'I WAS JOAN RIVERS' VOODOO PRIESTESS'

MEET THE REAL-LIFE WITCH QUEEN FROM NEW ORLEANS!

- Paul Ewart

Dressed in head-to-toe white, her fingers run over a collection of jars filled with magical herbs. On either side of her, shelves groan under the weight of oils, incense, candles, crystals and mystical books creating a scene that wouldn’t look out of place in a Harry Potter movie.

This is no ordinary shop, and the owner is no ordinary shopkeeper. You see, Sallie Ann Glassman is the voodoo queen of New Orleans.

“We’ve got magical bags, chicken-foot fetishes, and dragons-blood ink – the shop is packed with goodies!” a chuckling Sallie Ann tells New Idea. “We get all kinds of customers. Some people come in for physical healing, some come for counselling … there’s something powerful in voodoo, it can really help people.”

And one of the many people Sallie Ann helped was the late comedian and TV host Joan Rivers. A woman who turned out not only to become a repeat customer, but also a lifelong friend.