If the earlier hours of the Blues Before Sunrise Halloween marathon were about ghosts, devils, and haunted hearts, Hour Four is where the real conjuring begins. This is the hour of roots and ritual — where superstition meets electricity, and the old Delta spirits slip into the urban hum of Chicago’s postwar sound. Here, the blues isn’t just spooky — it’s a living spell.

The tone is set immediately with Junior Wells’ “Hoodoo Man,” the title track from his groundbreaking 1965 album Hoodoo Man Blues. Backed by Buddy Guy on guitar, the cut redefined the Chicago sound: gritty, moody, and irresistibly alive. Its follow-up, “Two-Headed Man,” doubles down on the mysticism, a sly nod to the duality of man — and maybe a wink toward Wells’ own trickster persona.

The spirit of the supernatural continues with Willie Mabon’s “Seventh Son,” a track rooted in one of the oldest blues superstitions. The legend of the seventh son — a man born with second sight and magical gifts — has floated through the blues canon for generations. Mabon’s version is slick and urbane, proof that voodoo lore found a home even in the postwar nightclub.

Then the great Muddy Waters takes the stage, transforming myth into Chicago electricity. His string of mojo-laced anthems — “Louisiana Blues,” “Mojo,” “My John the Conqueror Root,” and “Hoochie Coochie Man” — form a masterclass in blues sorcery. Muddy didn’t just sing about mojo bags and root doctors; he embodied them. His booming voice and slide guitar conjured the power of hoodoo into the language of modern rhythm, linking the folk beliefs of the Delta to the raw power of electric Chicago blues.

From there, Lightning Slim picks up the torch with “Hoodoo Blues,” his swampy, low-slung tone dripping with Louisiana humidity. Lonesome Sundown keeps that Louisiana feel going on “Hoodoo Woman Blues” and “Mojo Man,” weaving Creole rhythms and deep soul into his dark incantations. These are records soaked in shadow — the kind of tracks that make you believe the crossroads might really be just around the corner.

The hour continues its southern march with Whispering Smith’s “Mojo Hand,” a harmonica-driven growler that channels the raw spirit of the Delta. Then Tabby Thomas lights the candles with “Hoodoo Party,” a celebratory take on black magic that dances rather than creeps. It’s the joyous side of the supernatural — the idea that the same power that haunts you can also make you move.

Lonnie Brooks’ “Two-Headed Man” reappears in a later, funkier version, tying back to Junior Wells’ opener but with Brooks’ Louisiana-by-way-of-Chicago swagger. Wild Child Butler’s “Everybody Got a Mojo” and Big Wheeler’s “Damn Good Mojo” remind listeners that by this point in the night, everyone’s been touched by the spell. Each man’s performance is steeped in sly humor and deep groove — part street-corner sermon, part hoodoo chant.

The set closes with Lurrie Bell’s “Voodoo Whammy #2,” Hop Wilson’s “Black Cat Bone,” and Lightning Hopkins’ “Mojo Hand.” Hopkins’ tune, one of the most famous “mojo” songs in blues history, brings the hour full circle. His laconic Texas delivery — half prayer, half charm — sums up the entire Halloween theme in three chords: fear, faith, and feeling.

Hour Four of the BBS Annual Halloween Show is a roots revival séance — where electric guitars buzz like insects over swamp water and the blues itself becomes the oldest kind of magic. As the saying goes, don’t mess with someone who’s got their mojo working.

Hour 4 Playlist

HOODOO MAN – Jr. Wells

TWO-HEADED MAN – Jr. Wells

SEVENTH SON – Willie Mabon

LOUISIANA BLUES – Muddy Waters

MOJO – Muddy Waters

MY JOHN – THE CONQUEROR ROOT – Muddy Waters

HOOCHIE COOCHIE MAN – Muddy Waters

HOODOO BLUES – Lightning Slim

HOODOO WOMAN BLUES – Lonesome Sundown

MOJO HAND – Whispering Smith

MOJO MAN – Lonesome Sundown

HOODOO PARTY – Tabby Thomas

TWO-HEADED MAN – Lonnie Brooks

EVERYBODY GOT A MOJO – Wild Child Butler

DAMN GOOD MOJO – Big Wheeler

VOODOO WHAMMY #2 – Lurrie Bell

BLACK CAT BONE – Hop Wilson

MOJO HAND – Lightning Hopkins