The World of Horror

Voodoo: The Misconception Of - Written by Pinheadspenpal

You remind me of the babe
What babe? The babe with the power
What power? Power of voodoo
Who do? You do
Do what? Remind me of the babe

And this is how I will begin my article. Failing to find a voodoo themed film that I could be bothered to watch and review, I instead turn your attention to this fun fact filled article about……Jareth the Goblin King! Ha not really it’s actually about voodoo (but how cool/lame would a Jareth article be?!)

Voodoo, what are you?

So what is this thing called voodoo? When you imagine voodoo do you picture the
stereotypical dark magic, evil forces, zombies, (Jareth), sacrifices, voodoo dolls
and ritual dancing in the moonlight? Nope? Just me then?

In fact, as most of you probably know but because I want to contribute to
voodoo week I will write this article anyway, voodoo or vodou is a religion.

Voodoo is a belief that has no official writings so the research is based on experts’ opinions. The origin of voodoo is unknown however it is agreed that the religion began in Benin, West Africa. Once banned, the spirit religion is now believed to have over four million devotees in Benin alone and is practiced in other nations including the Caribbean, New Orleans and South America.

The religion spread to America when enslaved Africans were expected to adopt Christianity. Turning to the spirits of their ancestors for help, voodoo persisted, its philosophy evolving along the way.

In Haiti, the syncretic religion combines different beliefs including Native American ideas fused with Catholicism. Voodoo practitioners have faith in one Supreme Being and communicate via spirits called Loa that control nature and existence. The core of voodoo is the relationship between the living and the spirits. Followers have contact with the spirit world by means of spiritual possession which is an exhausting and difficult experience that the possessed have no memory of afterwards. Possession is erratic and can happen at any time. It is considered a temporary transformation into god as the soul of the living is taken over by a spirit who is permitted to walk among the living.
Voodoo priests are important and respected within the religious communities and are expected to call upon the spirits to heal the sick, help those in need and provide answers to life’s problems.

  Haitian Voodoo Priest Scooby-Doo’s depiction of a voodoo priest

A fancy dress company’s idea of a
voodoo priest

So now that you have brushed up on your knowledge of voodoo, it’s time to turn to films so this article will be relevant when it isn’t a voodoo themed week!

Voodoo and Zombies

Zombies have long been popularised within films such as George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead or George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead, or George A. Romero’s Land of The Dead, basically what I’m getting at is George is your go to man for all things zombie. But how truthful are zombies in relation to the practice of voodoo? (turns out the answer is very, but I’m getting ahead of myself).

A zombie.

Just to clarify there are two types of priests – one that practices white magic (good) and the one that dabbles in black magic (bad). A bokor (black magic dude) performs zombification on a normal person, who then dies and becomes a mindless drone living the rest of his/her life in misery unable to remember the past or even loves ones, controlled by the zombie master (how very sad indeed).

Documented cases include Wade Davis’ case of Clairvius Narcisse
(refer to the book The Serpent and The Rainbow, 1985). Clairvius Narcisse died in 1962,
but in 1980 he returned home, approaching his sister in a zombie-like state claiming he
had been made to work on a plantation for two years until the zombie master died.
Narcisse had been trying to get home ever since.

It is believed Narcisse had been poisoned with toxins that mimicked death. After his burial,
Narcisse was recovered and force fed a paste that induced hallucinations and memory loss
simulating the behaviour of a zombie.
A real zombie according to voodoo is under the spell of a bokor intoxicated by specific powders,
found in puffer fish and toads, which enter the blood stream. According to psychiatrist
Dr. Lamarque Douyon, other cases have involved people who are branded a zombie but are actually
suffering from severe mental illness. Davis concluded zombies exist – just not the
type portrayed in films!

Zombies in popular culture are depicted as the reanimated dead that feed on human flesh, in particular brains, infecting others with their bite. Usually the start of a pandemic, a zombie apocalypse consumes the world with only a select few trying to survive barricading themselves inside a house/shopping mall/pub etc (delete where necessary). This portrayal is a long way from the Haitian voodoo zombies – who aren’t actually dead and don’t feel the need to consume human flesh and whatnot. That’s a relief I guess, may disappoint those who are counting on a zombie apocalypse though. However if it turns out flesh eating zombies are in fact real then at least all those films, books, games etc (delete where necessary) have taught us how to survive. Find a weapon and always go for the head!

Zombie movies for your perusal:

http://www.theworldofhorror.com/#/zombie-films/4552708038

But if it’s voodoo horrors you’re looking for then here are some examples:
White Zombie (1932)
I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
Child’s Play (1988)
Venom (2005)
The Skeleton Key (2005- technically its hoodoo but it’s still a great film!)

That’s all folks – I could prattle on about zombies for another ten pages but who wants to read that when you can be watching awesome zombie movies instead?! Well done if you stuck with this article and made it to the end! As a reward you will not be subjected to zombification/voodoo dolls/being kidnapped by the Goblin King (delete where necessary).

Sources:
Voodoo a Legitimate Religion: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/10/1021_021021_taboovoodoo.html
http://zombie.wikia.com/wiki/Voodoo_zombie
http://zombies.monstrous.com/hollywood_zombies.htm
http://altreligion.about.com/od/controversymisconception/f/Voodoo_dolls.htm
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,952208-1,00.html