Voodoo Drums "Voodoo Drums In Hi-Fi" (Atlantic, 1296, 1958)

Perhaps more thematically spooky than aurally, this 1958 entry into the Hi-Fi genre has some cool on-location recordings of genuine Haitian Voodoo ceremonies, primarily as performed by "country group amateurs". I've included a large scan of the (super informative) liner notes as well, and here's a sample to get you started:

"Haiti may be a dark enigma to most of its visitors, but if one learns the language of the drums, the life and mind of its people open to you like a flower. The drums are never silent; day and night they sound from some vague distant place, muffled but distinctly articulated like a heart-beat. [...] The drum rhythms -- as well as the art of making drums -- came from Africa. [...] From Africa also came voudoun, which is a religious ceremonial and also a deeply ingrained attitude to life and the nature of things[...] Through the boungan (the voudoun priest), man converses with nature. Through him, man supplicates for protection against impending dangers, and through him, sometimes, man strikes at an enemy."


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