Voodoo Digest: Voodoo Dolls
Despite what most pop-culture would have you believe, Voodoo Dolls are rarely used for nefarious purposes. The image of a victim writhing in pain as an evil witch doctor sticks pins into a doll representing them is practically the single most well-known hex, but unfortunately this is a complete fabrication and the dolls were never intended for such a purpose.
Quite the opposite, in fact, as Voodoo Dolls are largely created as good luck charms and wards against evil. The idea is to craft a humanoid vessel for one or more helpful loa spirits to inhabit. This loa then inhabits the doll for a time, usually as directed by the pact made with the practitioner, and blesses the target of the ward with good financial fortune, swift recovery from an illness, or protection from hexes.
The doll is usually made from blessed materials and has to contain artifacts to both indicate who the doll has been made for and what effect it is intended to have, with more powerful artifacts resulting in a stronger effect. For instance, a picture of the target or a lock of their hair may be sewn into the doll, along with money for fortune or herbs for health. Incantations or prayers may also be pinned to the doll, with these pins being the genesis of the aforementioned fake hex.
However, there is nothing stopping a particularly cruel practitioner from making deals with loa to inflict misery instead of prevent it, though the effects of such a charm would be pretty subtle.
In Alastorâs case, he has found a way to abuse this practice in particularly unique ways. His meticulously-crafted dolls serve the typical purpose of housing loa spirits, but in Hell, their connection to the spirit world is so strong and Alastor commands such potent magic that they can physically manipulate their vessels to serve him directly as minions. He can even use this magic to craft bodies directly from raw darkness, turning them into semi-corporeal shadows much like his own.
