The True Story Behind Coven’s Papa Legba
Sophia Edwards Papa Legba made multiple appearances in American Horror Story, but the series altered the legendary spiritual figure from voodoo beliefs.
Papa Legba wasn't just a fictional figure created for American Horror Story, he serves as a loa, or a spirit, in the Haitian Vodou religion and voodoo beliefs. The powerful spirit was played by Lance Reddick and made a key appearance in season 3, Coven, before returning for a brief cameo in Apocalypse. Despite being inspired by the real legend of Papa Legba, the anthology created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk made some alterations when it came to the character.
When Papa Legba was introduced in Coven, he was the Gatekeeper of the spirit world. As the god of lore in voodoo traditions, the ancient spirit was tasked with balancing the scales of life and death. Marie Laveau notably sold her soul to Papa Legba in exchange for immortality. In order to keep up with the deal, the loa required a sacrifice of an innocent life annually. Fiona Goode tried to make the same deal until Papa Legba realized the Supreme witch had no soul to offer. While making deals with the living, Papa Legba often tried to teach life lessons. The spirit returned in season 8 when Cordelia Goode made a deal to free Marie from hell in exchange for the new voodoo priestess, Dinah Stevens.
Like the case with American Horror Story, Papa Legba is believed to be the bridge between the spirit world and humanity in popular lore. He is thought to have the power to allow or deny communication with spirits in the afterlife, which is why he's known as the "great communicator." The religion in which Papa Legba serves as a deity originated in Africa, and the spiritual beliefs came to the U.S. when slaves were captured and taken to the country. In some areas, Papa Legba was viewed as a trickster rather than the God of Crossroads. Either way, it was imperative to present offerings to Papa Legba when asking for aid. While the legend of Papa Legba influenced American Horror Story greatly, the series made a few differences to the figure.
What American Horror Story Changed About Papa Legba
In season 3, Papa Legba was more of a middle-aged man, tall in stature with red eyes surrounded in white face paint in the shape of a skull. He wore a dark coat with a matching tophat over top of his long dreadlocks. The spirit also had long yellow fingernails which were seen by the use of his cane. In the traditional voodoo belief, the loa is known to use a cane or crutch, but he's considered to be a much older man. Instead of a top hat and dark clothes, Papa Legba is said to wear a large-brimmed straw hat, and he is often smoking a pipe. The deity is usually associated with dogs, an animal sacred to him, but the show left out that notion.
American Horror Story may have used Papa Legba as the name of the voodoo spirit, but the character more closely connected to Baron Samedi, another loa from Haitian Vodou. As the spirit of the dead, Baron Samedi can accept souls into the realm of the afterlife while also having the power of resurrection. Additionally, this spirit is said to wear a dark overcoat and a top hat, closely matching the show's depiction of Papa Legba. It seems as if American Horror Story took multiple figures from voodoo beliefs and blended them together to create one memorable character. If the Coven characters return in futures, Papa Legba may make another appearance, or he could make a cameo in the upcoming spinoff, American Horror Stories.
