On May 18, 1926, the woman who had essentially invented the megachurch disappeared while swimming near Venice Beach.
Sister Aimee Semple McPherson, the Pentecostal preacher who had founded Hollywood's Angelus Temple and was known both for her faith-healing and her elaborate prop-oriented sermons (basically a Christian Carrot Top), was approached on the beach by a young couple asking her to pray for their sick child. If her life had been a horror movie, this would have been the moment when the ominous cello music started playing, but unfortunately for Sister Aimee, the sound film wouldn't be invented for another year. She followed the couple, climbed into their car, and immediately found herself chloroformed.
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