state of Georgia, Texas,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. He met his wife Ann in

Athens, Texas Athens is a city and the county seat of Henderson County, Texas, Henderson County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 12,857. The city has called itself the "black-eyed pea, Bla ...

. Pirkle served at Locust Grove Baptist Church in

New Albany, Mississippi New Albany is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Mississippi, Union County, Mississippi, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, the population was 7,626. History New Albany was founded in 1840 at the site of a gri ...

for 36 years.

Film work

In addition to his preaching, Pirkle was known for creating and starring in his own

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

films as well as writing numerous books. His

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

s were directed by Ron Ormond (known for his previous works on

exploitation films An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...

like 1953's ''

Mesa of Lost Women ''Mesa of Lost Women'' is a 1953 American low-budget black-and-white science fiction horror film directed by Herbert Tevos and Ron Ormond from a screenplay and original story created by Tevos and Orville H. Hampton, who is given on-screen cre ...

'') and produced by the Ormond Organization of

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. The first of these films was the Christian horror film ''

If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? ''If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?'' is a 1971 American Christian exploitation horror film directed by Ron Ormond, featuring Southern Baptist minister Estus Pirkle. Background The film is based on a sermon by Estus W. Pirkle held on ...

'' from 1971. ''The Burning Hell'' is a 1974 exploitation horror film created by Pirkle (directed by Ormond) as his interpretation of what the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

has to say about

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

. The 1977 companion movie ''The Believer's Heaven'' gives Pirkle's interpretation of what the Bible has to say about

heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

. Unlike its predecessors, ''The Believer's Heaven'' was not successful at all, due it being much tamer in its gratuitous violence and gore.

Legacy

Pirkle's preaching was sampled by

Negativland Negativland is an American experimental music band that originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. The core of the band consists of Mark Hosler, David Wills (aka "The Weatherman"), Peter Conheim and Jon Leidecker (aka "Wobbly" ...

for the song "

Christianity Is Stupid "Christianity Is Stupid" is a song from Negativland's 1987 concept album, ''Escape from Noise''. Background In the song, Negativland rearranges words and phrases to form a different meaning. They sampled phrases from a sermon by Estus Pirkle (fro ...

". ''The Believer's Heaven'' was sampled by

Insane Clown Posse Insane Clown Posse, often abbreviated as ICP, is an American hip hop duo. Formed in Detroit in 1989, ICP's best-known lineup consists of rappers Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (originally 2 Dope; Joseph Utsler). Insan ...

on their 1997 album '' The Great Milenko''. Filmmaker

Nicolas Winding Refn Nicolas Winding Refn (; born 29 September 1970) is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer. He directed the ''Pusher'' trilogy (1996–2005), the crime drama '' Bronson'' (2008), and the adventure film '' Valhalla Rising'' (2009). I ...

restored both ''The Burning Hell'' and ''The Believer's Heaven'' each for film festival showings and streaming.

Bibliography

* (1968) ''Wintertime'', Moffitt Press * (1969) ''Preachers in Space'', Hiott Press * (1969) ''What Are You Living For?'', MP Religious Book and Record Co. * ''The 1611 King James Bible: a study'', The King's Press * ''A Ray for God, The Official Biography of Percy Ray'', The King's Press

Filmography

*''

'' (1971) *''The Burning Hell'' (1974) *''The Believer's Heaven'' (1977)Cinema Inferno - Google Books (pg.297)
/ref>

References

External links

*
The Burning Hell at byNWR

If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? at byNWR
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pirkle, Estus 1930 births 2005 deaths 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States 21st-century Baptist ministers from the United States American anti-communist propagandists American evangelicals American evangelists Baptist writers Filmmakers from Georgia (U.S. state) People from New Albany, Mississippi