VOODOO: Strange and Fascinating Tales and Lore

by John Richard Stephens

Voodoo . . . . The very word conjures shadowy and sinister images of black magic and primitive rites and rituals: crudely fashioned dolls stuck with pins, mojos, animal sacrifices, wild dancing to savage drumbeats, venomous snakes, and bones charged with lethal supernatural powers that can make a person drop dead for no apparent reason.

Then there are zombies, the soulless living dead, whose reanimated corpses are sprung from graves at midnight to mindlessly serve the summoning voodoo houngan. Edited by distinguished anthologist John Richard Stephens, this voodoo miscellany features harrowing horror classics by H. G. Wells, H. Rider Haggard, and Robert Louis Stevenson, as well as little-known tales of voodoo hoodoo by forgotten fantasy masters.

Also included are newspaper accounts of a genuine voodoo festival in the Louisiana bayou and a series of purported voodoo axe murders, all of which delve into voodoo s darkest mysteries, from its birthplace in the jungles of Africa to its practice in the islands of the Caribbean and the dark swamps of Louisiana.

Voodoo will entertain you with its fanciful accounts of authentic voodoo ceremonies, and chilling tales of terror that just might make you look warily over your shoulder and wonder, what if?


John Richard Stephens is the author/editor of numerous books, including Weird History 101, A Skeleton at the Helm, Adventure!, The King of the Cats, Wyatt Earp Speaks!, and Vampires, Wine and Roses. He lives in California.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories

331 pages, Hardcover

First published May 22, 2010

Reviews

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm rating this for stars for the introduction, which has some errors in language (regarding obeah), but is probably the best run-down and is fairly accessible to those who aren't familiar with religious traditions like vodou.

[Ronnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kinda book that you need to read with the lights on in your room......and no wind outside otherwise you'll have the the heebie-jeebies....

[IndianaBeauty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected this book to be more about the history of Voodoo, it's beliefs and traditions. The introduction discussed the history and beliefs of Voodooists. The rest of the book is a collection of stories (I suppose one could consider them folklores) and experiences related to Voodoo. It lost my interest pretty quickly after I got past the introduction.

[Joel Trout · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having lived on the Gulf Coast for several years, my awareness of voodoo/hoodoo was slowly piqued; first by a few trips to New Orleans, and then by my supervisor at work who was raised around voodoo growing up and somewhat still a participant.

It became apparent to me there were two kinds of voodoo: the authentic kind, (mostly originating in Africa, strange and superstitious but not particularly scary), and the fake, sensational kind that lures tourists into shops in the French Quarter expecting to see dolls stuck with pins, etc.

I thought this book served the purpose of satisfying one's curiosity about both kinds of voodoo. The intro does a good job of handling the awkward task of separating the real voodoo, practiced to varying degrees by thousands, from the sensational fiction stories that follow in the rest of the book. All of it was a lot of fun to read, especially for a big fan of short stories!

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book of folk tales. Some of them are older and by classic authors like H.G. Wells and Robert Louis Stephenson. I really didn't know much about voodoo but wanted to find out what it is. Some of the stories about the New Orleans area are fascinating from a cultural and historical point of view.

[Xarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting collection of voodoo-related short stories and news articles. The selections covered a variety of strange, and sometimes creepy, tales in different areas where voodoo, or various forms of, are practiced.

[Audry]

Hit and miss, like most anthologies. Some stories I skimmed, some were interesting glimpses into the attitudes of their day (several were "news" reports from the 1800s that were more melodrama than fact), and a handful I found really compelling.