Touched by evil, or just cursed by Satan? Many now a days believe that great demonic forces are at work mocking them every step of the way.

From Tarot Card Readers on Jackson Square in New Orleans to Mediums with crystal balls in New York store fronts, palmist and psychics and tea leave readers and coffee ground seers in California, perhaps on the phone or internet... How many people have heard they are cursed by an enemy or from some wrong they have committed, or from just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Should we believe it? Or should we move on and live our life untouched by the believing in the malediction we are rendered.

A curse is thought of as the effective action of supernatural power, distinguished solely by the quality of adversity that it brings, else it would be considered a "charm" or a "blessing." A curse may also be said to result from a spell or prayer, imprecation or execration, or other imposition by magic or witchcraft, asking that a god, natural force, or spirit bring misfortune to someone who they feel has wronged them.

ROBERT JOHNSON AND THE CROSSROADS CURSE
But in a strange twist of fate, some would say that the song is cursed. ... The devil promised to fulfill his dreams, thus Johnson traded his eternal soul.. Read more here. http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/cursed/

The forms of curses found in various cultures comprise a significant proportion of the study of both folk religion and folklore.

In a broader sense, 'curse' is a loose synonym for blasphemy or profanity (i.e. a "curse word.")

"The curse" is also a term for the original sin of Adam and Eve in the Christian religion, and a slang term for menstruation.

Belief in curses is found in many cultures and is mentioned in the scriptures of many religions. And in the 21st century the acts and fears of genuine voodoo hoodoo, wiccan and Satanic curses still thrives. Most established religions forbid such practices outright, but others, citing the long history of scriptural curses, utilize them only in defense against evil that struck at them first. All religions offer forms of blessings of homes and objects and people, with the intent of removing curses. Typically then a curse is only a category or type of something much larger, namely the entirety of any given culture's religious-magical paradigm.

Moreover when negative or painful spiritual possession and demonic possession are viewed as varieties of curse, the religious authorities may see to it that there is a sanctioned way for the curse to be removed. According to Catholic records, for example, the original staff of the Vatican included 300 full time exorcists - specialists in the removal of demons inhabiting humans.

Many people believe curses to be strictly psychological in effect and/or superstitious in general nature; these people hold rationalist opposing viewpoints to the opinion that curses are actual and real. Just as a skeptic believes in the fact that ghost and UFO's are non-existent.

The deliberate levying of curses is often part of the practice of evil or black magic, taking place at the boundary between organized religion and folkloric customs. The curse makes effective part in the Hindu culture (The Fakir has the ordained power to bless and curse).

The Devil Made Me Do It!

Special names for specific types of curses and evil spells can be found in several modern cultures:

Voodoo or African American hoodoo presents us with the jinx and crossed conditions, as well as a form of foot track magic, whereby cursed objects are leveled in the paths of victims and activated when walked over. Or the making of a ritual doll which is popular in New Orleans and the greater south. Root Magic and potions, powders and hexes are all a great part of this system. Many Voodoo Doll and fetish, spell, or curse holding magic power for adherents of voodoo.

Middle Eastern and Mediterranean culture is the source of the belief in the evil eye, which may be the result of envy but, more rarely, is said to be the result of a deliberate curse.

German people, including the Pennsylvania Dutch speak in terms of hexing (from the German word for witchcraft), and a common hex in days past was that laid by a stable-witch who caused milk cows to go dry and horses to go lame. .

Curses in the Bible
Some passages in the Tanakh treat curses as being effective techniques; they see a curse as an objective reality with real power. However, most sections of the Bible conceive a curse to be merely a wish, to be fulfilled by God only when just and deserved.

According to the Book of Proverbs, an undeserved curse has no effect (Proverbs 26:2), but may fall back upon the head of him who utters it (Genesis] 12:3; Sirach 21:27), or may be turned by God into a blessing (Deuteronomy 23:5).

The declaration of punishments (Gen. 3:14, 17; 4:11), the utterance of threats (Jeremiah 11:3, 17:5; Malachi i. 14), and the proclamation of laws (Deut. 11:26-28, 27:15 et seq.) received added solemnity and force when conditioned by a curse.

In the Bible, cursing is generally characteristic of the godless (Ps. 10:7), but may serve as a weapon in the mouth of the wronged, the oppressed, and those who are zealous for God and righteousness (Judges 9:57; Prov. 11"26, 30:10).

A righteous curse, especially when uttered by persons in authority, was believed to be unfailing in its effect (Gen. 9:25, 27:12; II Kings 2:24; Ecclus. Sirach 3:11). One who had received exemplary punishment at the hands of God was frequently held up, in cursing, as a terrifying object-lesson (Jer. 23: 22), and such a person was said to be, or to have become, a curse (II Kings 22:19; Jer. 24:9, 25: 18; Zechariah 8:13). An elaborate trial by ordeal for a woman suspected by her husband of adultery is set forth in Numbers 5:11-30; this involved drinking a "bitter water that brings a curse"; if the woman were guilty, she would suffer miscarriage and infertility.

It is especially forbidden to curse God (Exodus 22:28), parents (Ex. 21:17; Leviticus 20:9; Prov. 20:20, 30: 11), the authorities (Ex. 22:28; Eccl. 10:20), and the helpless deaf (Lev. 19:14).

Cursed Places
Certain objects or places are said to be cursed. Sometimes, the curse was allegedly laid with a purpose; the "Curse of the Pharaohs" is supposed to have haunted the archaeologists who excavated the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen, whereby an imprecation was supposedly pronounced on anyone who violated its precincts by the ancient Egyptian priests.

THE CURSED HOUSE

Some say the Lalaurie house in New Orleans is forever cursed, And the tortured souls there live with Madame Delphine Lalaurie in an eternal hell, haunting the living. Others swear Amityville House is best known for being the setting of the best-selling book and popular movie, The Amityville Horror, which is purportedly based on the real-life mass murder of the DeFeo family in 1974 at 112 Ocean Avenue. The address was later changed to "108 Ocean Avenue" in order to avoid ghost hunters and demonologists attracted by the book's ghost story. The house in question was renovated. A remake of The Amityville Horror was released in the Spring of 2005.

The Warrens have been called the nations top psychic researchers for over 3 decades, and have lectured extensively at colleges and universities through out the country. They were 2 of only a handful of investigators ever allowed into the infamous "Amityville Horror" home and have the only pictures ever taken inside the house.

The Warrens found that Mr. Lutz’s descriptions of the paranormal activity in the home were very accurate for a case of demonic possession, although the Lutz’s had never studied demonology--they would not have the actual know how to fabricate the story that they told.

History of the property: The property was used as a sort of insane asylum for Native Americans who were sick and dying. There had been an enclosure on the property, where the patients were housed. Inhuman spirits revel in such suffering and are able to infest the graves of those who were buried in unconsecrated ground.

Background: The problems at the Amityville house seemed to stem from the Ronald DeFeo murders on November 13, 1974. Mr. DeFeo hated his father and had plotted to kill him--he’d even worked out a scheme by which he could do so. Mr. DeFeo was on drugs, and his father knew about it. Later he said that there was a shadow ghost alongside of him during the killings which compelled him to shoot his two brothers and his sister at 3:15 am on November 13, 1974. Although the houses in this quiet Amityville neighborhood were only 40 feet apart, no neighbors awoke during the shootings. All of the victims were found on their stomachs. The Warrens believe that the victims were in a state of phantomania, which in effect paralyzed them, making them unable to cry out for help.

How the Warrens became involved: Ed and Lorraine Warren met with a priest, Father Pecararo, and the Lutzes when they were first called in to investigate. The Lutzes were living at Mrs. Lutz’s mother’s house in Deer Park, NY because they were too afraid to go back to the house to live. They were all but afraid to even speak of the phenomena, so deep was their fear. They’d even left all of their furniture and possessions behind, not daring to return to move out--it simply wasn’t worth the risk.

The first time the Warrens went to the house it was with an anchorman from the Channel 5 news, a professor from Duke University, and the president of the American Society for Psychic Research. That first day was horrifying. Lorraine received nonstop clairvisual and clairaudial messages about the phenomena which had occurred.

Both Ed And Lorraine were so affected that they vowed they’d never go back into that house again. But they did....and the Amityville Horror story was born.

THE WARRENS WERE VOTED AS ONE OF THE TOP TEN PARANORMAL GHOST INVESTGATORS IN THE COUNTRY FOR 2007. READ MORE HERE! http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/toptenhaunted/2007/ghosthunters/

Lakes, Rivers and Mountains, Cemeteries, Crossroads, Castles and Keeps. Indian Burial Grounds, Sports Arenas, Parks, Churches, Movie Sets and even, Golf Courses and Shopping Centers all have been also known to be called cursed at one time or another. However even when there is a tradition of a place 'taking someone' every number of years they are not always considered cursed. For example someone is said to drown in New Orleans own Lake Ponchartrain, every 7 months but they say the lake is not considered cursed.

Cursed People
While it is clear that something strange is going on, the reason behind it is anyone's guess. There have been several theories presented but none as interesting as the one that suggests that James Dean himself was cursed. Could that explain why so many such as Dean have lead short, yet meaningful lives, and died so horribly? Stars like George Reeves, or Christopher Reeve, Sal Mineo, and Nick Adams to name a few. Or Movie and television cursed roles such as Superman, Tarzan, Dr. Who, and the ever told tale of the Poltergeist, and Exorcist movies. Many now a days talk about a new reality television show curse dooming peoples lives forever.

Superman curse - Excerpts From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Superman curse refers to a series of misfortunes that have plagued creative people involved in adaptations of Superman in various mediums, particularly actors who have played the role of Superman on film and television.

 

The curse is somewhat well-known in popular culture, largely due to the high-profile tragedies of Superman actors George Reeves and Christopher Reeve. Other sources deny the curse, stating that several Superman-related actors, such as Bud Collyer and Teri Hatcher, went on to success after their association with the franchise and that many hardships of "cursed" individuals are common in their respective fields. Nevertheless, the uncertainty proved to be taken seriously among many movie stars when several of them turned down multi-million dollar deals to play a role in the new upcoming film adaptation.

Supposed victims of the curse
Writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster created Superman in the 1930s but their employer DC Comics held the copyright to the character. In 1946, the two sued DC, arguing that they were inadequately compensated for the character. The New York Supreme Court limited their settlement to $60,000 each, a small sum compared to the millions of dollars Superman comic books, films, television series, and merchandise grossed. In 1975, in response to a campaign launched by Siegel and Shuster and joined by many prominent comic book creators, DC agreed to pay the two lifetime pensions of $35,000 a year and give them credit in every adaptation of the character. While Siegel and Shuster are respected in comic book fandom for Superman, neither went on to work on any other high-profile comic books after Superman.
Brothers Max and Dave Fleischer founded Fleischer Studios, which produced the original Popeye, Betty Boop and Superman cartoons. Shortly after bringing Superman into animation, the Fleischers began feuding with one another and their studio slumped financially until they were forced to sell to Paramount Pictures. Paramount ousted the Fleischers and rearranged their company as Famous Studios. Although Dave Fleischer went on to a career as a special effects advisor at Universal Studios, Max died poor at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital.
Kirk Alyn played Superman in two low-budget 1940s serials but failed to find work afterwards, saying that casting directors thought he was too recognized as Superman. He eventually retired to Arizona.
George Reeves played Superman in the 1951 film Superman and the Mole Men and the ensuing television series Adventures of Superman. Like Alyn, he was recognized only for the role. On June 16, 1959, days before he was to be married, Reeves was found dead of a shotgun wound at his home. The death was ruled a suicide but other theories persist.
In 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy's staff approved of a Superman story in which the hero touts the president's physical fitness initiatives, scheduled to be published with an April 1964 cover date. On November 22, Kennedy was shot and killed but, at the request of successor Lyndon Johnson, DC published a reworked version of the story
Comedian Richard Pryor, who had previously suffered from a drug addiction that lead to an almost fatal accident, starred as a villain in 1983’s Superman III. Three years later, he announced that he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He died of cardiac arrest on December 10, 2005.
Richard Lester, who was the credited director for Superman II (1980) (though Richard Donner directed many sequences which were ultimately used in the film) and entirely directed Superman III (1983) was so distraught by the death of Roy Kinnear during the shooting of The Return of the Musketeers (1989) that he quit directing. Kinnear bled to death following a broken pelvis which he sustained by falling from a horse.
Marlon Brando, who played Superman's biological father Jor-El in Superman: The Movie (1978) underwent various personal tragedies later in his life:
In May 1990, Brando's first son, Christian, shot and killed Dag Drollet, 26, the lover of Christian's half-sister Cheyenne Brando, at the family's home above Beverly Hills. Christian, 31, claimed the shooting was accidental. After a heavily publicized trial, Christian was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to ten years in prison.
The tragedy was compounded in 1995, when Cheyenne, said to still be depressed over Drollet's death, committed suicide by hanging herself. She was only 25 years old.
Marlon Brando's notoriety, his family's troubled lives, his self-exile from Hollywood, and his obesity attracted considerable attention in his later career. On July 1, 2004, Brando died at the age of 80. The cause of his death was intentionally withheld, with his lawyer citing privacy concerns. It was later revealed that he died of lung failure brought on by pulmonary fibrosis. He had also been suffering from liver cancer, congestive heart failure and diabetes, which was causing his eyesight to fail.
Both John Haymes Newton and Gerard Christopher, who starred as the title character in the Superboy television series (1988-1992), fell into obscurity after their respective tenures as the character. The same case can be made for Stacy Haiduk, who played love interest Lana Lang on the show.
Lee Quigley (who played the baby Kal-El in the 1978 Superman movie) tragically died in March 1991, at the age of fourteen, after inhaling solvents.
Christopher Reeve played Superman in the Superman: The Movie and three sequels throughout the 1980s. On May 17, 1995, Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down after being thrown from his horse in a cross country riding event. He died on October 10, 2004 due to heart failure stemming from his medical condition.
Margot Kidder, who played Superman’s love interest Lois Lane opposite Reeve suffered from intense bipolar disorder. In April 1996, she went missing for several days and was found by police in a paranoid, delusional state.
On July 2, 1996, on the anniversary of their grandfather's suicide, Superman IV (1987) co-star Mariel Hemingway's older sister Margaux was found dead at age 41. She had taken an overdose of sedatives. Though Margaux's death was ruled a suicide, Mariel disputed this finding.
Lane Smith, who played Clark Kent and Lois Lane's boss Perry White on the Lois & Clark television series, was diagnosed with the rare Lou Gehrig's Disease in April 2005 and died of the disease on June 13, 2005.
Dana Reeve, the widow of Christopher Reeve and co-founder of the Christopher Reeve Foundation with her late husband, publicly revealed that she was diagnosed with lung cancer on August 9, 2005, despite the fact that she was not a cigarette-smoker. She died of the cancer on March 6, 2006 at the age of 45.
In July 2006, Brandon Routh who plays Superman/Clark Kent in the 2006 film Superman Returns fell off his motorcycle, catapulting over the handle bars. He was saved by two women and taken to hospital.
When Kate Bosworth broke up with Orlando Bloom, she blamed the curse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_curse

Curse of Tippecanoe

Tecumseh's curse was reputed to cause the deaths in office of Presidents of the United States elected in years divisible by 20, beginning in 1840 (this alleged curse appears to have fallen dormant in 1980, as President Ronald Reagan, elected that year, did not die in office).

Curse of Tippecanoe (also known as the zero-year curse, the twenty-year curse, or Tecumseh's curse) is sometimes used to describe the coincidental pattern where, from 1840 to 1960, every United States President elected (or reelected) every twentieth year has died in office. The "curse" was "broken" by Ronald Reagan, who was elected in 1980 and survived his presidency.

The "curse", first noted in a Ripley's Believe It or Not book published in 1934, is commonly attributed to Tecumseh, who was defeated by William Henry Harrison at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. Another version attributes it to Tecumseh's half-brother Tenskwatawa, who pronounced the curse while sitting for a painting. This version has been the most widely accepted, but several scholars have questioned its validity.

William Henry Harrison was elected in 1840, but died only a month after his inauguration in 1841, after succumbing to a cold after giving his long inaugural speech in a freezing March rainstorm. His was the shortest-ever presidency.

Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860 and shot in 1865 by pro-Confederate actor John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theatre, Washington D.C. (However, he had survived long enough to be reelected in 1864.)

James Garfield, elected in 1880, was shot at the Baltimore and Potomac Rail Road station in 1881 by Charles Guiteau, a disgruntled man whom Garfield had turned down for a civil service position.

William McKinley, reelected in 1900, was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.

Warren G. Harding, elected in 1920, died of mysterious causes in 1923 in San Francisco, while on a national tour. The official cause of his death is a heart attack, yet historians have suggested such other causes as food poisoning and even murder by poisoning, possibly either by people affected by the recent Teapot Dome scandal or even his own wife, fed up with his philandering.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, reelected in 1940, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1945 at his summer home in Warm Springs, Georgia. Also, shortly before his first inauguration in 1933, an anarchist named Giuseppe Zangara attempted to assassinate him in Miami.

John F. Kennedy, elected in 1960, was shot in Dallas in 1963 allegedly by Lee Harvey Oswald, a Marxist radical (see Kennedy assassination for further details).

Kennedy Curse

The Kennedy Curse refers to a series of unfortunate events that have happened to the Kennedy family. While these events could have happened to any family, some have referred to the continual misfortune of the Kennedy family as a curse. The improbability of so many repeated instances of misfortune within one family, especially two high-profile political assassinations, has raised questions as to whether the curse results from sheer bad luck or from coordinated violence against the Kennedy family.

There are several theories regarding the origin of the "curse". According to Kennedy detractor Edward Klein, there is a story that Joseph Kennedy made his way to the Court of St. James as ambassador in 1937. On a trip back to the United States, aboard an ocean liner that was also carrying a Lubavitcher rabbi named Israel Jacobson and six of his yeshiva students, who were fleeing the Nazis, Kennedy complained to the ship's captain about the distracting noises caused by the Jewish passengers praying on the high holy days of Rosh Hashanah. He demanded that they be forbidden to continue exercises so distracting to fellow passengers. "Rabbi Jacobson put a curse on Kennedy, damning him and all his male offspring to tragic fates."

There is another variation on this story where Joseph Kennedy was visiting Great Britain during World War II and a Jewish refugee came to him and begged him for assistance in getting his sons out of Europe and Joseph Kennedy ignored him. The refugee then placed a curse that involved Joseph Kennedy's sons facing the same fate that the refugee's sons did.

Another similar story claims that Joseph Kennedy sold weapons to Nazi Germany. Because of this, a Jewish town found out and all the towns people prayed for a curse on his family.

In Ireland, folklore tells that a Kennedy ancestor destroyed a fairy dwelling, thereby cursing all future generations.

Critics of the Curse theory argue that, given the sheer size of the family, the number of unfortunate events is not unusual. The "curse" may be seen less as a supernatural phenomenon than simply as an operation of the laws of probability. Such tragic events happen to a lesser or greater extent in all families but they just make headline news when they happen to a family so famous. It could also be argued that the Kennedy family due to their relative wealth have a lifestyle that is quite different from how most people live (for example, piloting a plane) and consequently they are more often in greater physical danger.

Believers in the "curse" generally cite the following core events as evidence of the family's misfortunes:

1941 - Rosemary Kennedy was believed to be mentally retarded but may have suffered from mental illness due to the intense pressure of living in a competitive family. It is generally assumed that her intelligence was lower than average but that she was certainly not mentally retarded. She was a disappointment to her father and sent to live with a family aide. Thus isolated, she became increasingly violent and suffered severe mood swings. Subsequently, she underwent an experimental surgery with the intention of controlling her outbursts. The results of the lobotomy were disastrous, and she remained in an institution until her death in 2005. Due to this tragedy, several of the Kennedy family have been involved in advocacy on behalf of developmentally disabled people (founded Special Olympics and other organizations) and mental illness.
1944 - Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., the eldest son of the Kennedy patriarch Joseph Kennedy, is killed over the English Channel while flying a mission during World War II.
1948 - Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington, dies in a plane crash in France.
1955 - Jacqueline Kennedy suffers a miscarriage.
1956 - Jacqueline Kennedy gives birth to a stillborn daughter. (Although the daughter was unnamed and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery next to her parents with a marker reading "Daughter", later reports indicated that the Kennedys had intended to call her "Arabella Kennedy".)
December 19, 1961 - Joseph P. Kennedy, the family patriarch, suffers a greatly disabling stroke which makes movement and communication extremely difficult and limited until his death.
August 7, 1963 - Patrick Bouvier Kennedy , the second son of John and Jacqueline Kennedy, dies two days after his birth, nearly six weeks premature.
November 22, 1963 - President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas (see John F. Kennedy assassination).
1964 - Ted Kennedy is in a plane crash in which one of his aides and the pilot were killed. He was pulled from the wreckage by fellow senator Birch E. Bayh II (D-Ind.) and spent weeks in a hospital recovering from a severe back injury, a punctured lung, broken ribs, and internal bleeding.
June 5, 1968 - Robert F. Kennedy, brother to both John and Ted, is shot multiple times in Los Angeles, immediately following his victory in the California Democratic presidential primary (see Robert F. Kennedy assassination). He died the next day.
1969 - "Chappaquiddick Incident" - A car driven by Ted Kennedy goes off a bridge. Mary Jo Kopechne, a former aide to Robert Kennedy, dies in the accident.
1973 - Edward Kennedy, Jr. At the age of twelve loses his right leg due to bone cancer.
1973 - Joseph P. Kennedy II, son of Robert and Ethel, is the driver in a Cape Cod car accident that leaves one passenger permanently paralyzed.
1973 - Alexander Onassis, stepson of Jacqueline Kennedy, dies in a plane crash.
1984 - David A. Kennedy, a son of Robert, dies from a Demerol and cocaine overdose in a Palm Beach, Florida hotel room.
1994 - Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis dies after a brief battle with cancer.
December 31, 1997 - Michael Kennedy, another son of Robert, dies in a skiing accident in Aspen, Colorado.
1999 - John F. Kennedy Jr.; his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy; and Carolyn's sister Lauren Bessette died when the private plane Kennedy was piloting crashes into the Atlantic Ocean on a hazy evening en route from Essex County Airport in Fairfield, New Jersey to Martha's Vineyard.

Sports-related curses
A number of curses are used to explain the failures or misfortunes of specific sports teams or players. For example, the Curse of the Billy Goat is used to explain the failures of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, who have not won a championship since 1908. Players who appear on the covers of either the Sports Illustrated magazine or the Madden NFL video game have tended to coincidently suffer setbacks or injuries.

The infamous black cat circles Ron Santo in 1969 at Shea Stadium, just before the "Mircale Mets" write another chapter of the Cubs curse.

Many say the New Orleans Saints are one of the most cursed teams in NFL. The curse was said to be placed on the team by a Great New Orleans evil voodoo witch queen during the first year NFL season.

Fans in New Orleans believe that Exorcists and voodoo priestesses have been trying to remove or to dispel the curse. ... The main target of the curse, of course, has been the New Orleans Saints, The New Orleans Saints management called upon Voodoo Yoruba Priestess Ava Kay Jones.

Voodoo was considered by the dominant American culture to be sinful and threatening, and strong repressive measures were taken by the authorities. From the turn of the twentieth century until about the 1960s, the practice was simply seen as a fraud from which the ignorant needed protection. By the latter half of the twentieth century,concerns with both sin and fraud had diminished, and Voodoo was looked upon as entertainment—a tourist commodity and potential gold-mine for commercial exploitation. Finally, at the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first, there has been a new awareness of Voodoo as a legitimate religion.

Many have tried to break the curse publicly including Witch Queen Mary Onieda Toups in 1978, and recently Reese Smith a psychic Reader from Marie Laveaus' House Of Voodoo has added his name to the list for the 2006-2007 season.

Voodoo has been exploited by promoters of the New Orleans Saints, ... Times-Picayune announcing, “The Curse Is Lifted.”

On Halloween, 1999, a local radio station asked Voodoo - Priestess Miriam Chamani to perform a ceremony outside the Superdome to help the New Orleans Saints win against the Cleveland Browns (which was interrupted by harassment from a Browns fan dressed as a dog).

In 2002, New Orleans own Voodoo Yoruba Priestess Ava Kay Jones poses with her South American Red Tailed Boa during the Saints win against the Rams.

Ava Kay Jones and Voodoo - Priestess Miriam Chamani were voted by readers of Haunted America Tours as one of the Top Ten Voodoo Queens in New Orleans, Visit here to see who else made the list! http://www.hauntedamericatours.com/voodoo/voodooqueens/

The Saints contracted Quint Davis and his company Festival Productions Inc. (the team that produces Jazz Fest and the Essence Festival) to handle entertainment for the Saints' home games. According to Wayne Hodes, director of marketing for the Saints, approximately two weeks before the Saints/Rams game on Dec. 17, 2002, Hodes' office asked Davis to hire Ava Kay Jones, a well-known Voodoo and Yoruba priestess, to do a blessing before the game.

Smith Says, "The New Orleans Saints curse will be lifted but it will haunt some far away desert place and hopefully not another undefeated team." " Banished Curses sometimes can be moved but not broken!" Where this one will end up I do not know."

Also see: 20 Questions with Reese Smith

The 2006- 2007 Saints are no longer a surprise as expectations continue to rise for a team now figured to be in contention for a playoff spot. Was Reese Smiths' Voodoo Hex Breaker actually working?

The New Orleans Saints 2006 season
09/10 at Cleveland W 19-14
09/17 at Green Bay W 34-27
09/25 Atlanta W 23-3
10/01 at Carolina L 18-21
10/08 Tampa Bay W 24-21
10/15 Philadelphia W 27-24
BYE
10/29 Baltimore L 22-35
11/05 at Tampa Bay W 31-14
11/12 at Pittsburgh L 31-38
11/19 Cincinnati L 16-31
11/26 at Atlanta W 31-13
12/03 San Francisco W 34-10
12/10 at Dallas W 42-17
12/17 Washington L 10-16
12/24 at N.Y. Giants W 30-7
12/31 Carolina L 21-31


01/13 NFC Divisional Playoff
Philadelphia W 27-24
01/21 NFC Championship
at Chicago L 14-39

Many say that The Actual Voodoo Hex Breaker by Smith did make a difference! So much that Sonia Choquette wanted Bears fans to take a piece of paper, write ''Freeze New Orleans'' on it, then place it in a freezer. Crazy? Maybe, but as sure as some believe there's voodoo brewing in the cemetery under the Superdome, Bears fans are looking for ways to counter whatever mojo has been fueling the Saints this season.

Voodoo "Freeze" In Upcoming Football Game
Psychic's a freeze spirit

see: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/215577,CST-SPT-vside18.article

Saints have team spirit
Voodoo queen Marie Laveau died 125 years ago, but influence lingers

January 18, 2007
BY NEIL HAYES Staff Reporter www.suntimes.com
NEW ORLEANS -- Everyone seems to agree that the New Orleans Saints have been propelled as if by magic during a worst-to-first season that has them one victory away from the Super Bowl.
But could darker forces be at work? In the voodoo capital of the United States, the question must be asked: Has black magic played a role in the Saints reversing 40 years of futility in the wake of the worst natural disaster in U.S. history?

Are the Bears cursed? Might there be a hex on Rex?

The search for truth through the cobblestone streets and narrow back alleys of the French Quarter on an unseasonably cold, windy, rain-soaked day produced a startling answer.

In voodoo capital New Orleans, the Saints have appeared to have black magic on their side all season. But Chicago has its own answer to counter the mojo.
(Guillermo Munro/Sun-Times)

''The explanation would be that Marie Laveau is happy and has finally decided she's a Saints fan,'' said Jerry Gandolfo, administrator of the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum.
Laveau, dead for 125 years, is the greatest icon of New Orleans. The mother of 15 also is considered the greatest voodoo spirit of all and capable of anything, good or bad. Gandolfo should know. His ancestors once lived next door to the famous voodoo queen, who was the daughter of a white planter and a black woman.

''People do believe spirits can intercede and affect the outcome of a season or a game,'' he said.

One popular urban legend involving Laveau that explained the Saints' futility finally has been debunked.

The Superdome was built on the site of a cemetery where many believed Laveau was interred. Turns out a Marie Laveau may have been buried there, but it wasn't the Marie Laveau.

It was a Cajun tradition that sons and daughters take the same first name. Marie Laveau's sister was named Marie Laveau. Her daughters all were named Marie Laveau. There are Marie Laveau tombs all over New Orleans.

''The Saints stunk for 40 years,'' Gandolfo said. ''People were looking for excuses, and whenever you say cemetery in New Orleans, it's analogous to Marie Laveau and voodoo. So the urban legend became that they [ticked] off Marie Laveau.''

Another theory involves étranger, the French word for foreigner. New Orleanians, especially those who believe in voodoo, always have been wary of outsiders -- and for good reason. Voodoo was more tolerated under the French and Spanish but was considered blasphemous by Americans who arrived after the Louisiana Purchase, which drove the practice underground.

Enter John W. Mecom