One of the most famous bits of New Orleans folklore is that of the haunted New Orleans Voodoo wish spell. Performed by tourists and natives alike, this spell takes place at the site of Marie Laveaus final resting place. Myths abound regarding the actual location of the grave site of New Orleans' most famous Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau. Some say she is buried in the St. Louis No. 2 cemetary (Hauck, 1996) in a tomb marked "Marie Laveau Tomb". Others speculate she is buried in any number of other cemetaries in New Orleans (Tallant, 1946). Complicating the issue is the fact that she had a daughter who was also named Marie Laveau, and it is anybody's guess in which tomb she rests.
New Orleans Voodoo is a hybrid voodoo, reflective of the eclectic culture that is uniquely New Orleans. Marie Laveau is somewhat of a poster child for the mixed races that emerge from New Orleans as she is said to have been a free person of color and part Choctaw. Mam'zelle Laveau was born to a wealthy French planter Charles Laveau, and a mother who may have been a mulatto slave, a Caribbean Voodoo practitioner, or a quadroon mistress.
Controversy persists over where Marie Laveau and her namesake daughter are buried. Some say the latter reposes in the cemetery called St. Louis No. 2 (Hauck 1996) in a "Marie Laveau Tomb" there. However, that crypt most likely contains the remains of another voodoo queen named Marie, Marie Comtesse. Numerous sites in as many cemeteries are said to be the final resting place of one or the other Marie Laveau (Tallant 1946, 129), but the prima facie evidence favors the Laveau-Glapion tomb in St. Louis No. 1. It comprises three stacked crypts with a "receiving vault" below (that is, a repository of the remains of those displaced by a new burial).
A contemporary of Marie II told Tallant (1946, 126) that he had been present when she died of a heart attack at a ball in 1897, and insisted: "All them other stories ain't true. She was buried in the Basin Street graveyard they call St. Louis No. I, and she was put in the same tomb with her mother and the rest of her family."
That tomb's carved inscription records the name, date of death, and age (62) of Marie II: "Marie Philome Glapion, decede le 11 Juin 1897, agee de Soixante-deux ans." A bronze tablet affixed to the tomb announces, under the heading "Marie Laveau," that "This Greek Revival Tomb Is Reputed Burial Place of This Notorious 'Voodoo Queen' . . . ," presumably a reference to the original Marie. Corroborative evidence that she was interred here is found in her obituary ("Death" 1881) which notes that "Marie Laveau was buried in her family tomb in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1." Guiley (2000) asserts that, while Marie Laveau I is reportedly buried here, "The vault does not bear her name." However, I was struck by the fact that the initial two lines of the inscription on the Laveau-Glapion tomb read, "Famille Vve. Paris / nee Laveau." Obviously, "Vve." is an abbreviation for Veuve, "Widow"; therefore the phrase translates, "Family of the Widow Paris, born Laveau"-namely Marie Laveau I. I take this as evidence that here is indeed the "family tomb." Robert Tallant (1946, 127) suggests: "Probably there was once an inscription marking the vault in which the first Marie was buried, but it has been changed for one marking a later burial. The bones of the Widow Paris must lie in the receiving vault below."
The Laveau-Glapion tomb is a focal point for commercial voodoo tours. Some visitors leave small gifts at the site-coins, Mardi Gras beads, candles, etc.-in the tradition of voodoo offerings. Many follow a custom of making a wish at the tomb. The necessary
ritual for this has been variously described. The earliest version I have found (Tallant 1946, 127) says that people would "knock three times on the slab and ask a favor," noting: "There are always penciled crosses on the slab. The sexton washes the crosses away, but they always reappear." A more recent source advises combining the ritual with an offering placed in the attached cup: "Draw the X, place your hand over it, rub your foot three times against the bottom, throw some silver coins into the cup, and make your wish" (Haskins 1990). Yet again we are told that petitioners are to "leave offerings of food, money and flowers, then ask for Marie's help after turning around three times and marking a cross with red brick on the stone" (Guiley 2000, 216).
Books You Might Enjoy:
Simon - The Necronomicon SpellbookAndrew Lang - The Witch And Other StoriesKathryn Paulsen - Witches Potions And SpellsEmmanuel Swedenborg - Heaven And Hell
