Joe Nickell

Marie Laveau is the quintessential figure associated with voodoo in the United States. During the mid—1800s she reigned as the "Voodoo Queen" of New Orleans, holding elaborate ceremonies and practicing fortune—telling. Much of her reputation, according to author Joe Nickell, is founded on nothing more than shrewd business acumen and a brilliance for showmanship. Marie's methods of giving the impression she was clairvoyant ranged from exploiting her position as a hairdresser for gossip collecting to blackmailing her enemies and competitors into silence. Joe Nickell is Senior Research Fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal and the author of Real—Life X—Files.

Voodoo in New Orleans can scarcely be separated from its dominant figure, Marie Laveau, about whom many legends swirl. According to...