Case file · Folklore / legend
Papa Doc and the image of Baron Samedi
François Duvalier, Haiti's dictator from 1957 to 1971, cultivated the look of Baron Samedi, lwa of the dead, with a black suit, hat and glasses and a nasal whisper, to inspire fear.
1957 CE · 18.54, -72.34 · status: official
The account
He drew on his own ethnological work on Vodou, recruited houngans into his network and let rumours spread about his supernatural powers. His militia, the Tonton Macoutes, was named after a bogeyman who carries off children in a sack.