The séance ended and Silvana and I immediately knew we had hit pay dirt. We looked at each other acknowledging what we had just experienced. Norma’s aunt Carmen had manipulated the spirit of Miguel through Voodoun magic and bound him with her power. It explained why none of Carmen’s magic worked to expose Paul’s indiscretions. It was all a front, a diversion to trick Norma. When Miguel’s spirit asked Norma to forgive her husband Paul we reasoned that Carmen had forced Miguel’s spirit to possess Paul and possibly make him become the philandering person that was ruining Norma’s life. Carmen knew that she could control Miguel through Paul. She could indirectly hurt Norma in any way she pleased by using Paul. He could be a cheating husband or he could be a murderer. What could be worse for a father, even a departed one, than to be the tool to cause his child’s pain? Carmen worked her diabolical magic and blackmailed Miguel’s spirit into performing for her. There was only one thing left to do…release Miguel’s soul from Carmen’s Voodoo grip, but it could be dangerous.
THE EXORCISM
Because we knew Carmen would not cooperate, claiming we were charlatans and simply out to steal Norma’s money, we had to resort to our own knowledge of voodoo curses and spells to counteract Carmen’s black magic. Fortunately Norma believed we had her best interests at heart and at this point distrusted her aunt. There are a number of ways that a boko can arrest the spirit of the dead, but I decided that we would attempt to release him by reversing the usual and typical methods used by the bokos. Traditionally, the sorcerer will contract or “buy” an evil Voodoo god or Lwa with sacrifices and offerings. This becomes an angajan or engagement for life – a powerful agreement that the sorcerer knows can never be broken voluntarily. The bokos will do almost anything to prevent the pact from being broken. In the case of summoning the dead, the boko will also conjure the assistance of the god Baron Samedi, the expediter of the dead and offer gifts to the saint associated with Samedi. It requires an awesome amount of skill, ceremony and sacrifice to control the dead. I knew we were up against a master magician, and we were well aware that breaking the black spell would be dangerous. Bokos are adept at throwing curses on their enemies in the form of evil spells, charms and even unleashing demonic monsters so we were prepared for the worst.
The first step in the X-Investigations plan was to contact the Lwa Kafou, the godfather of Voodoo black magic and bind him to our will. We didn’t know what god Carmen made her deal with, but we knew Kafou could influence all other evil entities. If we could control Kafou we could release Miguel’s spirit. We also had to protect Norma. We decided to use the traditional method of protection by creating a gad, a Voodoo charm that Norma could wear during the séance. The gad is usually prepared in the form of a tattoo drawn with the sign of a saint that protects the wearer from evil. It is applied as a paste made from herbal powders bought at local botanicas. I also contacted a professor of anthropology colleague of mine at New York University who was an expert in Haitian Voodoun. I recalled that he had recorded actual Voodoun ritual drumming and I asked if I could borrow the chants to use as a backdrop sound. Using the drums would enhance the ritual setting and help Silvana enter the proper trance state.
We then headed to St. John’s Cemetery in Queens, New York where Norma’s father Miguel was buried. The cemetery is not easily accessible – especially at midnight. But it’s where we had to go to get the necessary grave dirt required in the ritual to summon Baron Samedi and gain entree to the Lwa Kafou. The only good thing about the evil Lwa is that they can be bought – with gifts and sacrifices. And although they usually require lifelong devotion, the “right price,” usually in the form of giving them information about a boko with whom they already do business, can sway them to do your bidding. Norma agreed that we could reveal that Carmen was a Santeria priestess – a “conflict of interests” for a Voodoun boko and something the Lwa Kafou could use to keep Carmen loyal to him for the rest of her life.
We managed to enter the cemetery through a bent gate on the main access road on Metropolitan Avenue. Although Norma had given us the exact plot location of Miguel’s grave, finding the spot in such a large cemetery at night with just a flashlight was quite a chore – and a potentially criminal act on top of it all. Silvana was complaining of how cold it was (she always opts to dress sexy rather than warm) - I was more concerned about “disturbing the dead.” But we both agreed that the entire excursion was creepy, and the sooner we got out of there, the better.
After an hour of misdirection, we finally found Miguel’s grave deep inside of the cemetery’s center plots. Silvana and I cleared the dead plant leaves that covered the headstone and began our work. We dug a small hole at the foot of the headstone. The ground was surprisingly soft for early December in New York City so we were able to dig deep enough to get our ingredients. We had to get the grave dirt from at least a foot so I dug the hole wide enough to insert me hand and thrust it into the damp earth. As I fished around I was pleasantly surprised to smell the fresh earth, not decay, and I envisioned Miguel’s spirit smiling at our work. When my arm was into the grave up to my elbow I grabbed a handful of dirt and brought it to the surface subconsciously expecting a corpse’s hand to grab out at me. Silvana was pleading with me to hurry again complaining about the cold wind and concerned that we would be caught. The cold night winds were indeed blowing all through our adventure, but the second I had the dirt at the surface and depOccult Investigatorted into our plastic baggie, the wind suddenly stopped. The night had become calm. Silvana mood suddenly changed and she said calmly, “Miguel’s spirit is pleased.”
Our exorcism began the very next evening. Norma, Silvana and I were again seated at Norma’s kitchen table. The procedure was to anoint Norma with the protective gad, summon Baron Samedi and have him give us entrée to Kafou, whom we would bind to do our bidding by offering him knowledge of Carmen’s dual allegiances.
With the Voodoun drum music beating in the background we prepared Norma for the ritual by having her read a standard Catholic prayer bought from the local Botanica that’s written specifically for the saint Radegonde, the counterpart of Samedi. As she recited the words in the prayer over and over…”Protect me holy saint, protect me from the dark and evil that manifests itself in hell,” we mixed the special herb powders into the paste that’s used to paint the protective tattoo. Norma continued to recite the prayer as we painted the magical sign or vever of Samedi on her arm. Norma was apprehensive, remembering the trauma she felt at our last meeting, but she realized the exorcism had to be done.
I then instructed Silvana to enter her trance state, which she accomplished in seconds with the help of the pounding drum recordings. Silvana was no stranger to Voodoun ritual having spent years in Haiti as a research assistant, so she knew how to enter the special altered state required to be the conduit to contact Kafou. I reminded her that if she sensed any trouble she should exit the state immediately. I suspected that Carmen was casting spells against us so if we let our guard down and became vulnerable, the spirits could enter our lives and wreak havoc. She nodded to me and closed her eyes.
With Norma’s protective gad complete and Silvana in her trance we were now ready to contact Samedi. I offered traditional sweets and wines to Samedi as ice-breaking booty until I was sure Silvana had made the connection. The drums continued and although Norma was protected she appeared as though she too was in a trance, focusing on the ceiling of her kitchen and swaying to the beat of the drums. I was the only one in the room at this point who was in a normal state of consciousness and I realized that I had to overcome any fears about the unknown in order to complete the work at hand. I felt fine until Silvana began to groan.
My