Shocking Discovery: Old Newspaper Reporting Bizarre Death by 'Live Things'

Shocking Discovery: Old Newspaper Reporting Bizarre Death by 'Live Things'—Ancient Hoodoo Curse Revived?

Quack Doctor has some scans from an old newspaper reporting a case of death by "live things."

So called live-things is an old folk illness, known to be both caused and cured by hoodoo, in which animals (usually of an unpleasant nature, like insects, lizards or snakes) would be mysteriously put into a person in such a way that they would continue to live inside the human tissues, and would ultimately cause death the death of their host.

Nowadays few people report this as a problem and hardly any hoodoos claim to be able to cause it, and as for curing it -- usually a legitimate practitioner would recommend going for hospital treatment in the case of any such trouble. Improved medical technology is one reason for this shift, as diseases which in past times seemed mysterious (like restless leg syndrome or tumors) can now be pinpointed to a more precise cause. Additionally, it seems some old timers used this supposed "curse" as a con job -- the apparent 'removal' of the live things by the magician would make a splendid show of their power to a village full of potential clients, but was usually really achieved by sleight of hand and the power of suggestion.

Paper-in-Shoe Spells

A popular and very traditional hoodoo spell, often used for any situation where you need to control someone with magic , is the namepaper-in-shoe spell. It's very easy: you write the target's name 3, 7, or 9 times on a paper (depending on intent and who's giving instruction) then fold it up, sometimes after dressing it with oils or powders, then put it in your shoe. This "keeps the person underfoot" or "stomps out the trouble" or any other number of metaphors. I had this work several times over the years. In one instance, I was working for a very unpleasant boss, on a short-term job. It was the last day, and I only had about 3 hours of work left on the project; and I wanted him to up my pay for the day since it almost wasn't worth the trip across town for the amount he was paying me, for only 3 hours. He was very reluctant. So I wrote his name 3 times on a 5-dollar bill he'd given me, and dusted it with Bend Over powder. He paid me what I ...

Ammonia - A Spiritual Cleansing Agent for Magick

Ammonia is a strong cleansing agent in hoodoo magick, both physically and spiritually. In Edwardian times it was advised as an old home remedy for a nerve tonic (see recipe below.) "Household ammonia" or "ammonium hydroxide" is a solution of NH3 in water. Household ammonia ranges in concentration from 5 to 10 weight percent ammonia. The Romans called the ammonium chloride deposits they collected from near the Temple of Amun (Greek Ἄμμων Ammon) in ancient Libya 'sal ammoniacus' (salt of Amun) because of proximity to the nearby temple of Amun, the chief god of ancient Thebes. Salts of ammonia have been known from very early times; thus the term Hammoniacus sal appears in the writings of Pliny, although it is not known whether the term is identical with the more modern sal-ammoniac (ammonium chloride). In the form of sal-ammoniac (nushadir) ammonia was important to the Muslim alchemists as early as the 8th century, first mentioned by the arab chemist...

Spiritual Use of Turpentine in Hoodoo and Witchcraft

I have posted in the past about the use of giving one's bedding a spiritual cleansing from time to time. I recently was laundering my pillows in the same load of laundry as some turpentine-soaked rags, with the result that the pillows emerged from the wash reeking of turpentine. From a magical perspective, this may not be a bad thing. Turpentine is used in old-time hoodoo rituals for purposes such as uncrossing, protection and sometimes as a feed for mojo bags. Its solvent powers and strong odor do indeed suggest a powerful spiritual cleansing agent, and it is still used in some modern day cleaning products on a purely practical level for these same reasons. Old time medicines sometimes included turpentine as a thing to drink, in small doses. A book from the 1850s, The Domestic Medicine Chest , recommends giving it to children in a dose of one teaspoon for killing tapeworm. Relatedly, in old time hoodoo cures for "live things" turpentine might be made into a tea...

The Spellcaster's Source Hoodoo and Voodoo Witchcraft Blog of Talia Felix

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