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Trinity College
Vodou: Myths and Facts

Zombies, black magic, dolls impaled with stickpins, witch doctors muttering spells and curses: Vodou, or "voodoo" as many people spell it, is the eye of a storm of fears and stereotypes. Many of them are untruths or half-truths, according to experts. Here's what they told us. Vodou is not about black magic -- mostly. The experts acknowledge there's a dark side to the religion, as there is to other faiths. A priest or priestess represents mainline Vodou. The other side is practiced by a sorcerer. Sorcerers are believed to cast ill effects on people, often in rural parts of Haiti where police aren't available. Priests and priestesses are said to practice bon ginen...