Haiti

Haiti is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea. Haiti has a long and storied tradition when it comes to the horror genre. It is the land of voodoo and zombies! Original zombie, mind you, not the Romero kind. It is the place where Clairvius Narcisse was poisoned, buried alive, and revived as one of the undead in The Serpent and the Rainbow. In the Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing game, Haiti is home to a vampire clan known as Settites, who are evil snake-worshipers who trace their lineage back to Ancient Egypt. In Marvel Comics continuity, brothers Jericho Drumm and Daniel Drumm both hailed from Haiti. Daniel was a voodoo houngan who died and became a ghost. He bonded with his brother Jericho, who took on the mantle of Brother Voodoo. A lesser known Haitian figure from Marvel Comics is Jeesala of the Thousand Years, who worked with a werewolf named Raymond Coker after his aunt and uncle had been killed in a Zombie attack.

Points of Interest

 * Port-au-Prince: Port-au-Prince is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,310 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The city of Port-au-Prince is on the Gulf of Gonâve. The city's layout is similar to that of an amphitheatre; commercial districts are near the water, while residential neighborhoods are located on the hills above.

Films

 * White Zombie

Other appearances
Haiti was featured in the "Fresh Bones" episode of the FOX Network television series The X-Files. In the episode, F.B.I. special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully Mulder and Scully discover a voodoo symbol drawn on a tree after a soldier, Private Jack McAlpin, crashes his car into it following two separate hallucinatory incidents. This leads the two to a processing center for Haitian refugees where suspicion falls on one of the Haitians identified by the colonel in charge.

Related articles

 * Amulets of Damballah: The Amulets of Damballah are two mystical artifacts that possess the ability to summon and control the animated dead. Also known as the Talismans of Damballah, these items are mystically endowed with the power of their namesake, Damballah – one of the most powerful Loa (spirits) of the Voodoo religion. Each talisman is etched with the symbol of the serpent. Singularly, each amulet is capable of granting the user control over the dead, but the power only fully manifests when both amulets are used in concert.


 * Bokor: A bokor is a Vodou witch for hire who is said to serve the loa 'with both hands', practicing for both good and evil. Their black magic includes the creation of zombies and the creation of 'ouangas', talismans that house spirits.


 * Damballah: Damballah is a spirit in the Voodoo tradition and one of the strongest element of the Loa. Damballah is usually represented in the form of a snake and is invoked in many Voodoo rituals. Damballah is one of the spirits invoked by Charles Lee Ray, as part of the Rite of Transference. Damballah was also an alias used by the character Carl van Molder in the 1971 film Isle of the Snake People.


 * Houngan: Houngan is the term for a male priest in Haitian Vodou. It is the houngan's role to preserve the rituals and songs and maintain the relationship between the spirits and the community as a whole (though some of this is the responsibility of the whole community as well). They are entrusted with leading the service of all of the spirits of their lineage.


 * Voodoo: Voodoo refers to any of varying branches of religious practice and observation stemming back to the religions of Africa. Haitian Voodoo is a syncretic religion originating from the Caribbean country of Haiti. It is based upon a merging of the beliefs and practices of West African peoples. Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo, originated from the traditions of the African diaspora. It is a cultural form of the Voodoo religions which historically developed within the French, Spanish, and Creole speaking African-American population of the U.S. state of Louisiana.


 * Loa: Loa are the spirits of Haitian Vodou and Louisiana Voodoo.They are also referred to as "mystères" and "the invisibles" and are intermediaries between Bondye — the Supreme Creator, and humanity. Unlike saints or angels, however, they are not simply prayed to, they are served. They are each distinct beings with their own personal likes and dislikes, distinct sacred rhythms, songs, dances, ritual symbols, and special modes of service.


 * Mambo: Mambo are the highest form of female clergy in the Voodoo religion, whose responsibility it is to preserve the rituals and songs and maintain the relationship between the spirits and the community as a whole, though some of this is the responsibility of the whole community as well. They are entrusted with leading the service of all of the spirits of their lineage.


 * Zombies: Zombies are humans, animals or any part thereof who have died and have since been reanimated through any of several methods. They have been referred to as the Undead or the Walking Dead. Traditionally, when a human being dies and is resurrected as a zombie, they are no longer a sentient being and lack any semblance of a conscious mind. These creatures are typically driven by pure instinct or an innate primal desire such as hunger or the need to kill. Zombies are often susceptible to psychological suggestion and may be easily manipulated or controlled by those responsible for their reanimation. This is not always the case however, and many zombies have rebelled against their creator over the years.