I didn't think it was possible for me to get more excited about the upcoming season of American Horror Story: Coven , but it's happened. Basing a whole season on the idea of voodoo and witches was a risky one on AHS's part, considering a lot of projects broaching the topic tend to be just cheesy, or so inundated with Hollywood drama that it skips the very real history behind the religion — but thankfully, judging by this featurette explaining the presence voodoo in real-life New Orleans, AHS has done its homework.
The video is a little lengthy running at five minutes, but it does a great job of explaining just what voodoo actually is — and the fact that it, surprise, has nothing to do with sticking pins in dolls or casting love spells. Voodoo, it explains, is actually a religion that dates back centuries in New Orleans' rich history, and has mostly to do with worshiping ancestors and spirits. As one priestess in the video puts it, you don't choose voodoo, voodoo chooses you. It also disputes the common belief that voodoo is used for darkness, explaining that those who want to harm generally find a "corrupt" priestess who is able to persuade and bribe the spirits she calls upon to do evil rather than good.
Whether or not you believe in the afterlife and the presence of spirits, it doesn't matter — the point here is that AHS seems dedicated to remaining historically accurate when it comes to what people who follow voodoo believe, which is rare to see in a Hollywood that loves its ridiculous horror movies so dearly and seems to have no desire to be respectful towards those who actually practice the religion. If you doubted it before, here's proof: The new season of AHS is going to be great.
You can check out the featurette below. American Horror Story: Coven will premiere on FX on Oct. 9.
