Voodoo Lady

This article is about the Monkey Island character. For the Ween EP, see Voodoo Lady EP.

File:Voodoolady-mi2-01.png

Voodoo Lady in Monkey Island 2

The Voodoo Lady is a recurring character from the Monkey Island series of adventure games by LucasArts. She, Stan and Herman Toothrot are the only three "non-major" characters to have been featured in all four games. She is a voodoo-priestess who usually runs a voodoo shop called the "International House of Mojo". She has managed stores on Mêlée, Scabb and Plunder Islands.

Though she has been featured in every game, her name has never been revealed; she is usually referred to simply as "The Voodoo Lady". Her voice was provided by Leilani Jones Wilmore in The Curse of Monkey Island Escape from Monkey Island Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition and Tales of Monkey Island.

Appearances

The Voodoo Lady is a very minor character in The Secret of Monkey Island. For the most part, she provides a bit of "spooky" atmosphere early in the game. Although speaking directly to her is not required to complete the game, Guybrush must enter her shop to acquire a rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle. Optionally, she can predict Guybrush's future, which involves sailing to Monkey Island, entering a giant monkey, and either being helped or eaten by the Monkey Island cannibals.

In Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, she has opened the International House of Mojo on Scabb Island. In addition to providing much helpful information, she creates a voodoo doll of Largo LaGrande and gives Guybrush a book on the legend of Big Whoop.

Her shop in The Curse of Monkey Island, Voodoo and Things is in a ship half-sunk in a swamp on Plunder Island. The Voodoo Lady is slightly less helpful in this game: she tells Guybrush that the curse on Elaine can only be lifted by replacing the cursed diamond engagement ring with an uncursed diamond ring. She does, however, mention that a suitable diamond is in the possession of pirates on Blood Island.

In Escape from Monkey Island, she again runs a business on Mêlée Island. She tells Guybrush about the "Ultimate Insult", a powerful and dangerous voodoo talisman, and helps him find its components.

The Voodoo Lady will also appear in Tales of Monkey Island, where it is planned that her real name will finally be revealed to Guybrush.

Plot contradiction

The Voodoo Lady seems to have a tendency to exaggerate her involvement in past games. In Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, she claimed to have created the voodoo root beer with which Guybrush destroyed LeChuck. The beer was actually created by the Monkey Island cannibals originally, and when Guybrush lost it later in the game he improvised with root beer from a nearby grog machine. It was not uncommon for gamers to complete the first game without ever meeting the Voodoo Lady, which caused them some confusion when playing the sequel. Apparently, she also told Largo LaGrande that she was responsible for killing LeChuck. Additionally, she slightly exaggerates what she did in Monkey Island 2 by claiming to have helped create a voodoo doll of LeChuck, which Guybrush actually did by himself (although she did teach him the recipe).

Trivia

• Although the Voodoo Lady's store is called "The International House of Mojo" in most of the games, her business had no name in The Secret of Monkey Island. (A sign across the street read "Ye Olde Rubber-Chicken-with-a-pulley-in-the-middle-shoppe", but this was for a different business that Guybrush never entered.)
• In EMI, the Voodoo Lady hints that she has an unbreakable five-game contract with LucasArts. For many years another Monkey Island game seemed unlikely due to some hardcore fans' lukewarm response to EMI, LucasArts' cancellation of sequels to Sam & Max Hit the Road and Full Throttle, and the harsh decline in adventure games in general. However, this all changed on June 1, 2009 when the development of Tales of Monkey Island was announced.
• Fans have noticed similarities between the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest character Tia Dalma and Voodoo Lady[1]; this is because they were both largely inspired by the book On Stranger Tides.
• There is a character in the adventure game Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars who was inspired in the Voodoo Lady. It's an old woman who works as a florist outside Nico Coullard's apartment in Paris. She uses the famous Voodoo Lady quote: You're going into a journey...