Not long ago, the woman that cleans our house on Fridays (let’s call her Maria to protect the innocent) gave us a beautiful agave cactus. It was potted and HUGE. It grew for a few months and it had some baby cacti that needed to be put in their own little pots. So, I started the process of getting the big cactus out of this HUGE pot and dividing them up. As I began pulling the big cactus and all of it’s baby cacti out of the big pot, I noticed there was something in the bottom of the pot. My first reaction was that it was “cactus food” of some sort and I would get to it later. So, I turned my attention to getting all the cacti (I like that word, can’t you tell) potted in their own little pots. Once I was satisfied that everyone was planted in a suitable pot, I turned my attention back to the original pot and the “cactus food.” It was then I made a crazy and horrible discovery…
It was actually a sealed Ball jar in the bottom of the cactus pot. In this jar was a crumpled “form” that looked wet and had a clammy looking texture to it. It almost looked like some sort of extremity from an animal – maybe a weird bird foot, or (please no, please no) a very small hand. Whatever it was had two red tips, two blue tips and a yellow tipped, larger “finger.” I could see other things in the jar; balled up paper, pins with different colored heads on them, a wad of hair tied together with a string… The more I looked, the uneasier I was getting.
I couldn’t bring myself to open the jar. I put it down and waited for Friday to ask Maria WTH.
Friday came and so did Maria. She took the jar and immediately, to my horrified self, opened it. She took out a REAL LIVE VOODOO DOLL. Complete with hate pins and hair and a written curse. You couldn’t read the curse, because there was a small amount of liquid in the jar and it had caused the ink to blur and the paper to rot. I don’t want to know what it said, anyway. Maria had a story to pinpoint the creation of the doll but I really didn’t care. I just wanted it away. Away from me and away from my wife and kids. Quick.
Now, I don’t really believe in voodoo or black magic but no one has ever been able to give me any good evidence about how Robert Johnson quickly learned to play guitar like he did so maybe, just maybe, this thing needed to be gone – and fast. Better safe than sorry, right? For instance, in my short life I have noticed many folks from the country can be a little more reserved about being in the woods at night than some, say, city folks. I think it probably stems from the thought that country folks know what really goes on in the woods. Stuff that never makes the papers, if you know what I mean. That being said, I am not all that comfortable in the woods at night…
So, the doll had to go.
6 responses so far ↓
Joe Sankey // May 20, 2008 at 2:38 am
Good call, dude.
Mojomambo // June 1, 2008 at 8:35 pm
I’d say you need what I have. Log on to my website ASAP.
Best regards, Mojomambo
Sandra // August 29, 2008 at 3:04 am
Hi. What did you do with the doll??! Was Maria the one who put it in there? Was she upset with you or your family? Or what was her explanation?
Chris // August 29, 2008 at 6:58 pm
“Maria” took it with her. She said it was put in the plant by someone else – it was a gift initially given to her. I am quite certain she has no ill will toward us or my family. She loves my youngest like she was her own daughter! So, someone put it in her plant thinking it would stay there for a long time, I guess. Who knows?
Amythyst Raine // November 10, 2008 at 2:53 pm
The doll was not necessarily evil or a curse– these dolls are more often created for protection, healings, and blessings. It’s just that the media and the population in general seem to find the hexing/cursing aspects of hoodoo or voodoo more compelling.
I wish you would’ve listened to Maria’s explanation and not allowed your mind to be closed by fear. I hope that in the future you will respect her belief system as being just as valid and spiritual and uplifting as your own.
Chris // November 10, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Completely understand your point and, just to be clear, I did listen and consider Maria’s explanation. She even explained what the pins and colors and different things in the jar were supposed to represent. That being said, her explanation was totally negative and she agreed that it needed to be destroyed and taken away from the kids. I did not question her judgment as she seemed to know much more about it than me. She is from Central America, here legally, and is very active in her church. She knew EXACTLY what the doll was and who put it there. As open as anyone can be, it was a creepy sight to pull that out of the bottom of a plant. Period.