26
Populär Culture Review
properties against their white employers whenever possible (Osbey 6).
W ithout realizing that African Americans tum ed towards the
supematural for help mostly when “faced with hardship, whether in the
form o f cruel taskmasters, unrequited love, or simple bad luck,” both the
nineteenth-century aristocrat and the twenty-first-century moviegoer
react with fear towards this form o f African magic (Anderson, Conjure
74). However, being able to steal a child’s soul with the help o f magic is
the making o f Hollywood. It is not related to the original goals o f conjure
at all, among which we find spiritual and herbal healing as well as the
appeal o f supematural forces through lucky charms. In this respect,
Hollywood’s representation o f conjure is as misleading as Parker’s
misrepresentation o f the Voodoo dolls. In illustrating conjure as a hexing
practice with fatal outcomes, Softley Strips this African folk magic o f any
possible positive connotation.
Caroline awakens from this nightmare as soon as the picture of
the Voodoo doll in the attic takes the form and shape o f her seif. The
dream imagery o f having her own eyes and mouth sewn together
illustrates Caroline’s tremendous fear o f becoming or being “a lifeless
object that is played with and used by” her employer (Reuber 17). Once
again, Hollywood supports the falsified image o f the Voodoo doll as a
fear-inspiring object, regardless o f the fact that, as stated by the
Louisiana Voodoo Museum, “most Voodoo dolls are not used for evil
practices, but for love, healing success, money, etc.”
Spiritual Baths
Caroline’s disturbing nightmare occurs after her attempt to
uncross Ben with the help o f a spiritual bath, for which she had obtained
all necessary ingredients at a special störe in New Orleans: a white
candle shaped in form o f a cross, m m to intensify the spiritual
communication, and a variety o f herbs.
Spiritual baths are an ancient practice in Voodoo. They have the
fimction o f cleansing oneself or the other o f negative energy “or to bring
good luck” (Alverado, Voodoo Hoodoo 10). It is upsetting to see that
Softley suggests Caroline being able to conduct this ritual with the effect
o f uncrossing Ben for the following reasons: First, the execution o f this
ritual is reserved for initiated priests or priestesses. Far from being a
priestess, Caroline does not even believe in Voodoo. Nevertheless, she
executes this ancient ritual that serious “practitioners have always
attached considerable importance to” (Rigaud 151). Second, the priestess
performing the cleansing needs to undergo cleansing herseif prior to