The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1895-08-30
THE BLACK ART.
Signs of a Revival of the Practice
of Voodooism.
Different Methods in Vogue of Casting
Spells and Bewitching-Seed OF IA
Reform In the Old Style
Hoodoo.

Modern occultism, or, to put il in
diplomatic costume, Eoccultisme mod
erne, is becoming decidedly aggreS-
sive, to say the least of it. if we are To
believe the Revue IlluStree. Strange
as the news may appear, says the New
York Sun, ii Is nevertheless reported
that the black art is fiourishing tiend-
ishly both in Europe and America.
Casting a spell upon an individual,
or, as they say on the Bowery. '-hoodoo-
ing fellow" has not. according to the
Revue. fallen into innocuous desuctude
We all remember the scene depicted
by Alexandra Dumas in the Refine Mar
got. i'll which the performer of
Catherine Medicis plungeS golden
needle into the heart, or rather the
place where the heart ought to be. of
little wax statuette modelled in the
image of King Charles y. But the
IN agicians of the present day have
brought modern impr ovements into the
art. They practice three kinds of
hoodooism, according to the caprice of
the client and the degree of hatred
with which he is Possessed. In one
they use toad, in another a doll. and
in a third they operate l'esprit volaut,
or. in other words, they remove the
spirit and place il temporarily Just
where they want it.
Here are the prescriptions for the
three methods: You take Il toad. male
or female. according to the sex Of the
person whom You wish To reach. You
baptize it a. you would child. giving
II he full name of Your enemy. While
you are committing this Sacrilege. You
must endeavOr To work yourself up into
paroXysm of hatred toward your vic
tim, and you must sandwich the Sacrl-
mental words with the most horrible
imprecationS. Then you intiict upon
the toad all the tortures that your i'm
aginatiun can suggest. for your enemy
Is bound To suffer correSpondingly. If
you take eye out Of the toad. Your
enemy Will lose an eve. etc. In Amer
lea. according to the Revue. the Black
Crooks have recourse To Il more sum
mary eNpedicnt. They bury tht. toad
at the threshold of the residence Of the
person selected for "A victim. with the
result that he dies as if Suffocated-
The doll method is the most ancient
and the most classic. 1t requires a wax
figure called a mamie. resembling the
victim much as possible. 1t l. also
necessary to have some little objects
that belonged To the victim. or better
yet, one of his teeth. portions of his
nails. or one or two hairs Of his head.
You mix these things in with the wax
of the doll and haptize it. Then. Just
like the pni>oner of Catherine dc
MediciS, You stick pin into the figure.
If AT that moment your enemy II even
flirting with. a young woman. he imune-
diately begins to suffer from palpita-
tipu nf tn. heart ..r,,rrrrE,r -
he does not die from suffocatiun.
The proceeding a Tcsprit volant Is
the latest Improvement in this science.
and it Il the child of hypnOtism. In
order To execute it You must have a sub
ject whose astral body. which we are
told is of "A fluid nature. will abandon
the material body on your order and
transport itself toward Your victimn. 1t
slips into his veins the poiSons which
YOU have learned how to.volatiize The
operation terminated. you return the
astral body to its carnal dwelling. and
YOU arouse the subject The crime Il
committed without anybody in the
world being able to accuse YOU. and
You are left alone with your conscience.
But the conscience of u Black Crook i
particularly elastic.
Now. that is the way they work the
machine. and the Revue refuses To re
veal the places where the ceremonies
are performed. for fear of leading its
readers into temptation. 1t is better.
il says. TO let them believe that the bust
ness of casting spells belongs to the
domain of fables But the surprising
thing about IL Is that men of learning
and apparently endowed with common
sense indulge in this kind of rubbish.
Witnesses well worthy of belief have
told extraordinary stories of a certain
Col de RochaS. stories that Outdo the
widest inventions of the Devil on
Two Sticks" Col. de RochaS, we are
told. has discovered method of -'eX-
teriOrizing the sensations of individ-
ualS." ASmOdeuS used to put the souls
of Christians who died impcnitent into
bottles; but VI. de RochaS, more ingen-
ious than Asmodeus, concentrates and
dissolves in a glass of water the sense
of enjoyment and of suffering of a sub
ject previously magnetized. If this
water is boiled, the subject writhes
like st. Laurent on his gridiron; and if.
on the contrary, the water freezes. the
unfortunate victim becomes blizzardly
cold.
Like the story of Jack and the
Bean Stalk, all this may not be as true
as the Bible, but in these days of ad-
vancement why shouldn't the black art
be reformed and rejuvenated just like
our own ever glorious city government?