Hoodoo in Fiction Books Movies Film TV Television Shows Stage Plays

Unread post by **Lissa** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 10:03 pm

Just wondering if anyone else has seen the movie "Black Snake Moan"
with Samuel L. Jackson. It is definitely a "different" movie shall we
say, as well as a little offbeat, but the blues soundtrack is awesome.

There is no hoodoo in the movie, but there is an interesting part
where, when he is troubled, he drops a Bible on the ground and reads
the pages that the Bible fell open to.

Samuel L. Jackson performs a few of the songs himself (he plays an old
blues performer) and I thought the music in it would be something
right up Miss Cat's alley. He even does a song about Stagger Lee
(Stackolee) killing Billy Lyons over the stetson hat. If you like old
deep South blues music, it's worth it to rent just for that reason
alone. I am seriously thinking of purchasing the soundtrack.

I'm interested to see Miss Cat's thoughts on this.

Melissa Zimmerman #964

(I saw the trailers but did no see the movie. The title comes from a Blind Lemon Jefferson song about sex, and the trailers seemed to mostly be about sex as well. The bibliomancy scene you describe is something hat entered hoodoo from jewish and hence Christian tradition, bu i have NEVER heard anyone say to throw the Bible on the ground! You either open it with a key or with your fingers. Throwing it on the ground is one of those flashy-trashy Hollywood ideas, i suspect: It plays well for the camera and as far as most directord is concerned, visual dramatics are sufficiently important to overcome any desire to be true to the cultual traditions a film pretends to depict. --cat)

Unread post by **Literarylioness** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:41 pm

--- In hrcourse@yahoogroups.com, "Lissa" <lissa5168@...> wrote:
> >
> There is no hoodoo in the movie, but there is an interesting part
> where, when he is troubled, he drops a Bible on the ground and
reads the pages that the Bible fell open to.
> >(The bibliomancy scene you describe is something hat entered hoodoo
from jewish and hence Christian tradition, bu i have NEVER heard
anyone say to throw the Bible on the ground! You either open it with
a key or with your fingers. Throwing it on the ground is one of
those flashy-trashy Hollywood ideas, i suspect: It plays well for
the camera and as far as most directord is concerned, visual
dramatics are sufficiently important to overcome any desire to be
true to the cultual traditions a film pretends to depict. --cat)

Hi Cat,

I actually saw a Mambo throw down the Bible for a reading for me.
This was WAY before that movie came out. I know Vodouists do it in
Haiti and here in the U.S., but I have never heard of a rootworker
doing it.

Could be another mix of paths,

Mary Traversi
#721

Unread post by **Lissa** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:43 pm

Oh no, the movie itself has nothing to do with Hoodoo at all. I just
found the Bible part interesting because he didn't throw it on the
ground for divination, he actually tossed it out of anger and when he
noticed the passage it opened to, it appeared to give him an idea on
how to tame the wildness (or demons) of the beaten girl he found on
the road.

The only reason I mentioned the movie on list is because of the old
blues songs that were in it. Like Cat, I love the old southern blues
songs and thought the soundtrack was worth the mention. Samuel L.
Jackson did his own singing on a few of those songs in the movie (and
on the soundtrack) and actually has a wonderful voice as does S.
Epatha Merkerson.

Melissa Zimmerman #964

Unread post by **Beverly Welch** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:18 pm

I thought "Black Snake Moan" was a fantastic movie. I think the key word in describing the dropped Bible is that the character was indeed "troubled". I don't think it was meant to depict hoodoo in any way. I saw the scene from a somewhat different point of view than Miss Lissa and thought the bible was dropped in anger and that the main character then seemed to be reminded that it might be a good idea to consult the "good book".

This film did not seem to me to be a typical "Hollywood" type movie at all to me, though the trailers are very trashy and I don't think give a true indication of the story or characters depicted in the film.

Beverly Welch

(Thanks, Beverly. Your mention of the trailers being "trashy" compared to the actual movie is interesting -- when i saw those trailers i did think it looked too trashy for me... but maybe it's not. --cat)

Unread post by **Sister Jacqueline** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 10:07 pm

After coming back from a trip
up to Forestville to pick up order at
Lucky Mojo and meeting the new students
Gracie and Karl and also Johannes all
the way from Sweden, who was finishing
his last day at his three week
apprenticeship at hoodoo recipe making,
I come back he the hot Sacramento valley
to find that I had my "Root Doctor" DVD
in my mailbox. What a quick ship. Now,
I am going to go pop some popcorn and
indulge...

Jackie Mathers 496

(That was fast! Tell us what you think of the movie. It was good to see you and your girls, Jackie -- sorry i was knee-deep in apprentices and couldn't take my usual time to chat. As soon as we finished that last lesson, pinted out the apprenticeship certificates, and cleaned up, siva nd i took Johannes to Armstrong Woods state park to see some big Redwoods, then had dinner and came home. I will not be able to run many posts through the group tonight as we have to get up at 5:30 in order to get him to the early shuttle bus that'll take him down to the City to catch his flight home. ==cat)

Unread post by **Lisa Mertz** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 9:36 pm

Hi,

I get a twinge of a sort of homesickness when I read about
Forestville and Armstrong Woods and so forth on this list b/c I lived
in Sebastopol for awhile in the 90s and that was all my old stomping
grounds and it has a very special place in my heart.

Anyway, I got my DVD today, too. Very quick shipping! There are 2
films, "Root Doctor" and a documentary called "Folk Medicine," both
copyrighted 2005.
I'm looking forward to Jackie's thoughts on the films. I'm going to
a Victorian Seance this evening, so will post my review in another
day or so.

xo,
Lisa Mertz, #913

Unread post by **Sister Jacqueline** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 9:45 pm

--- In hrcourse@yahoogroups.com, "Studio One" <studioonefloral@...>
wrote:
> >
>
> After coming back from a trip
> up to Forestville to pick up order at
> Lucky Mojo and meeting the new students
> Gracie and Karl and also Johannes all
> the way from Sweden, who was finishing
> his last day at his three week
> apprenticeship at hoodoo recipe making,
> I come back he the hot Sacramento valley
> to find that I had my "Root Doctor" DVD
> in my mailbox. What a quick ship. Now,
> I am going to go pop some popcorn and
> indulge...
>
> Jackie Mathers 496
>
> (That was fast! Tell us what you think of the movie. It was good to
see you and your girls, Jackie -- sorry i was knee-deep in
apprentices and couldn't take my usual time to chat. As soon as we
finished that last lesson, pinted out the apprenticeship
certificates, and cleaned up, siva nd i took Johannes to Armstrong
Woods state park to see some big Redwoods, then had dinner and came
home. I will not be able to run many posts through the group tonight
as we have to get up at 5:30 in order to get him to the early shuttle
bus that'll take him down to the City to catch his flight home. ==cat)
> >

We watched the movie last night and I think that if given
more "meat", it could be a full blown film for the masses.
Right now as it stands, it has a problem in the storyline, then
intertwining issues, some action, a death, mystery, and then it
quickly finishes. It was about 45 minutes in length, plus or minus.

It also had another DVD with interviews and one of our group members
Mr. Jeffrey Anderson, is interviewed. I recognize his
name from posts. There was a clip about Miller's Rexall and an
interview with the son of the original owner. Shelves stocked with
Sonny Boy ('natch, since Sonny Boy products are from B'ham, AL)
Other historical things about rootdocters and another interview with
a white haired gentleman who I think is the son of the the white
Country sherriff hoodoo man, J. E. McTeer, who was the author of "High Sheriff of the Low Country." There was some music and a music video of the band playing. I saw some of cat's bottles and candles on the center circular table in the "receiving room"; some Sonny Boy and Indio products were seen. Some dialogue about true medical healing and psychosomatic suggestion.

Clearly this was a project for the film division of both the University and the community college there. It was a lot of work for a lot of students and if this was the Final Exam, I think they did well. While it had parts where you were left hanging (as if you wanted to know the reason "why"), perhaps they were under time constraints and had to cut the film as it is.

Have a good weekend, y'all

Jackie Mathers 496

Unread post by **Lisa Mertz** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 8:45 pm

> "Studio One" <studioonefloral@...> wrote:
>
>> We watched the movie last night and I think that if given
>> more "meat", it could be a full blown film for the masses.
>> Right now as it stands, it has a problem in the storyline, then
>> intertwining issues, some action, a death, mystery, and then it
>> quickly finishes. It was about 45 minutes in length, plus or minus.
>
>> Jackie Mathers 496

Hi Jackie and Everyone,

I agree with you that with some development, it could become a full-
length feature film. The script was compelling. The acting was
inconsistent, some very good, some needed a little work, but for a
student production, it was pretty well done. It was mostly (in my
interpretation) about the hopes and fears of the women going to
visit the root doc. There's a scene of him saying mysterious
things through an interpreter, which left me wishing to see him
actually doing some conjure work. (Now I feel kinda foolish for
bitching about the ripped-off label art -- imitation, as they say,
is the sincerest form of flattery...)

xoxo
Lisa Mertz, #913

Jacqueline_S · Unread post by **Jacqueline_S** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 8:17 pm

Hello Everyone,

I too purhased the movie and watched it along with the documentary
interviews. I feel the students did a very good job, and should
consider presenting this to Silvercreek Entertainment. I do agree it
could have been longer, but all and all they are off to a wonderful
start as being our future directors and producers who did there homework
and interviews well, not being scared to promote the subject of "The
RootWorker". Good Job Kids....

Jacquelyn Martin - Student #919

Unread post by **Priestess Najah** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:22 am

Hi cat and fellow students!

I love movies and especially enjoy watching films that enhance my areas of study.

A few years ago I saw a movie called "Eve's Bayou". It touched a deep place in me, as I was totally drawn to the character portrayed by Dianne Carroll. Dianne plays a Hoodoo Mama who lives in the bayou.

Ever since I became a student in our wonderful course, I've been searching for that film. Unable to find it in any of our local stores, I finally ordered it from a local retailer. It just came yesterday, and I'm excited to watch it again, now with my Hoodoo knowledge.

Has anyone else seen this movie? If so, what did you think about it? Ms. cat, do feel it's an appropriate movie for our student archives?

Sincerely,
Najah Lightfoot Bagley #1262

(Hi -- "Eve's Bayou" is one of the most-frequently-mentioned films in which hoodoo appears, and has always met with general popular approval around these parts! --cat)

Unread post by **Inominandum** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 10:33 pm

I just watched "The Fugitive Kind" with Marlon Brando. It's not really
a hoodoo movie, but has a Conjure Man named Uncle Pleasant as a
character. I haven't read "Orpheus Descending", the Tennissee Williams
play that it was based on, so I don't know if he has a bigger role in
that.

Jason Miller, Student 99

Unread post by **serenityroots** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:35 pm

I have watched the Movie "The Alamo" several times and never noticed
they do an egg healing in it! Jim Bowie is dying of consumption and
they show his love , a Mexican woman and her helpers doing an egg
healing. They show a closup of the egg with a big old hole in it. (I
assume this is symbolic of the hole in his lung but I'll know more when
I read more about the healing.) Anyway, I'm excited to understand more
and more imagery thanks to you and your teachings.

Helen Struckmann #1119

Unread post by KM » Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:08 pm

they have mentioned hoodoo the past two episodes of true blood
it is a series on hbo on sunday nights
next week there will be what they are calling a hoodoo exorcism for $450

she uses stones and the demon goes in to an oppossum and then she drowns it

i have no clue how authentic the work shown is but they are portraying hoodoo as something real and effective

i really enjoy the show
kristi marcus
#1216 G

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Unread post by **Priestess Najah** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 1:32 pm

--- In hrcourse@yahoogroups.com, "KM" <kmarcus@...> wrote:
> >
> they have mentioned hoodoo the past two episodes of true blood
> it is a series on hbo on sunday nights
> next week there will be what they are calling a hoodoo exorcism for
$450
> >
> she uses stones and the demon goes in to an oppossum and then she
drowns it
> >
> i have no clue how authentic the work shown is but they are
portraying hoodoo as something real and effective
> >
> i really enjoy the show
> kristi marcus
> #1216 G

It's family night in our house when TrueBlood is on! I was wondering
if anyone else in the group was watching it. Last week they were
wearing raccoon penis bone necklaces, saying they were for good luck,
although from HITAP they are used in love charms. I'm just happy to
see the word Hoodoo show up in pop culture (as you put it). May it
bring us prosperity and abundance!

Najah Lightfoot Bagley #1262G

Unread post by **Madame_Nadia** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 6:13 pm

>
> Najah Lightfoot Bagley #1262G wrote:
>
> It's family night in our house when TrueBlood is on! I was wondering
> if anyone else in the group was watching it.
>

My husband and I LOVE the show. We don't have TV, so we wait till late
Sunday night to watch it over the internet. I even downloaded the theme song
as a ringtone for my cellphone. I am also enjoying to see the topic of
hoodoo featured, and can't wait to see what they are going to show about the
hoodoo lady. Though i am not sure about the "crone stone" she used on Tara's
mother to get the demon out.

Last week they were wearing raccoon penis bone necklaces, saying they were
> > for good luck, although from HITAP they are used in love charms.
>

I thought they mentioned that the bone is used for "good luck with the
ladies..."
<snip>

Blessings,
Ms. Nadezda Karuna Potter #1166 G

www.shakticonjure.com

> >
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Unread post by KM » Tue Oct 28, 2008 6:37 pm

It's family night in our house when TrueBlood is on! I was wondering
if anyone else in the group was watching it. Last week they were
wearing raccoon penis bone necklaces, saying they were for good luck,
although from HITAP they are used in love charms. I'm just happy to
see the word Hoodoo show up in pop culture (as you put it). May it
bring us prosperity and abundance!

Najah Lightfoot Bagley #1262G

-----

i wear a coon bone penis (roadkill)

signed by jt leroy

(We sold all the penis bones to "j.t.leroy" that "he" sold and gave away. They were not "roadkill." They came from the trappers and hunters. Alas, this "j.t.leroy" entity was a fake persona -- a middle aged woman writer named Laura Albert pretending to be a young transgendered man who was a precociously literary 21-year-ld cross-dressing hiv-positive recovering drug addict male protitute writing an autobiography. All fake. We always wondered why the "guy" had a middle-aged woman's voice and did not sound like a gay or transgendered man supposedly from the South, but like a regular California middle-aged woman. But we never asked. You know what they say: "Don't ask, don't tell." We sold her ("him") literally hundreds of racoon penis bones over a four-year period. They were signed by Laura Albert's sister-in-law Savannah Knoop, who played the JT Leroy role at personal appearances. --cat)

in the book sarah all the prostitutes wore them

(Yeah, but hon, the book "Sarah" is FAKE. Bad fake. Like, totally fake-fake-fake. A lot of folks got taken in by the con. I think she got all the info on penis bones from my web page, no kidding, and then ran with it. The conceit of all these young men dressed as women wearing racoon penis bones at truck stops throughout the South and tricking men truckers that they were gals, while wearing these big ol' coon dongs around their necks was just so ... well ... fake. --cat)

i thought they called the one on true blood a raccoon penis but it was actually a virginia oppossum penis he was wearing

they have the forked penis and ejaculate into the female's nose and she gets herself pregnant

i am sure true blood will bring us abundance

it is a very popular show and all internet roads lead to lucky mojo

yay that you are enjoying it, too!

kristi marcus #1216 G

(Popular culture is like silly putty. Unless you freeze it, it won;t hold its shape. It oozes and collapses into a silly puddle.

From Wikipedia:

"In June 2007, Albert was sued by Antidote International Films Inc. for fraud, which claims that a contract signed with JT Leroy to make a feature film of Sarah is null and void.[21], [3]. On June 22, 2007, Laura Albert was found guilty of fraud by a Manhattan jury, and ordered to pay $110,000 to Antidote, as well as an extra $6,500 in punitive damages.[22]"

--cat)

Unread post by KM » Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:01 pm

i wear a coon bone penis (roadkill)

signed by jt leroy

(We sold all the penis bones to "j.t.leroy" that "he" sold and gave away. They were not "roadkill." They came from the trappers and hunters. Alas, this "j.t.leroy" entity was a fake persona -- a middle aged woman writer named Laura Albert pretending to be a young transgendered man who was a precociously literary 21-year-ld cross-dressing hiv-positive recovering drug addict male protitute writing an autobiography. All fake. We always wondered why the "guy" had a middle-aged woman's voice and did not sound like a gay or transgendered man supposedly from the South, but like a regular California middle-aged woman. But we never asked. You know what they say: "Don't ask, don't tell." We sold her ("him") literally hundreds of racoon penis bones over a four-year period. They were signed by Laura Albert's sister-in-law Savannah Knoop, who played the JT Leroy role at personal appearances. --cat)

laura is a dear friend of mine

and she did lie to me also for many years

i just did not want to get into the jt drama

it is far too crazy

i am curious how many bones she bought from you LOL

i got the penis from a woman in the north east but she could have capped what jt sent her

kristi marcus

#1216 G

(As i said above, she bought hundreds. --cat)

Kirk White · Unread post by **Kirk White** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:30 pm

Someone on the list wrote:
> > i thought they called the one on true blood a raccoon penis but it was actually a virginia oppossum penis he was wearing

they have the forked penis and ejaculate into the female's nose and she gets herself pregnant

No. On True Blood they did say if was a possum bone and mentioned the forked penis. I found it interesting precisely because it was similar to, but not the same as, a raccoon bone. It caught my ear and got me wondering how authentic the use of possum bone is. Is it really part of hoodoo or did they just pick the possum bone because it looks weirder than a raccoon bone?

Kirk White, # 824 (G)

(Hey, even mice and squirrels have penis bnes. The raccoon happens to have a very large one for the size of the animal. The coon dong is the popular one, for many reasons, and its use goes back to Naive American cultures. --cat)

Unread post by KM » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:40 pm

i am curious how many bones she bought from you LOL

i got the penis from a woman in the north east but she could have capped what jt sent her

kristi marcus

#1216 G

(As i said above, she bought hundreds. --cat)

laura probably signed them all

it is possible that the roadkill part is a lie i told myself

i am going to start wearing it to see if i get lucky

kristi marcus #1216 G
emoved]

Unread post by **Mike Rock** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:41 pm

On Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 3:41 PM, cleverlady3 <cleverlady3@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Last week they were
> wearing raccoon penis bone necklaces, saying they were for good luck,
> although from HITAP they are used in love charms.

Well when a "love charm" works don't they (at least the dudes) call it
*gettin lucky*? ^_^

mike rock 360G

--
http://www.mike-rock.com

Unread post by KM » Wed Oct 29, 2008 9:53 pm

----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Rock
To: hrcourse@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 6:26 AM
Subject: Re: [hrc] Re: misc hoodoo in pop culture

On Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 3:41 PM, cleverlady3 <cleverlady3@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Last week they were
> wearing raccoon penis bone necklaces, saying they were for good luck,
> although from HITAP they are used in love charms.

Well when a "love charm" works don't they (at least the dudes) call it
*gettin lucky*? ^_^

mike rock 360G

that is pretty funny that you said that mike without reading my get lucky comment

i am not a dude

the bone will get tested on halloween at the death metal show

kristi marcus #1216 G

--
http://www.mike-rock.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Unread post by KM » Wed Oct 29, 2008 9:53 pm

----- Original Message -----
From: Kirk White
To: hrcourse@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 10:00 AM
Subject: [hrc] Re: misc hoodoo in pop culture

Someone on the list wrote:
> i thought they called the one on true blood a raccoon penis but it was actually a virginia oppossum penis he was wearing

they have the forked penis and ejaculate into the female's nose and she gets herself pregnant

No. On True Blood they did say if was a possum bone and mentioned the forked penis. I found it interesting precisely because it was similar to, but not the same as, a raccoon bone. It caught my ear and got me wondering how authentic the use of possum bone is. Is it really part of hoodoo or did they just pick the possum bone because it looks weirder than a raccoon bone?

Kirk White, # 824 (G)

(Hey, even mice and squirrels have penis bnes. The raccoon happens to have a very large one for the size of the animal. The coon dong is the popular one, for many reasons, and its use goes back to Naive American cultures. --cat)

oh good

i am glad true blood got it right

i have a possum ministry and i know a possum baculum when i see one

i love my raccoon dong, cat!

it was quite the conversation piece at work today

kristi marcus

#1216 G

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Unread post by **SelahS** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 5:24 pm

Hi Miss Cat,

Don't know if this would be of interest - but hoodoo makes another appearance in the world of culture (thinking of this recent thread).

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/arts/ ... ref=slogin?

Meanwhile - I've been wondering/hoping others were catching the references on Trueblood! I agree: the crone stone thing is nothing I've ever heard of (growing up in the tradition in the MS/LA area), but it will be interesting to see where they go with it. Also - check out the altar in the mother's (who had the hoodoo "exorcism") house - you have to look quick - but pretty interesting.

Kindest regards to all,

Selah Saterstrom, G (#942)

(Thanks for the link, Selah -- interesting, as always. --cat)

Unread post by **sephirah** » Mon Nov 03, 2008 7:31 pm

There are plenty of people who grew up with the myth about the nose
mating ritual of the opossum and it is still repeated here in the
South even today. I am not a mythbuster, I love them but it is a myth
nonetheless just as touching a baby bird or bunny and the mother
smelling your scent and abandoning them is unfounded.

If you've never actually seen a male opossum penis, it is indeed
quite a sight to see. I have rehabbed injured and orphaned wildlife
for decades and observed the males washing their "winkies" as dogs
and cats do. The Native Americans named the opossum, which
means "white face". Their species Didelphis Virginiana refers to the
state of Virginia where it was first observed by early settlers and
didelphis means "double uterus" which the females have to accommodate
the forked penis. It can be a veterinarian nightmare when
unreleaseable females are spayed if they are not specially trained
for the anatomy.

Just a little trivial background on the myth and maybe totally OT but
I adore this animal, slept with them, traveled with them, spent many
sleepless nights feeding joeys. They are this nation's only marsupial,
70 million years old virtually unchanged. That ranks them high on my
list of respect.

Marion Wethington
#727G

(Thank you, Marion. That was great! I love learning things. I have had them play "dead" in my living room and lured them "back to life" with dried cat food. --cat)

Unread post by KM » Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:49 pm

----- Original Message -----
From: Marion
To: hrcourse@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2008 11:59 AM
Subject: [hrc] Re: misc hoodoo in pop culture (opossum forked penis)

There are plenty of people who grew up with the myth about the nose
mating ritual of the opossum and it is still repeated here in the
South even today. I am not a mythbuster, I love them but it is a myth
nonetheless just as touching a baby bird or bunny and the mother
smelling your scent and abandoning them is unfounded.

If you've never actually seen a male opossum penis, it is indeed
quite a sight to see. I have rehabbed injured and orphaned wildlife
for decades and observed the males washing their "winkies" as dogs
and cats do. The Native Americans named the opossum, which
means "white face". Their species Didelphis Virginiana refers to the
state of Virginia where it was first observed by early settlers and
didelphis means "double uterus" which the females have to accommodate
the forked penis. It can be a veterinarian nightmare when
unreleaseable females are spayed if they are not specially trained
for the anatomy.

Just a little trivial background on the myth and maybe totally OT but
I adore this animal, slept with them, traveled with them, spent many
sleepless nights feeding joeys. They are this nation's only marsupial,
70 million years old virtually unchanged. That ranks them high on my
list of respect.

Marion Wethington
#727G

(Thank you, Marion. That was great! I love learning things. I have had them play "dead" in my living room and lured them "back to life" with dried cat food. --cat)

cool to know it is a myth about the nose

i have also rehabbed hundreds of possums but never seen them in the act lol

i thought the playing dead was a myth because i have never seen any do that

probably because i deal with orphans and they think i am their mom

so they feel safe

i adore them, too

i have to wear my hair up and carry them around that way just to keep them happy between feedings

kristi marcus

#1216 G

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

EcleckticMama · Unread post by **EcleckticMama** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:32 pm

I was talking with my husband about the meeting the devil at the crossroads rituals and he recalled this movie starring Ralph Macchio from 1986. We are hoping to track it down to watch soon.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090888/

Ralph Macchio plays a young man wanting to be a blues guitarist and goes to meet an old blues artist who was a friend of Robert Johnson (purported to have gotten his talent from the devil).

May be worth a look.

Unread post by **Mother Mystic** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 2:17 am

I believe it's available at Netflix. Ralph Macchio plays a classical guitar student from Julliard who wants to track down the last song Robert Johnson wrote. Lots of great guitar music!

Unread post by **nagasiva** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 2:49 am

the Crossroads movie (i have not seen it) is based on a mistake of reporting on Blues musical lore as i understand it. it was TOMMY JOHNSON (pron. "Toe-Mee Jones-Sun") who sold his soul to the Devil, not Robert Johnson. while the Karate Kid must have been fun to see in this role (Macchio was excellent in that earlier film), he appears to have put his energy into a project founded on an historical error.

cf. http://dkpresents.wordpress.com/2009/01 ... t-johnson/
http://www.tom-graves.com/id31.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190590/trivia

EcleckticMama · Unread post by **EcleckticMama** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 1:00 pm

Yes, I had read miss cat's page on the Crossroads magic with the correction about Robert Johnson, so I knew the misinformation.

My husband and I were able to watch it here at home last weekend. The most disturbing thing is the European Faustian contractual soul-selling overlay to the whole story with the old man (friend and band member of Robert Johnson's). So while the crossroad magic tale is there, there is also that odd anxiety and regret for entering into the contract that propels the story and provides the motivation to the old man teaching the young one about being a rural blues man.

It's an interesting coming of age tale as the young priveleged white man (Long Island, NY) is exposed to Southern African American culture (and even others) under the tutelage of the old harmonica player. Too bad the screenwriters and director couldn't have put a little more effort into getting the crossroad devil aspects right.

misterkurtis · Unread post by **misterkurtis** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 6:54 pm

I've heard that Son House also perpetuated the story of Robert Johnson selling his soul. Have you heard that?

chatocamacho · Unread post by **chatocamacho** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:13 am

Hi I was just wondering if the movie accurately describes the practice of hoodoo

Unread post by **Literarylioness** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:59 pm

chatocamacho wrote:Hi I was just wondering if the movie accurately describes the practice of hoodoo

Cat was a non-credited consultant on that movie and the answer is "yes" and "no." There is a section in the movie where Kate Hudson's girlfriend explains the difference between Voodoo and Hoodoo, which is correct. The ending is totally off and the whole thing about "not believing" is inaccurate. I can do some fine work on a "non-believer" any day.

Mary

Mercurious · Unread post by **Mercurious** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 7:24 pm

I'd say that from what I know about Hoodoo, yeah, there were things portrayed correctly in the movie. My favorite is the red brick dust. However, just as literarylioness points out, the ending of the movie is NOT Hoodoo and is 100% bonafide Hollywood magic.

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 7:48 pm

It is a horror movie. That's about the long and short of it.

Unread post by **Oseaana** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 4:01 pm

Hi Everyone

We just watched the Spike Lee film *Miracle at St. Anna* the other night and there is a very small reference to Hoodoo in the film. If you don't know your Hoodoo you would miss it.

Without giving away too much...the film is set in World War II Italy and the story follows four black soldiers of the all-black 92nd Infantry Division. The film also surrounds the mysterious marble head (from a statue) one soldier, Train, is carrying with him.

Train believes the marble head to be good luck and that it also makes him invisible...and here is the Hoodoo reference. Train says something to the effect of the marble head working better than black cat bone!

I enjoyed the film but when I heard that line I had to pause the DVD so that I can explain to my partner what Train was referring to.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1046997/ << link to the movies IMDB

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 1:01 am

Thanks, Oseaana -- That is very cool!

Unread post by **rygD** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 2:40 pm

Oseaana,

I watched that film the other day, and caught that reference. I kept thinking "Wow, that is the biggest mojo I've ever seen" every time I would see him rubbing on it or lugging it around. I wanted to come mention it here.

It is one of the few movies out there that also really pissed me off. The general mistrust of the Captain, from the time they called for fire on, really got to me, and I feel it was unacceptable that these types of events occurred while these men were dying for a nation that largely didn't accept them and partially due to some of those in charge of them not thinking them capable based on their prejudices. (Hope I didn't give too much away...sorry)

fausto · Unread post by **fausto** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 2:33 pm

nagasiva wrote:the Crossroads movie (i have not seen it) is based on a mistake of reporting on Blues musical lore as i understand it. it was TOMMY JOHNSON (pron. "Toe-Mee Jones-Sun") who sold his soul to the Devil, not Robert Johnson. while the Karate Kid must have been fun to see in this role (Macchio was excellent in that earlier film), he appears to have put his energy into a project founded on an historical error.

cf. http://dkpresents.wordpress.com/2009/01 ... t-johnson/
http://www.tom-graves.com/id31.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190590/trivia

The movie O Brother where art thou gets this partially correct, in that TOMMY Johnson makes an appearance and claims to have performed the ritual, however, it still refers to the man at the crossroads as the devil (described by Tommy as a white man) and perpetuates the faustian aspect.

Unread post by **carolina_dean** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 9:51 pm

For those of you who haven't heard. Minerva, the hoodoo woman who was portrayed in the motion picture Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil has passed away. You can read the full story here http://www.savannahnow.com/node/719894

carolina dean

supper · Unread post by **supper** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 11:24 pm

You will not be forgotten Minerva!!

KellyKat · Unread post by **KellyKat** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 9:49 pm

Sorry to hear of her passing! That's one of my all time favorite books/movies.

LeBaptiste · Unread post by **LeBaptiste** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 7:05 pm

The Crossroads movie makes no reference to Son House selling his soul. It only makes reference to the fact that he was an excellent musician, and that the young Macchio would probably never reach such a level of proficiency.

Unread post by **benitaw78** » Sun Aug 16, 2009 8:03 am

I don't know if anybody watches adultswim(cartoon network) but I found a reference to hoodoo and the blues on one of their shows. The show is called Metalocalypse and the main characters are in a death metal band called dethklok. In this episode the band is depressed and the oldest living blues man takes them to the delta to educate them on the blues. If you go on adultswim.com, go to the catagory "shows" and find Metalocalypse-then videos-then favorites. You'll have to scroll through the episodes because their not in order, but here are the names to look for: Mississipi delta, Giving the Blues, Dethlok Blues, Crossroads.

I MUST WARN YOU!!!! The show is very violent and graphic. These episodes in particular aren't too bad though. The cartoon is actrually supposed to a comedy(BTW when searching for this show it's in the comedy catagory) and if you can get past the blood and guts...I guess it can be funny. LOL. I usually don't watch it myself, but I enjoy adultswim and watch Boondocks religiously and happened to come across it.

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Sun Aug 16, 2009 4:52 pm

Thanks for the pointer. Something tells me i won;t be watching, 'cause blood and guts is not my thing (too much rought stuff in the world as it is -- i can barely sit through the youtube video of Dick Van Dyke explaining slapstick comedy). But i'm sure others will enjoy it.

Unread post by **benitaw78** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 7:54 am

Your welcome. I don't like blood and guts either, thats why I put the warning out for people sensitive to that stuff. It's a shame because they had a cool theme going with the story. Dick Van Dyke and slapstick comedy...lol lol lol...I agree with you on that. Truly a scary experience!

Unread post by **benitaw78** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 7:56 am

BTW Mrs Cat..did you read my other post about John Domingo of Charleston S.C.( Do you know anything about him at all? His nickname was the black constable.

misslicorice · Unread post by **misslicorice** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 7:51 am

I love Metalocalypse! I would have never expected to see it mentioned on this forum, but Bluesklok is a relevant episode. The best part is when the band tries to trick the devil they meet at the crossroads.

Jesterjosh · Unread post by **Jesterjosh** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 9:30 pm

As for the rituals recorded on vinyl, while references to hoodoo are replete in the blues, I don't know of any recordings such as we saw in the movie. Though, being a Yankee, I may be wrong on that count. . . *Hollywood Vampire laugh*

bluesprof · Unread post by **bluesprof** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 11:28 am

I knew Son House and he would tell different stories at different times to different people. I think, as a product of his cultural context, he believed in conjuring and such, but I'm not sure whether Johnson (Robert that is) actually ever mentioned selling his soul to Son. I did complete some interesting research a year ago (published in the February 2008 issue of Living Blues magazine) about Ike Zimmerman, Johnson's musical mentor who did, in fact, teach him how to play the blues by practicing in a graveyard, sitting on the grave stones, but Zimmerman's daughter insists that they did so because the graveyard was a quite place to play where they knew no one (living at least lol) would bother them.

misterkurtis · Unread post by **misterkurtis** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:45 am

bluesprof wrote:I knew Son House and he would tell different stories at different times to different people. I think, as a product of his cultural context, he believed in conjuring and such, but I'm not sure whether Johnson (Robert that is) actually ever mentioned selling his soul to Son. I did complete some interesting research a year ago (published in the February 2008 issue of Living Blues magazine) about Ike Zimmerman, Johnson's musical mentor who did, in fact, teach him how to play the blues by practicing in a graveyard, sitting on the grave stones, but Zimmerman's daughter insists that they did so because the graveyard was a quite place to play where they knew no one (living at least lol) would bother them.

Thanks, this is interesting. I'll check out the article.

bluesprof · Unread post by **bluesprof** » Sun Oct 11, 2009 11:21 am

yeah misterkurtis... it is interesting, and of course in the last sentence I made a typo... it should be that the graveyard was a QUIET place to practice, not QUITE!

Hawk

fausto · Unread post by **fausto** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 9:31 pm

Surprised no one has brought this one up yet. Although it is referred to as voodoo, the practices in the film (with the notable exception of the veve outside Elzora's house) seem a lot more like rootwork to me. Early on, the character Mozelle, who performs readings as a spiritual advisor, provides a client with a lodestone, which she says to "wrap in chamois, and tie with a piece of devil's shoestring" and to "keep the bag next to her skin"(been a while since I've seen the movie, so I might not have that entirely correct). Mozelle's rival, Elzora, also performs readings, albeit with cat bones, and is more freely willing to offer spells to her customers, even spells to hurt or kill (to her credit, she does offer protection to a client as an alternative to killing, but the offer is rejected). Overall, the depiction of hoodoo seems fairly accurate, although the movie does hedge its bets by providing both a supernatural and mundane explanation for the finale.

Here's a question: at the end of the film, Eve pays Elzora to off her father and provides some of his hair. Although she assumes that Elzora will make her a "voodoo doll", the witch instead makes "a wax coffin" and places the hair in the belly of a snake, which she then buries in the victim's family plot. Is the coffin like a figural candle, or does the hair go inside it ? Is this rootwork, voodoun, or something they made up?

Unread post by **Devi Spring** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 4:50 pm

Well, mini coffins, or small boxes that function as such are used in hoodoo. And burying spells in graveyards is certainly traditional hoodoo.

roman · Unread post by **roman** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:16 pm

Just watched that movie, and found it very enjoyable and entertaining.

As far as the historical accuracy of it, well, I personally don't expect film industry entertainment products to be factual in any way.

I particularly enjoyed the soundtrack.

M.Roman

ANGEL007 · Unread post by **ANGEL007** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:09 pm

If there really a "conjure of sacrifice" like the recording in The Skeleton Key? You know, movies usually get things from real life things then put a twist on them them ?

Unread post by **Turnsteel** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 5:31 am

Well, there are albums that talk about hoodoo and even mention some spells, their called blues albums. Are there things like the The Conjure of Sacrifice album in that silly movie your thinking of? No.

Read about the blues in hoodoo Here

Unread post by **ConjureMan** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 4:27 pm

What in the abyss is a "conjure of sacrifice"? I'm always behind on my movies.

Speaking of Hoodoo in movies, if I recall correctly in Forrest Gump there is a scene with Bubba's mama and she's wearing a mojo hand around her neck. Thought it was a nifty little addition.

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 11:43 pm

The "conjure of sacrifice" was all made up for the horror movie "Skeleton Key." It is not based on ANYTHING real, nor were any real field recordings about conjure made during the era depicted. The first amateur field recordings of root doctors describing conjure spells were made by Harry Hyatt in 1936 - 1940. In the movie, the record dates from around 1920.

In the original screenplay, as given to me, the recording dates to the 1910s (and the party-goers were to be dressed accordingly), but as a consultant hired to touch up, edit, and suggest material for the portions of the film that dealt with hoodoo folk magic, i convinced the director that field recording equipment did not exist that early in time, so the recordings ought to be moved to the 1920s (still very early for field recordings, but technically possible).

The movie draws on elements of folk-magic but it is not about real conjure. It's a HORROR movie, that is, a fantasy.

People swapping bodies, things like that? A horror movie.

MydniteSon · Unread post by **MydniteSon** » Thu Jul 29, 2010 10:59 pm

That was probably my favorite episode of the series. I literally fell out of my chair laughing when they did the contract negotiation with the Devil at the crossroads.

Social1978 · Unread post by **Social1978** » Sat Aug 28, 2010 11:15 am

I was watching the movie the Skeleton Key. I know that Cat worked on this movie as an advisor as she told me this when I went to her store to purchase some items a while ago.

I would just like to know about the symbols in the movie. When the old lady was drawing the circles and had a book with all these symbols, what is this stuff? Is this something that can make the spell more powerful? If so how do I get a hold of this stuff and learn it? Just wondering if it was real.

Also is it really possible to tie someone's tongue through a spell so that they can't speak?

Don't think so but anyway just wondering about the powers of HooDoo and the symbols.