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Voodoo & hoodoo
First published 1978 · 226 pages
An earthy, respectful immersion into the hidden roots and enduring power of African American folk magic.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting on a shadowed porch listening to an elder unravel the secrets of the root workers. It moves at a steady, deliberate pace, grounding the reader in the earthy, tactile world of graveyard dust, red flannel bags, and ancestral memory. The prose is clear and deeply respectful, treating folk magic not as a spectacle, but as a profound mechanism of cultural survival and spiritual resilience. The atmosphere is steeped in a quiet, enduring mystery, blending historical documentation with the visceral weight of lived belief. It is a perfect read for those who are drawn to the intersections of history, spirituality, and the hidden traditions that pulse beneath the surface of everyday life.
- Mood
- atmospheric
- earthy
- mysterious
- rooted
- Tone
- respectful
- informative
- objective
- folkloric
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- cultural survival · ancestral knowledge · power of belief · folk magic · hidden histories
- The writing
- Clear, journalistic, and deeply descriptive, treating oral history and folklore with academic reverence.
- The arc
- Moves from a sense of eerie curiosity to a profound, grounded respect for a resilient spiritual tradition.
- Who it's for
- Readers fascinated by the intersection of African American history, folk magic, and cultural anthropology.
Content notes
- animal sacrifice
- bodily fluids
- curses and hexes
- historical racism
About the book
Voodoo Men, Hoodoo women, and root doctors say they know how to use eggs; graveyard dust; forks in the road; the numbers 3, 7, and 9; pins and nails; red flannel bags, yellow homespun; urine, faeces, and blood; shoes and clothing; black cats and black hens; doorsteps; and the interior and exterior corners of houses to conjure good and to conjure evil. Voodoo and Hoodoo tells how these spiritual descendants of African medicine men and sorcerers "lay tricks" and work their magic, and explains the hold these practices have had on their believers from the Old World origins until today.
Description from Open Library.
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