Spirits of the South | Religion, Ritual, and the Southern Gothic Imagination

Name: Spirits of the South | Religion, Ritual, and the Southern Gothic Imagination
Start: 2025-10-11T15:00:00-04:00
End: 2025-10-11T16:00:00-04:00
Location: Historic Camden Foundation

Schedule

Sat Oct 11 2025 at 03:00 pm to 04:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Historic Camden Foundation | Camden, SC

Saturday, October 11 | 3:00pm
Historic Camden – McCaa’s Tavern
222 Broad Street, Camden, SC 29020
Part of the Southern Gothic Festival
This panel examines how African American spiritual traditions—Hoodoo, Voodoo, and spiritualism—have shaped Southern identity, storytelling, and the Gothic imagination. Rooted in healing, resistance, and sacred knowledge, these belief systems continue to inform both lived experience and literary expression across the South.
Panelists will explore the cultural legacy of these practices and how they influence themes of morality, the supernatural, and the unseen in Southern narratives—offering a deeper understanding of belief as both tradition and storytelling tool.
Featured Panelists
Dr. Jeffrey E. Anderson — Professor of History at Louisiana State University and author of Hoodoo, Voodoo, and Conjure: A Handbook. His research focuses on Black Southern communities, resistance traditions, and African American spiritual practices.
Dr. Heather Freeman — Professor of Communication and Media Studies and creator of the podcast Magic in the United States. Freeman explores esoteric and spiritual traditions across American history through storytelling, scholarship, and media.
Tayannah Lee McQuillar — Diviner, spiritual advisor, and author of The Hoodoo Tarot and The Sibyls Oraculum. Her work draws from religion, mysticism, and African diasporic traditions to explore ancestral wisdom and intuitive knowledge.
Free Event · Seating First Come, First Served
👉 Full schedule available at southerngothicfestival.com