Saturday, April 20, 2013

Marion Lichty: Reading # 1


Skeleton Key is about a hospice worker, who needed a change in scenery.   She applied to work as a home nurse and got the job.  She did not know the older couples secret practices of Hoodoo.  The girl realizes something is not right and she investigates more about Hoodoo.   Once she knows more about Hoodoo, she was warned that it Hoodoo practices cannot hurt her unless she believes it can.  She eventually learns too much about how the servants from a long time ago have been switching bodies to remain living.  She becomes one of their victims and lives her last few years unable to speak in an old woman’s body.
The reading I found was titled Category: Hoodoo Conjure Witchcraft Rootwork.  This article discussed the different parts of Hoodoo and its practices.  Hoodoo is an African American traditional magic practiced mostly in the south.   Most of the practices involve a variety of materials including hair, blood, minerals (brick dust, sulfur), candles, drawings, etc.  These materials are used in rituals to cast spells against an individual or for protection.
The movie Skeleton Key does a fantastic job at showing the aspects of Hoodoo practices.  The brick dust is shown throughout the movie; the girl uses the brick dust for protection against the old woman.  The servants used the ritual practices, which required blood from the individuals they were going to switch bodies with.   Overall in my opinion, this movie captured the ritual practices of Hoodoo.

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