Conjuring Protection and Power in the Rural South

Root Doctors are conjurers, soothsayers, and practitioners in the art of working roots and goober dust. They are well known in the rural South, especially in Northeastern North Carolina and the Low Country of South Carolina. Root Doctoring can be considered a form of Voodoo and has its roots in Africa. These practitioners are in business to dispense mojo for any kind of situation. They charge fees for their services, with prices prorated accordingly. A root to bring love carries one price; a root to help keep someone out of prison costs as much as the highest paid attorney in the state.

Understanding Roots and Goober Dust

Root Doctors have worked roots and goober dust dating back centuries. The root is a mojo conjured from different ingredients and can be worn, carried, or buried. It serves as a charm that can work as a love potion, protection from various entities including entanglements with the law, evil spirits, and illness—to just scratch the surface. Good roots contain herbs, gunpowder, candle wax, salt, and sulphur. Bad roots can contain animal parts, bones, feathers, and parts from reptiles. The root can bring good fortune in business or love, cure physical or mental maladies, or bring down a rival. Even rival cocaine dealers have been known to hire Root Doctors to work the root against each other, hoping to bring legal repercussions and arrests upon their competition. It just depended on who had the more powerful root.

Goober dust* can be added to a root or used as a stand-alone part of a hex. Good goober dust can be acquired from the grave of a Christian before midnight, and bad goober dust from the grave of a felon after midnight. It can be spread around a house, carried on one's person, or kept in large quantities in a home.

A good root is called High John. A person in possession of a High John root carries a charm for luck, love, money, and protection from evil spirits. South Carolina writer Roger Pinckney said that he "carried High John in his shirt pocket, a .38 pistol in his hip pocket, and the love of Jesus in his heart."

The Legend of Dr. Buzzard

One of the most famous Root Doctors was Stephaney Robinson, known as Dr. Buzzard, from Beaufort, South Carolina. He was described as "an elderly man that may be mistaken for a bishop in an A.M.E. Zion Church. He was tall, slightly bowed, benign of expression, and soberly dressed in quality black."

Dr. Buzzard was known in South Carolina for his courtroom savvy and bringing victory to defendants. He would sit in court chewing a root, and witnesses would be intimidated into silence. A lot of times, defendants were found not guilty more from his root or goober dust than from expensive attorneys' help. He died in 1947 from stomach cancer. Whether it is to be used for good or bad, the most powerful goober dust is said to come from dirt collected from his grave.

Root Work in the Courts

In Hertford and Northampton Counties in Northeastern North Carolina, the root, goober dust, and Root Doctors were alive and well. There was a major cocaine trial in Jackson, North Carolina, where a white powder was discovered sprinkled around the District Attorney's table, the witness stand, the judge's bench, and the outside foundation of the courthouse on the morning the trial was scheduled to start. It was learned post-conviction that the defense counsel had hired a Root Doctor to work up goober dust to sway the trial in favor of the defense.

Another incident happened when the Drug Task Force served a search warrant on a crack house. During the search, a large salad bowl overflowing with an undetermined powder was found on the kitchen table. Illegal narcotics were discovered and the inhabitants were arrested. When this case came to trial, it was disclosed that the homeowner was a Root Doctor. 

The powder from the salad bowl was sent to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab and was determined to be a concoction of flour, herbs, and spices—not cocaine or any other controlled substance. In open court, one of the deputies was asked by defense counsel what was in the bowl. He replied it was goober dust that belonged to the Root Doctor who owned the home. The goober dust had been conjured to keep law enforcement from raiding the house. The courtroom became unhinged with laughter. But if you knew Root Doctors, you knew the deputy was telling the truth.

Romantic Rivalries and Bad Juju

It was not uncommon to hear of romantic rivals hiring Root Doctors to work up roots or goober dust to have bad juju befall their competition. One day, a parolee came in late one afternoon, physically distraught. He laid his head on the desk and was crying his eyes out. He said he needed to talk and was seeking advice. Of course, the worst went through my mind—another arrest for cocaine? Murder? No. The parolee said someone had hired a Root Doctor to work up goober dust on him. Upon arriving home that evening, he had discovered a powder at the bottom step of his house, at the threshold of the front door, and on the bottom step of the back door. He said this meant he could not break the plane of the powder or he would receive bad juju. A rival for a romantic interest had placed the goober dust at strategic points of entry. He asked what he should do.

I suggested he hire the same Root Doctor to make up new goober dust to counter the original. He said that would be expensive, but I countered that it wouldn't be as expensive as a hotel room or renting an apartment since entering his own home was out of the question. He decided this might actually work, thanked me, and left with his head held high, on his way to find his personal Root Doctor to save the day. He never mentioned it again, so it must have all worked out successfully for the felonious Romeo.

A Final Tale from Ahoskie

One last noteworthy incident occurred at Ahoskie Police Department. Stopping by one night after work, I found that two officers had arrested an enterprising entrepreneur in the illegal narcotics trade. He was sitting at a conference room table. On top of the table sat a wad of cash in tens and twenties, a large amount of crack cocaine wrapped in Saran wrap, and an old-fashioned brown glass pill bottle with a white cap. One of the officers asked if I could identify the contents of the bottle. Unscrewing the lid and peering inside, I saw it contained a beige-brown powder. Asked if this was heroin, I replied, "Shucks, that’s not heroin—it's goober dust!" 

The arrestee was asked why he carried goober dust. The gentleman replied that he'd had a Root Doctor work it up to keep the police from stopping him when he was carrying illegal contraband. The officer then said it sure didn't work for him tonight! To which our intrepid fellow came back with, "Yeah, but think how many times it DID work!"

The Enduring Power of the Root

There you have it in a nutshell: Root Doctors working the root and goober dust. These are true stories from real experience. To this day, people still believe in the root and the powers it can carry. If you need help in love, law, or health, maybe—just maybe—you too can find a practicing Root Doctor to help you in a time of need.

*Goober dust is called goober dust in North Carolina and goofer dust in South Carolina. Since this is written from the Old North State, it is referred to as goober dust throughout.