Voodoo in the 1870s
During the Civil War in the 1860s, Voodoo in the news in New Orleans went out of sight. However, after the Civil War in the 1870s, it started to come back to the front page of the papers. People now seemed more interested in the practice of Voodoo then ever before. More and more people began to locate and view the Voodoo ceremonies that were taking place. Voodoo had become a common topic of conversation in the drawing rooms of the Creoles. The most important day on the Voodoo calendar was St. John’s Eve, and on this day people would all go around the city looking to view the Voodoo gatherings and ceremonies.
At times, the roads along the bayou and the roads going along the lake were completely packed with carriages. Creoles and other citizens of New Orleans went to seek out the Voodoos, sometimes for a laugh, and other times for serious reasons. It became everyone’s desire out of pure curiosity to witness a Voodoo rite. Even a reporter of the Times was at a St. John’s Eve celebration in 1872, where he published his account of the experience on June 26th.
(Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1994)
