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The Allure of Immortality: An American Cult, a Florida Swamp, and a Renegade Prophet
Wall Street Journal’s Five Best Books About Cults “Brilliantly written and strangely moving. Millner has resurrected the lost history of a cult devoted to a utopian vision as pure as it was outlandish.”—Steve Almond, author of God Bless Stories
“A fascinating look at the American search for meaning and ultimate answers. Millner writes with grace and makes history an adventure.”—Dan Wakefield, author of New York in the Fifties
“Teed may have wanted a shiny new world, but what Millner provides is a guide to an old lost one, a picture of a vanished century when science, religion, journalism, and social movements collided in an unending, and totally fascinating, brawl.”—Madeleine Blais, author of In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle
“Those seeking an understanding of what makes otherwise sensible individuals willing to give up everything in service of the apparently outlandish notions of a charismatic true believer like Teed will find this carefully researched volume satisfying and memorable.”—Les Standiford, author of Last Train to Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean
“A riveting tale of a long-neglected part of Florida’s history. Written with style and panache, this well-researched book is a terrific read.”—Susan and Martin Tolchin, coauthors of Pinstripe Political Favoritism from the Clubhouse to the White House and Beyond
“Millner’s marvelous chronicle of the peripatetic and resolute Koreshans is provocative, intriguing, and so much stranger than fiction. You may pause, you may shake your head, you may throw up your arms, but you will not put down this book until you’re done.”—John Dufresne, author of No Regrets, A Novel
For five days in December 1908 the body of Cyrus Teed lay in a bathtub at a beach house just south of Fort Myers, Florida. His followers, the Koreshans, waited for signs that he was coming back to life. They watched hieroglyphics emerge on his skin and observed what looked like the formation of a third arm. They saw his belly fall and rise with breath, even though his swollen tongue sealed his mouth. As his corpse turned black, they declared that their leader was transforming into the Egyptian god Horus.
Teed was a charismatic and controversial guru who at the age of 30 had been “illuminated” by an angel in his electro-alchemical laboratory. At the turn of the twentieth century, surrounded by the marvels of the Second Industrial Revolution, he proclaimed himself a prophet and led 200 people out of Chicago and into a new age. Or so he promised.
The Koreshans settled in a mosquito-infested scrubland and set to building a communal utopia inside what they believed was a hollow earth—with humans living on the inside crust and the entire universe contained within. According to Teed’s socialist and millennialist teachings, if his people practiced celibacy and focused their love on him, he would return after death and they would all become immortal.
Was Teed a visionary or villain, savior or two-bit charlatan? Why did his promises and his theory of “cellular cosmogony” persuade so many? In The Allure of Immortality , Lyn Millner weaves the many bizarre strands of Teed’s life and those of his followers into a riveting story of angels, conmen, angry husbands, yellow journalism, and ultimately, hope.
“A fascinating look at the American search for meaning and ultimate answers. Millner writes with grace and makes history an adventure.”—Dan Wakefield, author of New York in the Fifties
“Teed may have wanted a shiny new world, but what Millner provides is a guide to an old lost one, a picture of a vanished century when science, religion, journalism, and social movements collided in an unending, and totally fascinating, brawl.”—Madeleine Blais, author of In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle
“Those seeking an understanding of what makes otherwise sensible individuals willing to give up everything in service of the apparently outlandish notions of a charismatic true believer like Teed will find this carefully researched volume satisfying and memorable.”—Les Standiford, author of Last Train to Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean
“A riveting tale of a long-neglected part of Florida’s history. Written with style and panache, this well-researched book is a terrific read.”—Susan and Martin Tolchin, coauthors of Pinstripe Political Favoritism from the Clubhouse to the White House and Beyond
“Millner’s marvelous chronicle of the peripatetic and resolute Koreshans is provocative, intriguing, and so much stranger than fiction. You may pause, you may shake your head, you may throw up your arms, but you will not put down this book until you’re done.”—John Dufresne, author of No Regrets, A Novel
For five days in December 1908 the body of Cyrus Teed lay in a bathtub at a beach house just south of Fort Myers, Florida. His followers, the Koreshans, waited for signs that he was coming back to life. They watched hieroglyphics emerge on his skin and observed what looked like the formation of a third arm. They saw his belly fall and rise with breath, even though his swollen tongue sealed his mouth. As his corpse turned black, they declared that their leader was transforming into the Egyptian god Horus.
Teed was a charismatic and controversial guru who at the age of 30 had been “illuminated” by an angel in his electro-alchemical laboratory. At the turn of the twentieth century, surrounded by the marvels of the Second Industrial Revolution, he proclaimed himself a prophet and led 200 people out of Chicago and into a new age. Or so he promised.
The Koreshans settled in a mosquito-infested scrubland and set to building a communal utopia inside what they believed was a hollow earth—with humans living on the inside crust and the entire universe contained within. According to Teed’s socialist and millennialist teachings, if his people practiced celibacy and focused their love on him, he would return after death and they would all become immortal.
Was Teed a visionary or villain, savior or two-bit charlatan? Why did his promises and his theory of “cellular cosmogony” persuade so many? In The Allure of Immortality , Lyn Millner weaves the many bizarre strands of Teed’s life and those of his followers into a riveting story of angels, conmen, angry husbands, yellow journalism, and ultimately, hope.
360 pages, Hardcover
First published September 24, 2015
77 people are currently reading
561 people want to read
About the author
Lyn Millner
2 books16 followersBorn a mile from Elvis’ birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi, Lyn grew up in Jackson, frequenting Lemuria Books, where her mom often left her while she ran errands. So began a love of reading and reverence for writers.
Lyn's radio stories and essays have been broadcast on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and Weekend Edition and on American Public Media’s Marketplace. Her print work has appeared in the New York Times, USA Today, Oxford American, the Hollywood Reporter, and Boca Raton magazine.
She teaches journalism at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Lyn's radio stories and essays have been broadcast on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and Weekend Edition and on American Public Media’s Marketplace. Her print work has appeared in the New York Times, USA Today, Oxford American, the Hollywood Reporter, and Boca Raton magazine.
She teaches journalism at Florida Gulf Coast University.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
August 11, 2020
WOW. This is an amazing book, and I am a little mad at myself that I didn't snatch it up and read it when it first came out five years ago. It's a slow read -- it's taken me more than a month to finish it -- but that's not because the book is a slog. Far from it. It took me so long to read it because there is something astonishing to ponder on nearly every page.
The book begins with a brief preface to lay out the basics about the Koreshan cult and its fascinating and clearly unhinged founder, Cyrus Teed, and to explain a little about the sources used in writing a book. It includes this entirely necessary sentence: "Though parts of it seem unbelievable, this is a work of non-fiction."
Then Milner plunges us straight into the madness.
"On Christmas Day of 1908," she writes, "Dr. Cyrus Teed was laid out lovingly in a zinc bathtub his followers had built out exactly to the dimensions of his short frame. His eyes were closed, his face expressionless, his skin dark, and his swollen tongue protruded through enlarged, turned-out lips. They draped him with a white sheet from the waist down and left his torso nude. By all outward appearances he was dead and had been for three days, but the followers said he was in a trance --suspended animation, they called it."
From that bizarre opening scene of Teed's followers waiting and waiting for Teed's promised resurrection, she then takes us back to where it all started with Teed. She also gives us the context: in the mid-1800s, the nation was honeycombed by rogue prophets all trying to launch their own utopian communities -- the Mormons, the Shakers, the Economites etc. The Koreshans, believe it or not, were not the strangest ones.
Along the way we meet quite a strange crew of characters -- people who remain diehard followers of Teed even as he skips out on paying bills and leaves his disciples shivering in unheated Chicago buildings in the winter; angry husbands who accuse Teed of stealing their wives (Teed's smartest position was that 19th century marriage was tyranny and men should share equally in housework); and the educated German immigrant who first homesteads the Florida property that Teed eventually snatches out from under him to build the town of Estero, their New Jerusalem. By far my favorite character was Madame Diss Debar, a notorious con woman (her nemesis was Houdini) who first tries to rob the Koreshans and then shows up again later under a different name, leading a rival cult and trying to put Teed out of business.
Millner also gives us rivteing action scenes -- storms, fires, a mob uprising that led to Teed being beaten senseless, the Koreshans attempting to prove on a Florida beach their central tenet that the Earth is hollow and we live inside it. The story doesn't stop being strange when we get to the 20th century, either, as two different entities try to protect and preserve the Koreshan heritage -- or at least, say that's what they're doing.
If I tried to tell you all the wonderful parts of this book I would just end up reprinting the whole thing right here. Suffice to say that their property is now a Florida state park, and no other park in the Florida park system has such an incredible backstory. Not even Weeki Wachee Springs, which is full of professional mermaids. Go get this book and read it -- but slowly, so you can appreciate how truly bizarre and yet truly American its story is.
The book begins with a brief preface to lay out the basics about the Koreshan cult and its fascinating and clearly unhinged founder, Cyrus Teed, and to explain a little about the sources used in writing a book. It includes this entirely necessary sentence: "Though parts of it seem unbelievable, this is a work of non-fiction."
Then Milner plunges us straight into the madness.
"On Christmas Day of 1908," she writes, "Dr. Cyrus Teed was laid out lovingly in a zinc bathtub his followers had built out exactly to the dimensions of his short frame. His eyes were closed, his face expressionless, his skin dark, and his swollen tongue protruded through enlarged, turned-out lips. They draped him with a white sheet from the waist down and left his torso nude. By all outward appearances he was dead and had been for three days, but the followers said he was in a trance --suspended animation, they called it."
From that bizarre opening scene of Teed's followers waiting and waiting for Teed's promised resurrection, she then takes us back to where it all started with Teed. She also gives us the context: in the mid-1800s, the nation was honeycombed by rogue prophets all trying to launch their own utopian communities -- the Mormons, the Shakers, the Economites etc. The Koreshans, believe it or not, were not the strangest ones.
Along the way we meet quite a strange crew of characters -- people who remain diehard followers of Teed even as he skips out on paying bills and leaves his disciples shivering in unheated Chicago buildings in the winter; angry husbands who accuse Teed of stealing their wives (Teed's smartest position was that 19th century marriage was tyranny and men should share equally in housework); and the educated German immigrant who first homesteads the Florida property that Teed eventually snatches out from under him to build the town of Estero, their New Jerusalem. By far my favorite character was Madame Diss Debar, a notorious con woman (her nemesis was Houdini) who first tries to rob the Koreshans and then shows up again later under a different name, leading a rival cult and trying to put Teed out of business.
Millner also gives us rivteing action scenes -- storms, fires, a mob uprising that led to Teed being beaten senseless, the Koreshans attempting to prove on a Florida beach their central tenet that the Earth is hollow and we live inside it. The story doesn't stop being strange when we get to the 20th century, either, as two different entities try to protect and preserve the Koreshan heritage -- or at least, say that's what they're doing.
If I tried to tell you all the wonderful parts of this book I would just end up reprinting the whole thing right here. Suffice to say that their property is now a Florida state park, and no other park in the Florida park system has such an incredible backstory. Not even Weeki Wachee Springs, which is full of professional mermaids. Go get this book and read it -- but slowly, so you can appreciate how truly bizarre and yet truly American its story is.
January 29, 2023
During a recent visit to Florida, I decided to read some non-fiction about a non-Disney part of Florida's history, and this book came highly recommended by many Floridians. It was definitely interesting! Written in 2015, there were a few passages that I underlined because the cult following that Cyrus Teed had reminded me of Donald Trump's following.
It makes you wonder how people could believe some of this stuff, but when taken in context of the time period, people were searching for something different, for meaning, and for community. That's what Teed's Koreshian community gave them, even if his claim that if they remained celibate, they'd be immortal didn't come to pass. These people were looking for adventure, and they were more than willing to leave everything behind and pioneer a new life in Florida. I can't even imagine getting down there, dealing with the heat and the bugs, and having to build a whole village from scratch!
Fascinating that the author interviewed descendants of some of the original members. I'd love to visit Estero, Florida and check out the museum on the former community grounds.
It makes you wonder how people could believe some of this stuff, but when taken in context of the time period, people were searching for something different, for meaning, and for community. That's what Teed's Koreshian community gave them, even if his claim that if they remained celibate, they'd be immortal didn't come to pass. These people were looking for adventure, and they were more than willing to leave everything behind and pioneer a new life in Florida. I can't even imagine getting down there, dealing with the heat and the bugs, and having to build a whole village from scratch!
Fascinating that the author interviewed descendants of some of the original members. I'd love to visit Estero, Florida and check out the museum on the former community grounds.
November 16, 2015
This is how history should be written and read! As a docent at the Koreshan State Historic Site, I knew the story of Cyrus Teed and the Koreshan community. But this book has provided me with incredible facts, insight and understanding. Using first person accounts and blending meticulous historic detail with "grab you" journalistic writing, Lyn Millner has brought to life a fascinating period in American and Floridian history.
May 27, 2022
Rating: 4.5/5
CWs: cults, detailed descriptions of a dead body, some misogyny
I've been kind of obsessed with this cult for a couple of years, so finding there was a book on it was very exciting. Especially given how much detail it offers. This piece of history is very hard to tell due to the variety of sources, and Lyn Millner succeeds in making each source's reliability and intentions apparent for the readers. This level of transparency is something I really appreciate in the non-fiction I read. The book is also very informative and you can tell that it's very rigorously researched. I especially loved the little glimpse of her research and writing process Milner gives us at the end. The only criticism I have is that at times it drags a bit, however, it's not often and for most of the time the writing is very engaging.
CWs: cults, detailed descriptions of a dead body, some misogyny
I've been kind of obsessed with this cult for a couple of years, so finding there was a book on it was very exciting. Especially given how much detail it offers. This piece of history is very hard to tell due to the variety of sources, and Lyn Millner succeeds in making each source's reliability and intentions apparent for the readers. This level of transparency is something I really appreciate in the non-fiction I read. The book is also very informative and you can tell that it's very rigorously researched. I especially loved the little glimpse of her research and writing process Milner gives us at the end. The only criticism I have is that at times it drags a bit, however, it's not often and for most of the time the writing is very engaging.
September 4, 2022
Based on the description of this book, I expected it to be a whole lot more captivating than it was. However, after the fairly interesting prologue describing the very dead Teed and his followers' wait for him to wake from his "trance", the book devolved into a fairly mundane, very detailed, and long history of the Koreshans and their day to day existence. Also, I never got any sense of why Teed was considered so charismatic. I even thought he was perhaps mentally ill but that possibility is not brought up until quite late in the narrative. I actually felt he was almost a background figure compared with descriptions of some of the other Koreshans. Based on how much I enjoyed this book, I would give it a 2, but it was quite well researched and thorough so I gave it a 3.
December 23, 2024
I knew halfway through this book I’d be rating it 5 stars - anything less would be insulting to the sheer volume of research that went into writing and producing it. I’ve lived close to the Koreshan site for 13 years now, driven past it countless times on US 41, and had no idea what anything on that sign meant until I picked up this book on a whim at the Edison Ford Estates gift shop. Trying to encompass everything I felt reading this book into one Goodreads review would be an insane task, but I would absolutely recommend it to anyone interested in Floridian history, niche historical topics, or both.
May 10, 2020
A Fascinating Read
Have visited Koreshan State Park in Estero last year...found it baffling and interesting at the same time...an establishment of well-educated followers that believed they lived inside the Earth and then set out to prove their theory...a wonderful history of their movement and planned community in Estero, FL from their founding by Cyrus Teed until the death of the remaining member and it's place in Florida history. I thank the University Press of Florida for offering this fascinating book for FREE during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order.
Have visited Koreshan State Park in Estero last year...found it baffling and interesting at the same time...an establishment of well-educated followers that believed they lived inside the Earth and then set out to prove their theory...a wonderful history of their movement and planned community in Estero, FL from their founding by Cyrus Teed until the death of the remaining member and it's place in Florida history. I thank the University Press of Florida for offering this fascinating book for FREE during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order.
March 5, 2018
Of interest to me because I visited the Koreshan site in the 1970s and now live nearby and find the history and locale interesting. The book itself was not a compelling read for me, though I dutifully finished it at a snail's pace. Now I will go visit again, this time understanding more of the beliefs of the Koreshans and more about their place in the early history of Estero. Today, the College of Life continues in a twenty-first iteration. Energy forces still at work . . . .
January 5, 2021
Fascinating look at one of the many utopian societies that existed during the turn of the last century. Millner shows the intelligence of the Koreshan community and the fact that they were one of many utopian societies affected by the industrial revolution. Also she shows the flaws of this society and how it affected the local people of Southwest Florida. A must read for historians who study cult societies of the late 1800s.
December 29, 2017
A meticulously researched account of the Kordeshan community, a religious cult/sect in the Fort Myers area who followed 18th century preacher Cyrus Teed. This work will be of particular interest to readers who like books on Florida history or on American populist religious movements in the 1800s - 1900s.
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May 28, 2020Interesting
This story talks about the history of a religious sect initiated in Binhamton, NY ,moving to Chicago and finally found in the city of Estero in SW Florida. It is written like a text book and much research was done for it. I love reading about history so I liked this book. I recommend it to history buffs who enjoy reading about Florida's beginnings.
This story talks about the history of a religious sect initiated in Binhamton, NY ,moving to Chicago and finally found in the city of Estero in SW Florida. It is written like a text book and much research was done for it. I love reading about history so I liked this book. I recommend it to history buffs who enjoy reading about Florida's beginnings.
November 17, 2022
It is a very informational book, if that is what you are looking for. But because it is factual information, it’s not that exciting. It’s slow, dull, and at times it feels like the author put things in a chapter that would make more sense somewhere else. But if you’re doing research, you won’t find this information anywhere else. It’s a great source.
November 5, 2023
I chose to read this book because I’m planning to visit the Koreshan State Park in Estero, Florida and I was curious about the history of the park. I’m so happy that I found this book. It was very informative and interesting. It was a pleasure to read. I enjoyed the author’s writing style and perspective. My curiosity is heightened - want to learn more about the park and the surrounding areas.
December 3, 2019
It couldn't capture my attention. The subject matter about finding immortality in a Florida Swamp and the conman trying to achieve it is a fascinating story but writing doesn't keep me interested. I didn't finish the book. Maybe another time. Consider this review incomplete.
July 6, 2020
Meticulously researched and readable, I still had to quit this book. Too much backstory in painstaking detail. The Gulf of Mexico was big and full of detail, but somehow, I just couldn't keep my nose in the book. Reader's shortcoming, not the author....
June 17, 2021
I became interested in the Koreshans after visiting Koreshan State Park. I found myself wanting to know more about them and I also live in Florida. This is a well written, well documented book. Excellent read.
Read
March 1, 2022I started this book and it seemed promising. And then I wanted it to be more about weird Florida, and maybe I just didn't make it there. He was still in Chicago when I gave up. Maybe I'll revisit it at some point, but eh.
June 30, 2018
could have used more murder
February 1, 2019
A fascinating history of Southwest Florida and a cult that flourished for awhile believing they were living inside the earth.
October 10, 2020
So nice to read a non-biased book about this interesting cult. I love to visit the State Park where part of their "paradise" still stand.
April 14, 2023
2.5 stars Maybe I’m spoiled after reading such a good account in the road to Jonestown but this book really did not deliver :/
August 19, 2024
Slow start but interesting. So strange that I’ve heard of the movements he tried to align himself with and spent time near Fort Meyers’s, but never heard of him. Those were weird times, for sure.
December 28, 2015
Growing up in SW Florida, Koreshan was a term I was vaguely familiar with. I remember, upon hearing of the incidents in Waco and the name Koresh, wondering if he was somehow connected with that park in Estero. But a teenager at the time (and pre-Internet on top), I didn't wonder long. As an adult I promised myself I'd go visit the park -- but never got around to it.
Lyn Millner recently visited our Naples Press Club to speak about her new book "The Allure of Immortality". Even from her brief talk, I understood there was so much to discover about the park and its history, I couldn't wait to get home and begin reading. The book does not disappoint.
Not only did I learn about a significant piece of local history, i found the book to be quite an interesting glimpse at the human spirit and our deepest desire to belong to something bigger than ourselves - even to the point of suspending all reason and giving up everything because you believe in something so completely and fiercely. As I read about the Koreshans journey to Estero, it reminded me of a visit I paid to the "This is the Place" monument in SLC earlier this year. I remember looking at the monument and thinking about what faith these pioneers had in their beliefs and leader. And, while I do not (and could not) believe in what they do/did, I admit to feeling a little pang of jealousy - they had total faith, total commitment, undying devotion and total surrender to something much bigger than themselves. What terrible faith -- what awesome freedom.
One note - as a long time non-profit professional, the end regarding the current foundation left me seething. I hope the organization continues on the path of new found change.
Lyn Millner recently visited our Naples Press Club to speak about her new book "The Allure of Immortality". Even from her brief talk, I understood there was so much to discover about the park and its history, I couldn't wait to get home and begin reading. The book does not disappoint.
Not only did I learn about a significant piece of local history, i found the book to be quite an interesting glimpse at the human spirit and our deepest desire to belong to something bigger than ourselves - even to the point of suspending all reason and giving up everything because you believe in something so completely and fiercely. As I read about the Koreshans journey to Estero, it reminded me of a visit I paid to the "This is the Place" monument in SLC earlier this year. I remember looking at the monument and thinking about what faith these pioneers had in their beliefs and leader. And, while I do not (and could not) believe in what they do/did, I admit to feeling a little pang of jealousy - they had total faith, total commitment, undying devotion and total surrender to something much bigger than themselves. What terrible faith -- what awesome freedom.
One note - as a long time non-profit professional, the end regarding the current foundation left me seething. I hope the organization continues on the path of new found change.
July 22, 2016
I found the chapter on the Koreshans' hollow-earth model particularly interesting. And the quick visit with Edgar Peissart (p. 246), who was apparently a professional cult-joiner, is intriguing.
May 25, 2016
Easy read. I really enjoyed Millner's narative. I don't relate to the Koreshans much but am thankful for some new knowlede into my local history. Visited the Koreshan State Park as an FGCU student which sparked my interest into this book. I strongly recommend making a trip to the park.
November 30, 2015
Read my full review of The Allure of Immortality at
The Florida Book Review
.
May 27, 2016
Fascinating read!
July 19, 2016
Fascinating subject matter, wonderfully written. The author kept me engaged, start to finish.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews