He was buried dead and reappeared 18 years later: Clairvius Narcisse, the 'zombie' of Haiti

Gaston Sanchez

08/07/2021 14:00

• Clarín.com

• International

Updated 08/07/2021 2:00 PM

Voodoo is a religious cult originating in West Africa.

It is one of the oldest religions in the world and has a complex belief system that is based on

rituals

,

sacrifices and the

trance state

as a vehicle of contact with the gods.

With the slave trade to America, customs and cultures began to intertwine.

Thus,

this popular belief generally based on the

supernatural

began to grow in

Haiti

and the

Caribbean islands

.

It is in this particular country, which shares an island with the Dominican Republic, where the incredible story of

Clairvius Narcisse took place

.

A Haitian who "came back" from death at 58 after being declared dead and buried.

A mysterious potion made by voodoo wizards caused him to be left for dead.

Family disputes

Narcisse was born in 1922, somewhere in Lestè, a commune located in the Artibonito Department, the main area of ​​rice production in the country.

According to his account, he had a conflict with one of his brothers over the disposition of some inherited land.

The story goes that for this family dispute and for having refused to support his children, he was

punished

according to local

voodoo

traditions

.

Thus, Narcisse underwent a process of "

zombification

".

In April 1962 he was admitted to the American Albert Schewizer Hospital, in the city of Deschapelles, Verrettes.

He felt sick and was spitting blood.

According to the doctors, his condition worsened and he died three days after being admitted, at the age of 43.

Cause of death: malignant hypertension and pulmonary edema.

The death certificate was signed by a Haitian doctor and another American.

The next day he was buried.

Clairvius Narcisse worked for two years in a forced sugar camp.

Francina Illeus (left) and Clairvius Narcisse (right) were buried and left for dead, but years later "came back" to life.

Death and burial

But what most of the relatives who attended his funeral did not know, was that Narcisse heard his

cries

and

wails

.

Just as he also heard the doctor say he was

dead

.

They placed it in the coffin, lowered it, and covered it with dirt.

He felt a nail pierce his cheek.

He was present, unable to move or speak.

At night they took him out of the coffin.

He was revived, with another

potion

, and taken to a farm to work as a

slave

.

The witcher was the same person who had supplied him with the potion that left him in a state similar to

death

.

Narcisse's

case

was just one more in Haiti.

There are several examples of people who were believed dead and then reappeared.

Buried people who later "come back" to life, whose "zombification" process is a punishment carried out by a voodoo priest (called bokors or houngan).

For example,

Francina Illeus

, who was buried in February 1976, was found wandering in a forest in 1982. Her mother, who had participated in the funeral, recognized her thanks to a birthmark.

Clairvius Narcisse, 18 years after being buried, was reunited with his sister, Angelina.

"Zombie potion"

Clairvius Narcisse

was forced to work on the

voodoo sorcerer's

plantations

alongside a hundred other "

zombies

" like him.

After two years being a slave, his captor died and he was released.

He spent 16 years wandering the streets until he was able to find his family.

Eighteen years after his "death" he appeared in his hometown and greeted Angelina, his sister.

Yes, he had

risen

.

And now they had to get used to living with this.

The case fascinated the scientific community.

And reporters from around the world were interested in the story of Narcisse and the "zombie potion."

Thus, the Canadian anthropologist and ethnobotanist, Wade Davis, arrived in Haiti in 1982 and investigated the subject for several months.

He spoke with the locals and collected several interviews with

voodoo wizards

who even gave him samples of the

potion

and its ingredients.

Wade Davis wrote "The Zombie Enigma" and "The Serpent and the Rainbow" where he tells the story of Clairvius Narcisse.

Ingredients with poison

The material was analyzed at Harvard.

The toxic compound that put Clairvius to sleep was made from various

plants

,

animals,

and

human remains

.

The "zombie" potion contained two

high-risk

poisons

.

On the one hand, tetrodotoxin, a substance obtained from puffer fish that is capable of causing cardiac suspension.

It is an anesthetic 160 thousand times more powerful than cocaine.

It is known as

fugu

in Japan, and it is a gastronomic delicacy that must be cooked very well.

On the other hand, this potion also contained

bufotenin

, a hallucinogenic substance that is obtained from the skin of the bufo toad (

Bufus alvarius

).

A powerful hallucinogen that alters consciousness and is used by shamans and psychiatrists.

It produces tachycardia,

loss of consciousness

and, in some cases, death.

After ingesting the mixture, the victim is

presumed dead

and is

buried

.

Hours later, the same sorcerer unearths him and gives him another potion.

The latter contains

atropine

and

scopolamine

, tropan alkaloids from the

Datura Stramonium

plant

, which in small amounts function as narcotic drugs and in larger amounts can cause death.

It is called "devil's herb", and it causes hallucinations, delusions, disorientation and behavioral disturbance.

The body recovers, but the mind does not.

After this process of "

zombification

" the person is subject to the will of his master.

This is how

 Clairvius Narcisse

spent two years working on a sugar plantation.

After returning to the town with his family, he passed away for the second time in 1994, at the age of 72. 

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