Marie Laveau (September 10, 1801 - June 16, 1881) was an American practitioner of voodoo. Very little is known with any certainty about the life of Marie Laveau. One must keep in mind that her mother had the same name and she was equally (if not more so) quiet about her life and actions. It is not known to which (if not both) the voodoo queen reputation refers. She is supposed to have been born in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana in 1801, the daughter of a white planter and a free Creole of Color. She married Jacques Paris, also a free Creole of color, on August 4, 1819; her marriage certificate is preserved in Saint Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. Jacques Paris died in 1820 under unexplained circumstances; after his death, Marie Laveau became a hairdresser who catered to wealthy white families. She took a lover, Luis Christopher Duminy de Glapion, with whom she lived until his death in 1835. Of her magical career, little definite can be said. She is said to have had a snake called Simbi. Oral traditions suggest that the occult part of her magic mixed Roman Catholic beliefs and saints with African spirits and religious concepts. It is also alleged that her feared magical powers came in fact from a network of informants in the households of the prominent that she developed while a hairdresser and that she owned her own brothel. She excelled at obtaining inside information on her wealthy patrons by apparently instilling fear in their servants whom she "cured" of mysterious ailments. On June 16, 1881, the New Orleans newspapers announced that Marie Laveau had died. This is noteworthy if only because she continued to be seen in the town after her supposed demise. It is claimed that one of her daughters Ti Marie by M. Glapion assumed her name and carried on her magical practice after her death. According to the list of deaths recorded at RootsWeb.com, a certain Marie Glapion Lavau died on June 15, 1881, aged 98. The different spelling of the last name as well as the age at death may result from inaccuracies during entry of the cited text file. She is said to be buried in Saint Louis Cemetery #1 in New Orleans in the Glapion family crypt, although even this is in dispute, according to Robert Tallant, one of her biographers. Still the tomb continues to attract visitors who draw three crosses (XXX) on its side, hoping that her spirit will grant them a wish.
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In modern fiction
Marie Laveau appears as a character in numerous novels, especially those that touch on the occult. New Orleans journalist Robert Tallant featured Laveau in two novels: The Voodoo Queen: A Novel and Voodoo in New Orleans. These are considered standard tales of Laveau and New Orleans and can be found in many New Orleans stores. She is the main character in the 1977 eponymously titled novel by Francine Prose, and figures in works of fiction including Neil Gaiman's SF novel American Gods, "The Arcanum" by Thomas Wheeler, Voodoo Dreams by Jewell Parker Rhodes, Isabel Allende's romance Zorro, and Midnight Moon by Lori Handeland, among others. As a character, Marie Laveau appears in other genres as well, including children's literature, comic books, and short stories. She is an enemy of both Doctor Strange and Dracula in Marvel Comics. In the film Cry of the Werewolf, Marie Laveau is the ancestress of a werewolf. The character of Queen Mousette in the film Blues Brothers 2000 was modeled after Laveau. Marie was also shown in the movie Wizard of Oz.
Academic Publishing
In 2004, the University Press of Mississippi published Martha Ward's Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau (ISBN 1578066298). The University Press of Florida published Carolyn Morrow Long's A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau(ISBN 9780813029740) in 2006, and will publish a paperback edition in 2007 (ISBN 9780813032146).
In music
- Marie Laveau is the subject of a song ("Marie Laveau") by New Orleans blues singer Dr. John.
- Marie Laveau is heavily referenced in Grant Lee Buffalo's track Dixie Drug Store.
- Marie Laveau is mentioned in the song "Clare" by Fairground Attraction.
- Marie Laveau is the subject of the country song "Marie Laveau", co-written by Baxter Taylor and Shel Silverstein and made famous by Bobby Bare.
- The group Redbone wrote their 1971 hit single Witch Queen Of New Orleans in her honor.
- Marie Laveau is mentioned as promenading with Oscar Wilde in "Wheel Inside the Wheel" by Mary Gauthier.
- Marie Laveau is mentioned in "I Will Play for Gumbo" by Jimmy Buffett.
- Marie Laveau is indirectly mentioned in "Gris-Gris" by NYC gothic-rock band Curse. The song speaks of the ritual many perform to bring a visit from her spirit in great detail.
- Marie Laveau is mentioned in "Wheel Inside the Wheel" by Jimmy Buffett.
- Marie Laveau is the title of an instrumental blues song by the group "Canned Heat"
- Marie Laveau is the title, and subject of a song by "Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show"
- On October 17, 1982, members of punk rock band The Misfits were arrested on charges of graverobbing, supposedly while trying to find Laveau's resting place. They deny the charges to this day, and one witness is said to have reported that the Misfits did not even enter the cemetery that day.
- Marie Laveau is one of the inspirations for Michael John LaChiusa's musical Marie Christine, based also on Euripides' Medea
- In the Metallica song Fixxxer, the lyrics "three X's for the stone" as well as the three x's in the song title, are in reference to the Marie Laveau myth.
- Marie Laveau is the subject of one song composed by goth band Mighty Sphincter
- Marie Laveau is the subject of "Voodoo Queen Marie" by the Holy Modal Rounders
- Marie Laveau is mentioned in the song "Poison" by Stavin' Chain.
In computer games
- Marie Laveau is a subject of inquiry in Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers.
- Referenced in Blood Rayne by a woman, speaking of a woman who "Think she a real Marie Laveau" when giving a hint to the whereabouts of a local woman trying to summon dark spirits in the Bayou level.
Other cultural references
- On Hornsgatan 66 in central Stockholm, Sweden, there is a nightclub/restaurant named Marie Laveau. On the website there is an image of her. [1]
- On 14 July 2007, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) introduced Roxxi Leveaux as part of the Voodoo Kin Mafia stable. On the TNA iMPACT show on the 19th of July, B.G. James said that Roxxi was a direct descendant (kayfabe) of Marie Laveau.
