Marie Laveau II, mystery of the burial crypts and ghostly sightings….
As with many people, my introduction to Voodoo was via Hollywood’s sensationalistic movies featuring practitioners sticking pins into dolls and, of course, the terror inspiring Zombies. Years ago, I was in one of the shops in South of Border, SC when I saw small Voodoo dolls. Out of curiosity, I reached for one when I was startled by a loud squawk. I recoiled. The noise was from a mechanized parrot that sounded intermittently. It was then I decided to learn about Voodoo. My article, Vooduon, Voodoo, Hoodoo, is a synopsis.
The Marie Laveaus intrigued me. Little has been written about Marie II.
Marie Laveau Glapion was born on February 2, 1827. She took over her mother’s practice when Marie I retired. It’s unknown if she was appointed or if she decided to do so on her own. She followed her mother’s path, including presiding over the St. John’s Day rites. She, lacking her mother’s compassion, inspired more fear in their followers.
After Marie I died, the daughter, although she continued her practice, lost the media attention she had when Marie I was alive. Legend has it Marie II drowned in Lake Pontchartrain during a storm in the 1890s. Some claim to have seen her as recently as 1918.
Marie I was said to be buried in a crypt in St. Louis Cemetery I, but the inscription is “Marie Philome Glapion, deceased June 11, 1897.” It is believed that Marie II was buried in another crypt in St. Louis Cemetery No. 2. The inscription is “Marie Laveau.”
It is whispered that the ghosts of both Maries have been seen haunting the streets and Lake Pontchartrain….
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