SPELLBOUND:
A TALE OF MAGIC, MYSTERY & MURDER
By Louise Ann Barton
Copyright 2002 Louise Ann Barton
Cover Design by Francesco Domenico Cipriani
Names of people and villages have been changed to protect anonymity. The names of other characters and events depicted in this novel are based on personal experiences, interviews, research and historical documentation or are products of the author's imagination.
Except for quotes by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a newspaper, magazine or journal review, all rights are reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced, or utilized in any form, or by any device, electronic or mechanical, or other means now known or hereinafter invented, including photocopying or recording, or in any information or retrieval system, without written permission from the author.
REVIEWS:
"MAGIC? MYSTERY? MURDER? THIS IS SUCH A COMMON OCCURRENCE IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, WHY WOULD ANYONE EVEN BOTHER WRITING IT DOWN?"
-Immigrant Dominican teens at George Washington High School, Washington Heights, NYC, 1987.
"THRILLING! FAST PACED!"
-Francesco Domenico Cipriani, artist, author, and linguist (LEARNING LITTLE HAWK’S WAY OF STORYTELLING; MASK OF THE WARRIOR, PARA TODOS; ¿QUIÉN VA A ESCRIBIR ESTE LIBRO?, Best Short Story Award, 1988).
"AN INCREDIBLE TALE! People who have visited Haiti tell us there really is something there!"
-Jersey Shore Writers Guild, Southern NJ.
"A MASTER STORYTELLER, skillfully weaves a web of fact and fantasy!"
Donna Lee Sharp Albertson, a Pine Barrens' artist, author, and noted poet.
"A REAL PAGE TURNER!"
Kenneth Little Hawk (Micmac/Mohawk), International storyteller, musician, composer, performer, and author (LEARNING LITTLE HAWK’S WAY OF STORYTELLING, HOW THE TURTLE GOT ITS SHELL; cd’s – IN A GOOD WAY, IN A VERY REAL WAY, and RELATIVE).
"MAGICALLY CRAFTED!"
Prose & Poetry Writers Guild, Southern NJ.
"OUR NEW CULT CLASSIC."
Students in California Universities.
MANY THANKS TO EVERYONE
who encouraged, prodded, and aided me
to finish this cursed book:
Angela Marie Jenkins,
The Jersey Shore Writers’ Guild
Jean Knight Mueller
Johnnie Evans
Francesco Domenico Cipriani
and my daughter, Linda Cheryl Wisner
Be forewarned before reading further. This is a cursed manuscript and the reader runs the risk of becoming cursed. Proceed at your own risk, if you dare, for you may become
SPELLBOUND!
Because this tale is based on real events, this manuscript was cursed to keep the tale of real magic, real mystery, and real murder from being told. This is a fictionalized account based on one family’s incredible experience and the magical practices in Hispaniola and the United States. This is a tale of Santeria and Voodoo, and a book of great magical power, which if mishandled, could harm the user and spellbind the unwary. Such books are the Grand Grimoires of the Dominican Republic and their magic is contained by burying the book when not in use.
I first heard this story about 30 years ago, in a New York, inner-city high school. Thinking to make my Dominican, immigrant students feel welcome here in Nuevo York, I asked them to take turns telling Dominican folk tales. One young man agreed, instead, to tell his family’s story - and an incredible tale it was!
He told of Santeria, Voodoo, a demon, and a book of magical secrets that was so powerful, it had to be kept buried when not in use. He said his mother had married outside the Santeria community and, to please her new husband, became a practicing Catholic. She soon gave birth to a son, the boy who was now my student. His maternal grandmother was a powerful Santera and, when she died, and the time came to pass on the book and its power, the boy’s mother had no wish to disrupt her new life.
And so, the book stayed in the ground.
The young woman’s brother desired the book and its power, but he couldn’t take such a thing by force. His sister must first agree to the transfer and, even then, he could only retain the power until she chose to reclaim it. Her brother badgered her everyday, in every way, until he had the book. When he opened it, he found magic both bright and dark.
His sister was good; he was evil.
He distorted the power for criminal purposes, murder, and human sacrifice - and there were those said he could take the form of a black horse or a dog. When I decided to turn this story into a novel, I was told, "This is such a common occurrence in Dominica, why would anyone even bother writing it down?"
My writing prompted the boy’s mother to belatedly claim her inheritance. She telephoned her brother, the villain of the piece, at his home in the Dominican Republic and asked him to return the book.
Her brother was getting on in years and thinking of retiring - or so he pretended. He knew he couldn’t keep the power if its rightful owner chose to claim it, so he did the only thing he could. The brother agreed to return the book, but remained true to character.
He said he would sell it to her.
And then he cursed the manuscript.
Because of the curse, it would take ten years to complete this book and another twenty before it could be published. During this time, I learned of Santeria’s mysterious history.
The practice of Santeria and Voodoo in the United States has been, up until recently, one of the best-kept secrets. By now our age of innocence has passed and the time when such exotica were only encountered in fiction ended years ago. Until then, most of us had never heard of Santeria, and those involved would feign ignorance if an outsider broached the subject. Since then, an influx of immigrants from different cultures and subcultures has increasingly exposed us to these colorful religions.
It is most distressing to Americans when we begin to encounter such practices on our own turf. We trip over smashed eggs and animal remains on the way to our cars. We hear on the evening news that cemetery skulls have been stolen for ritual purposes. We read instructions in a local library book that Santeria practitioners may obtain "ingredients" for animal sacrifice by looking in the yellow pages under "Pet Stores."
When our government learned that animal sacrifice was very much a part of African-based religions, special task forces and new laws were developed to deal with the growing practice in this country. These laws vary from state to state and, in Florida, animal sacrifice became legalized, providing the animal wasn’t someone’s pet and was subsequently eaten for dinner.
The book referred to in this novel should not be confused with the Christian Bible, often called "The Book." On the contrary, the book referred to herein is the kind kept by Santeria practitioners. Individually written, they contain great magical power, which, if mishandled, may destroy the user and spellbind the unwary.
This is the story surrounding only one of the many Grand Grimoires of the Dominican Republic.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
BE FOREWARNED
CHAPTER 1 - THE POWER
CHAPTER 2 - THE SHARING
CHAPTER 3 - THE OPPORTUNITY
CHAPTER 4 - THE PROPHECY
CHAPTER 5 - THE RESPONSIBILITY
CHAPTER 6 - THE FUNERAL
CHAPTER 7 - THE INHERITANCE
CHAPTER 8 - THE JOURNEY
CHAPTER 9 - THE PREPARATION
CHAPTER 10 - THE SACRIFICE
CHAPTER 11 - THE ACCOMPLICE
CHAPTER 12 - THE PARTY
CHAPTER 13 - THE GIRL
CHAPTER 14 - THE THEFT
CHAPTER 15 - THE BLOND
E
CHAPTER 16 - THE DECISION
CHAPTER 17 - THE WOMAN
CHAPTER 18 - THE INVESTIGATION
CHAPTER 19 - THE PLAN
CHAPTER 20 - THE VICTIMS
CHAPTER 21 - THE CURSE
CHAPTER 22 - THE VISIT
CHAPTER 23 - THE TAKEOVER
CHAPTER 24 - THE POLICE
CHAPTER 25 - THE BREAKING
CHAPTER 26 - THE MARKET
CHAPTER 27 - THE LOUNGE
CHAPTER 28 - THE DRESS
CHAPTER 29 - THE SPRITES
CHAPTER 30 - THE WEDDING
CHAPTER 31 - THE CEMETERY
CHAPTER 32 - THE TOURISTS
CHAPTER 33 - THE TOILET
CHAPTER 34 - THE STORY
CHAPTER 35 - THE DREAM
CHAPTER 36 - THE BOY
CHAPTER 37 - THE WRAITH
CHAPTER 38 - THE CHOICE
CHAPTER 39 - THE CHARM
CHAPTER 40 - THE ARREST
CHAPTER 41 - THE BURNING
CHAPTER 42 - THE CLEANSING
CHAPTER 43 - THE PATRIACH
CHAPTER 44 - THE JOINING
CHAPTER 45 - THE CONFRONTATION
CHAPTER 46 - THE LEAVING
CHAPTER 47 - THE STALKING
CHAPTER 48 - THE RESURRECTION
THIS MANUSCRIPT IS STILL CURSED
BIBLIOGRAHY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SPELLBOUND:
A TALE OF MAGIC, MYSTERY
& MURDER