From the ArcaMax Publishing, Religion & Spirituality Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/religionandspirituality/s-348687-509492
Members of a Boy Scout troop that agreed to help clean a historic
cemetery in St. Petersburg, Fla., found three voodoo dolls hanging
from a tree.
The dolls, which were hung in a vertical line on the tree's bark, had
rusty pins stuck in their faceless heads, arms and legs, the St.
Petersburg Times reported Thursday.
"They were kind of like ugly creatures that would eat you alive," said
10-year-old Kevin McDonough, a Webelos Cub Scout.
The Greenwood Cemetery, where the dolls were found, has buried on its
grounds dozens of Civil War veterans, Union and Confederate, buried on
opposite sides of the grounds.
University of South Florida religion Professor Mozella Mitchell, who
studies Caribbean faiths, said the dolls are associated with many
African-derived religions. They're common among people of Haitian,
Cuban and Caribbean descent, she said.
Believers often use the dolls as sacred objects to connect with the
supernatural, not typically for evil purposes, Mitchell was quoted as
saying.
"I'd say certain sects might work a trick on somebody," she added.
"But that's a very minor aspect of the religion."