Hoodoo in Fiction Books Movies Film TV Television Shows Stage Plays

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Fri May 24, 2013 11:04 am

Hello, Papa Gee --

We did receive the soaps -- which were lovely in fragrance and very well made -- and gave them out as gifts to Lucky Mojo staff members during the Hoodoo Fest this year. Thanks so much for your thoughtful kindness.

Unread post by **Joseph Magnuson** » Fri May 24, 2013 2:49 pm

Knowing what I have known about Cat's involvement in the making of the movie, I always sigh during the closing credits. It is a shame.

Unread post by **jwmcclin** » Fri May 24, 2013 5:32 pm

It truly is...

Unread post by **carolina_dean** » Mon May 27, 2013 3:50 pm

I greatly enjoyed working on the screenplay and taking part in the development process -- and i only regret that the producers totally screwed me out of the promised screen credit which they had offered me.

Miss Cat, it may be little consolation, but the director did mention you as a consultant in the director's commentary. As I recall, it is during the scene in which Caroline visit the laundry mat hoodoo shop and he did say you donated many of the candles and things seen on screen. I only know because when I moved to a new apartment a few years ago I didn't have cable for a week and watched a lot of my DVD's.

Unread post by **Jfrog** » Wed May 29, 2013 1:13 am

I watched this movie twice in a row the other night. Good movie, though I was wondering about the sacrifice thing, myself. I had never read it. Totally cool that Cat helped! Awesome!

Unread post by **Joseph Magnuson** » Wed May 29, 2013 5:15 pm

Good call, Dean! I have watched the movie through with the commentary on as well and do recall that scene and the mention. It's been a while now, though!

Thanks for sharing the information with us.

Unread post by **KhonsuMes** » Tue Jun 25, 2013 11:34 am

Well, Dang.

I've never seen The Skeleton Key, but will soon!

Thanks for the great info about it, everyone.

Unread post by **papagee** » Sun Aug 25, 2013 5:18 am

Been thinking about "The Skeleton Key," Miss Cat. How about a "skeleton key" lucky mojo page? If they didn't follow through, I say go ahead and write about all the elements of the movie that were included based on your consultations.

On the flip side, you could also mention the elements that are not accurate.

Just a thought, but go ahead --- toot your own horn!

PapaGee

LaMarquise · Unread post by **LaMarquise** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 5:06 am

Lol, nope. I work at a movie theatre...and if I know jalink in real life, I'm unaware!

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Wed Dec 18, 2013 10:27 pm

Problem: Identical post from two different members.

Marquise posts from IP address 68.12.94.128 and has 25 posts, plus a sigline.

Jalink posts from IP address 120.39.46.4 and has 1 post only, the copy of Marquise's post.

Investigation: When i took a random, unique snippet of the text ("large number of young Christian players who raised a stink") to google for a match, only this forum thread came up, hence Marquise did not copy anyone else, but Jalink copied Marquise.

(I used to read Nancy Drew books when i was young, too. I learned how to be a sleuth from them.)

Conclusion: Jalink copied Marquise's post verbatim, a violation of Forum Terms of Service.

Motive: Possibly Jalink made the duplicate post to see if spam-bots were being moderated or policed.

Result: Jalink is now banned by username, email address, and IP address. Marquise remains a member in good standing of the Forum. Joseph Magnuson gets a Great Big Hug for Sharp Eyes and Diligent Thread-Merging.

angelael · Unread post by **angelael** » Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:21 pm

"The United States of Hoodoo" film is available now as an Amazon Instant Video.

patientlywaiting · Unread post by **patientlywaiting** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 10:36 pm

I second what papagee said, I just watched The Skeleton Key and it's very good!

Sarafina · Unread post by **Sarafina** » Wed Jul 02, 2014 6:27 am

papagee_whitemojo wrote:Been thinking about this, Miss Cat. How about a "skeleton key" lucky mojo page? If they didn't follow through, I say go ahead and write about all the elements of the movie that were included based on your consultations.

On the flip side, you could also mention the elements that are not accurate.

Just a thought, but go ahead --- toot your own horn!

PapaGee

Excellent point. you should definitely consider this Miss Cat

Unread post by **dorothybaez** » Wed Jul 02, 2014 2:50 pm

I agree. My mom says, "If you don't honk your own horn, nobody else is going to do it for you."

morgana05 · Unread post by **morgana05** » Tue Aug 05, 2014 11:32 pm

The Skeleton Key happens to be one of my favorite movies, and I've recently started studying hoodoo and would've had no idea what to look for if I had not read through all of these comments. I also had no idea that Cat worked on the movie. That's amazing to hear, even if you didn't get the credit you deserved.

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Fri Aug 15, 2014 12:43 pm

Hi, Abigail Rose,

I watched the trailer and Jessabelle and Voodoo Man is not about hoodoo at all. It is a horror movie about white people enduring some sort of curse from a spirit. There are very brief intercuts of what appear to be black people performing a Voodoo ceremony (or being threatening; it is almost impossible to tell, even on a frame-by-frame viewing). The plot is fairly tyical of Anglo-American approaches to narratives of spiritual and locational curses. If it had been about hoodoo, we would have expected black people to be at the narrative center -- this movie is about white people and their cultural mores.

By the way, it is my experience that most movies filmed by white directors in which hoodoo is alluded to or mentioned tend to present hoodoo in one of three ways:

1) Hoodoo is presented as the Haitian religion of Voodoo.

2) Hoodoo is presented as a form of magical attack on white people by black people (see "The Skeleton Key").

3) Hoodoo is presented as a magical system whereby black people assist white people who are cursed (see "Apprentice to Murder")

A film may also mingle two of the three elements. I suspect that "Jessebelle" will be found to mingle (1) and (3). Very rarely a white director will present hoodoo as part of the culture of black Americans which is not performed in reference to white Americans -- that is, neither used to attack them, nor used to cure them of an attack.

For a better look at hoodoo, see this link instead -- it is a clip about hoodoo in Maxton, North Carolina in 2009 and is taken from a movie that actually documents Voodoo. The two are distinguished and shown separately in the movie. The film maker is a German anthropologist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3meQg_Q5Yg

In this clip we see a root doctor making a mojo, using easily identified John the Conqueror Roots and what seems to be Five Finger Grass, as well as a sachet powder and Court Case Oil.

Unread post by **DocMurphy** » Fri Aug 15, 2014 5:44 pm

I'm ordering Jessabelle and Voodoo Man right now. This will be useful.

Doc Murphy
St. Paul, MN

Unread post by **Miss Aida** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 10:34 am

Hello,

I really liked the movie "Skeleton Key."

Miss Aida

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Fri Apr 03, 2015 11:02 pm

'Coffin Point' TV series planned about hoodoo-practicing sheriff J.E. McTeer

Read more here: http://www.islandpacket.com/2015/04/03/ ... rt-co.html

Naexis · Unread post by **Naexis** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 4:49 pm

I'm in the midst of watching the third season of American Horror Story, entitled coven. It takes place in New Orleans and even features Marie Laveau as a character. Quite dramaticized, gory, over-the-top and the word hoodoo is never used, but it's kind of fun if you like that sort of thing. Just made me think of this thread. Worth a mention at least.

Unread post by **Miss Aida** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 9:33 pm

Hello, Naexis ,

Yep. That was an awesome season!

angelael · Unread post by **angelael** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 6:40 pm

So what is this lady up to?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPx7CZBUlg

I thought it certainly could be related to some sort of hoodoo working.

Unread post by **veggiekiller88** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 8:14 pm

That was a really interesting clip! Is there a reason why he smashed up the JTC roots?

Unread post by **Miss Aida** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 10:12 pm

Hello, veggiekiller88 ,

So, we will have to wait for cat to see this post

Take care

LuckyLobo · Unread post by **LuckyLobo** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 10:42 am

May be a little bit of Blackhawk in Avenged 2015 amazon has it on instant video and free if you have prime .

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 2:12 pm

veggiekiller88,

It is quite common to smash up roots of all kinds to carry in a mojo. When a root is used whole it must either be very small to fit into a combination hand or it must be used solo as a pocket piece. We sell pre-crushed John the Conqueror Root chips for those who wish to add small pieces to a mojo or an oil.

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Sun Nov 22, 2015 9:19 pm

Gee, angelel -- it looks like an ad for a surveillance camera system that features a mentally ill person. I see nothing much like hoodoo there.

hellinahandbasket · Unread post by **hellinahandbasket** » Thu Jan 07, 2016 4:26 pm

Well well got home from school and watched an episode of Cops. The skell had a binding mojo bag. Yes the cops were giving him the pat down for violating an order of protection and the police officer opens up the mojo bag on TELEVISION

...what is this? To keep the vampires away? No it was to bring his wife back to him but now they're divorced...

Is it working?

That made my whole day.

Unread post by **erinhandy** » Sun May 26, 2019 12:44 pm

Has anyone watched the second season of Spike Lee’s remake of “She’s Gotta Have It” on Netflix?

There is a scene where Nola Darling is singing this song, I will post the lyrics below. It got stuck in my head and I looked it up. The lyrics make me think of hoodoo, what do you think?

1, 2, 3 Bible Song

To the tune of Old Lady Leary.

One, two, three
The devil's after me
Four, five, six
He's always throwing bricks
Seven, eight, nine
He misses every time
Glory, Hallelujah, Amen!

Nine, eight, seven
I'm on my way to Heaven
Six, five, four
There's always room for more
Three, two, one
The devil's on the run
Glory, hallelujah, Amen!

The “throwing bricks” could mean the use of brick dust?

The “devil’s on the run” could mean the use of Run Devil Run products?

Also the numbers are a multiple of 3.

Unread post by **JayDee** » Sun May 26, 2019 3:40 pm

erinhandy ,

I am not sure, I go to a baptist church and never heard of it, but it is a common song used in pop culture notable in movies such as Freddy in the 90's 1-2 im coming for you, 3-4 lock your door, 5-6 grab your Crucifix, 7-8 stay up late, 9-10 Freddy is killing again.

Unread post by **jon saint germain** » Tue May 28, 2019 6:36 am

There is a show on Netflix called United States of Hoodoo. I haven't watched it yet, so I cannot tell you of the quality or accuracy of it.

Rev J

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Sun Aug 18, 2019 10:32 pm

Interesting ... p;After a run of movies that mentioned hoodoo in the early 2000s-2010s, the trend seems to have dissipated.

Unread post by **cognitivedissonance** » Sun Oct 27, 2019 11:53 am

World of Warcraft and the Diablo series of video games have endless quests for mojo bags, but they don't seem to know anything about the subject and conflate them with voodoo pretty consistently. The "Witch Doctor" character in Diablo is pretty much the most racist thing I've ever seen in video games in decades.

The Disney cartoon "The Princess and the Frog" has Doctor Facilier, who is also laid out as a voodoo practitioner but his dolls, bags and tarot readings are all hoodoo in usage and design. He seems to work exclusively with ancestors rather than loa so that just doubles down.

Rapacia · Unread post by **Rapacia** » Thu Oct 08, 2020 10:11 am

Great example of hoodoo in film. Danny Glover, Mary Alice and others. Film opens with mystical imagery. Black family drama. Patriarch upset that he's lost or misplaced his toby. Very interesting.

Rapacia · Unread post by **Rapacia** » Thu Oct 08, 2020 10:38 am

I enjoyed the heck out of The Skeleton Key, have seen it more than once. However, one thing I didn't like about it, other than the fact that Miss Cat was not credited as promised, was the way they wrote Kate Hudson't character. She was a good person. The ending, what happened to her, would have been much more enjoyable had she been written as an asshat, maybe someone who was trying to use the couple or sin against them in some way. This way I could have been rooting for Mr. and Mrs. Rootdoctor. I'd love to see a remake with Hudson's character as a stinker who deserves what she gets. That would have been SO much more fun.

Rapacia · Unread post by **Rapacia** » Thu Oct 08, 2020 10:59 am

Miss Cat, do you know why they screwed you over on the credits for The Skeleton Key? I'm not in the movie business, but I can't see why it would be such a big deal to put someone's name in the closing credits when their contribution was so great. It's just weird. Were there any discussions about this? Did they say, "Duh...we forgot" or what was their reason for leaving you out?

Daenerys · Unread post by **Daenerys** » Sun Oct 11, 2020 6:08 pm

I love The Skeleton Key!
Such a disappointment they didn’t credit Miss Cat though-I knew they must of consulted with someone in the know as there were so many nice little real touches to add some authenticity( along with the usual Hollywood OTT stuff)

Rapacia · Unread post by **Rapacia** » Sun Oct 11, 2020 6:22 pm

Daenerys, I agree - that film is really atmospheric. But I still want to see a remake in which Hudson's character is not so likeable and Miss Cat is used and credited as all-over advisor!

Unread post by **Greatmother** » Fri May 07, 2021 11:00 am

I am currently reading through the HRCC Lesson Clarifications and Answers and read several old posts about Miss Cat being hired as a Hoodoo Consultant for the film and providing a whole shop worth of products for a scene! So, I watched The Skeleton Key and thoroughly enjoyed it! I also, like many commenters above, watched the credits to see Miss Cat's credit and was so disappointed that there wasn't one!

GoldenRule · Unread post by **GoldenRule** » Wed May 12, 2021 2:42 am

Greatmother,
Yes it’s unfortunate indeed! Reading though the entire thread, you would know not to look for her name because it’s been discussed at length that she got snubbed. I believe someone said though, that on the DVD Commentary, they did mentioned her- I don’t know if it was by name though. She actually had a role in changing the script too, to better reflect the authenticity of the story.

Mr Christopher · Unread post by **Mr Christopher** » Thu May 13, 2021 6:17 am

Greatmother,

Yes Ms. Cat has mentioned it on the radio show a few times. I watch the movie the other day to prepare for the interview. Why are there raccoon penis bones hanging everywhere and the seal of Jupiter carved into the floor? Giant cow tongue in a tapa boca jar. I will say around 5 years after the movie came out I was talking with someone and said you "got dat hoodoo done to you", basically saying they got jinxed. They immediately said oh no I got the red brick dust. So it did have an impact, and Skelton Keys redbrick dust trumps Supernaturals circle of salt any day. The early seasons of The Dead Files were pretty spot on when Amy would give them a remedy, of tar water, or wash the walls with saltwater. Take a bath with protection bath salts. When it became you need to find a Shamon, Baptist Minister, Physical Medium, and Wicca High priests, they have the meet on sundown of the new moon following the summer solstice, that was a bit too much. The sad part is I know someone from each of those categories.

PastorKirk · Unread post by **PastorKirk** » Fri Jul 30, 2021 1:44 pm

I am reading through this forum and finding great ideas for movies to watch! Thanks for the recommendations.

Unread post by **JayDee** » Wed Sep 29, 2021 11:53 am

This topic is for discussion of movies with hoodoo themes.