They call it juju.
Juju is a term that originated from West African cultures. There is even a type of magic called juju magic. Anyway, the standard definition says that juju is a charm or fetish.
But something’s juju can also mean the “energy” surrounding something.
Like, “there was bad juju at that bridal shower.” Or something along those lines.
Well. I’ll tell you about one place that had bad juju. And that is the Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Of course, we all know the most famous and horrendous occurrence that happened there. On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth. That was an event that forever changed the United States. In a trickle-down effect for years to come.
But, if that wasn’t bad enough, another catastrophe happened at the Ford’s Theatre 28 years later. On June 9, 1893, it collapsed. At that point in time, it was no longer a theater. It had been altered and made into a place that housed hundreds of clerks employed by the War Department’s Records and Pensions Division. And on that day, it collapsed, killing 22 people.
An investigation determined the cause of the tragedy was a pier that had given way during excavation in the basement for an electric-light plant. (A pier, like a support beam, not like a pier like a platform that leads out to the sea.)
Anyway, it was a mess. The building fell, trapping many people and killing others. Rescue workers quickly arrived on the scene, to search for victims and remove debris. Clerks recalled screams of co-workers. One witness said Civil War veterans who worked in the building were the “wildest and craziest.” In a panic, some employees jumped from the second floor, using an awning to brace their fall. A total chaotic mess, I’d say. Nonetheless, 22 people were dead.
They used businesses and homes in the immediate area as makeshift hospitals. The usual panicked aftermath occurred as anguished relatives rushed to the scene. Some onlookers watched events unfold from the rooftops of buildings.
“Plunged in a chasm of death,” read a newspaper headline. One man thought there was a “curse” on the building since Lincoln’s assassination. “…if I had my way [Ford’s Theatre] should be entirely demolished and the ground be forever left unbuilt upon,” he told a reporter.
And that is the bad juju I am talking about.
But they didn’t tear it down. Instead, the Ford’s Theatre remained a federal office building until 1932. After extensive renovations, it re-opened as a theater in 1968. The national historic site underwent extensive renovations again in the 2000s.
If I’m in D.C, I don’t think I’ll be dropping by for a visit.
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“Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life.” — Walter Anderson
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“When bad things happen, I know you want to believe they are a joke, but sometimes life is scary and dark. That is why we must find the light.” — Lemony Snicket
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“When bad things happen, we grow or we shrink. And when we grow, we become stronger, more resilient, more connected to ourselves and others.” — Elizabeth Lesser
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The bad vibers. That fatal Ford.
