The Strange Tale of Clairvius Narcisse: Haiti's "Vodou Zombie"
In 1980, Clairvius Narcisse was recognized by several people including his sister in the Haitian city of L'Estère. This would not have been unusual except for the fact that Clairvius had died in 1962
Background
Here at Tales From the Underworld, we have covered some strange stories—from vampires to mummies and even werewolves! This Halloween, we bring you the strange saga of Clairvius Narcisse, a Haitian man who some, including his own sister, claim was a real-life zombie.
In 1980, a man approached Angelina Narcisse in the Haitian city of L'Estère, claiming to be her brother Clairvius. The only problem is that Clairvius Narcisse died in 1962.
However, after identifying himself using a family nickname and other personal family details that a stranger would not know, Angelina, as well as many other people there, believed that the man was, in fact, Angelina’s long-deceased brother, Clairvius.
The man’s tale was bizarre and surreal. He had seemingly returned from the dead.
Cultural Traditions
To understand why Clairvius’ story was believed, it is important to understand the cultural context.
The culture of Haiti has been shaped by centuries of African slaves being imported to the Caribbean island. These people brought with them their own cultural and religious traditions from West and Central Africa.
Some of these customs included combining aspects of different religious traditions to form a set of practices and belief systems that came to be known as Vodou.
Some Vodou practices include drumming, dancing, and singing in an effort to communicate with spirits. These traditions also involve elements of divination and sacrifice, including fruits, liquor, and animals.
These customs were developed and refined during the course of the Atlantic slave trade from the 16th through 19th centuries.
The Vodou priest, or Bokor as he is known, is a respected and often feared figure within Haitian society. For centuries, frightening accounts of Bokors being able to turn men into zombie slaves have been passed down through generations.
Clairvius Narcisse
Before he was supposedly raised from the dead, Clairvius Narcisse was an outcast in his community. He had deliberately abandoned his children and had stolen land that rightfully belonged to his brother.
Clairvius claims that his brother solicited the help of a Boker who administered Narcisse with a powerful potion comprised of various toxins and poisons.
On April 30, 1962, Narcisse admitted himself into the Schweitzer Hospital in Deschapelles. The hospital staff, which also employed American medical personnel, were at a loss to explain or diagnose Narcisse’s symptoms.
He had a fever, severe fatigue, and was coughing up blood. His symptoms worsened, and three days later, he was pronounced dead. All of the physicians present, including an American doctor, signed Narcisse’s death certificate.
After this, his body was placed in cold storage for approximately twenty hours and was then buried. His sister Angelina was present when Clairvius was pronounced dead.
Clairvius would later say that he was awake for the entire ordeal, yet the potion he was administered had paralyzed him. He recalled laying in his coffin, fully conscious as the lid was nailed shut. He even claimed to have sustained a scar on his cheek from one of the nails.
According to Narcisse’s account, after his burial on May 2, 1962, his body was exhumed by the Boker, and he was given a special paste that effectively rendered him unable to operate under his own free will.
Clairvius was then taken to a sugar plantation where he and “other zombies,” as he described them, were forced to work as slaves. He was regularly administered the same paste, which Narcisse described as also having hallucinogenic properties.
It was only when the plantation owner died two years later, and the constant drugging stopped that Clairvius regained his right mind and eventually returned to his family.
Clairvius Narcisse would go on to live another twelve years before passing away (for real) in 1994.
Theories and Speculation
Naturally, many people remained skeptical of Narcisse’s claims. In the mid-1980s, Wade Davis, a Harvard grad student, went to Haiti to investigate the claims. He was dispatched at the suggestion of his mentor, Richard Schultes, a professor of biology.
Schultes was an expert on native medicines and poisons and believed that they were likely a key factor in the phenomena described by Narcisse.
After arriving in Haiti, Davis was put in contact with a Vodou sorcerer named Marcel Pierre. Davis eventually purchased a potion and even observed how it was made.
Using ingredients including parts of toads, worms, lizards, tarantulas, and children's bones dug up from a cemetery. He observed as Pierre ground the ingredients into a fine black powder using a mortar and pestle.
When rubbed on the victim’s skin, the concoction would render them paralyzed and lower their metabolism to a level similar to a dead man.
Davis noted that the effects are similar to those of the toxin found in the deadly puffer fish. On one occasion, a Japanese man woke up several days later in a morgue when he was believed to have died after consuming the fish.
A Japanese delicacy (when properly prepared), the tetrodotoxin from the puffer fish has a very similar effect to many symptoms that Narcisse described.
As to the ingredients in the paste that he was allegedly given at the sugar plantation, Davis speculates that it may have contained the extremely psychoactive and poisonous plant Datura.
Sometimes referred to as “the devil’s trumpets,” the plant’s pods act as an incredibly intense deliriant, which would certainly render a person out of their mind.
So, was Clairvius Narcisse taken advantage of by local medicine men and exploited for free labor? Or was he an actual zombie caught up in supernatural activity beyond his control?
Stranger things have happened.
Happy Halloween 🎃
Sources:
Del Guercio, Gino. “From the Archives: The Secrets of Haiti’s Living Dead.” Harvard Magazine, 31 October 2017, (Original publication Jan/Feb 1986), https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2017/10/are-zombies-real
Jailler, Fayida. “Clairvius Narcisse: The Alleged Real-Life Haitian Zombie.” Travel Noire, 22 October 2021, https://travelnoire.com/clairvius-narcisse-haitian-zombie
“Clairvius Narcisse.” Zombiepedia, https://zombie.fandom.com/wiki/Clairvius_Narcisse
I remember reading Wade Davis' book, The Serpent and the Rainbow a long time ago. I might've even seen the movie, but that I don't remember. I just love creepy stuff like this, ever since I was a little girl. Thanks for putting this content out there. Love it!