🌿 La Maldición del Sapo 🐸
A True Story of Afro-Caribbean Folk Magic
When I was a child, my mother would speak of something that chilled me to the bone — La Maldición del Sapo (The Curse of the Toad). She said that in Cuba, there were people who were secretly fed pieces of toad — sometimes whole, sometimes dried and ground into a powder — slipped into food like black beans or disguised in a sweet and dark espresso. Once eaten, the curse began to show itself in the body.
The victim would slowly begin to swell and bloat, their throat filling with strange bulges like small “balls.” In some of the stories, their skin would start to release droplets of water, as though they were leaking from the inside out. In the most terrifying versions, a thin membrane would even grow between the fingers, as if the person were slowly taking on the form of the toad itself. The swelling would worsen day after day until the body could no longer carry it. At that point… the curse reached its end, and so did the victim’s life.
This was no mere folktale for me. It became real the day I met someone who carried this curse in her own flesh.
From a young age I was always called to the spirit world. At seven, I discovered my mother’s Spanish playing cards — naipes — and learned they were not for games, but for reading. Messages came easily to me, and soon people began seeking me out. By my teens, I had already read for hundreds of people.
One day, a family friend introduced us to a woman I will never forget. To protect her family, I will call her Cary. She was a Santera, a priestess of Yemayá, radiant with kindness, laughter, and knowledge. She always wore her elekes, the sacred beaded necklaces, with pride. She was sick, but her spirit remained lively and strong — until I read for her.
In her reading, I uncovered the dark truth: Cary had been cursed. She had eaten food that had been prepared with powdered toad.
Despite her resilience, her body soon began to reflect the curse my mother had once described. The swelling came, first slowly, then rapidly. She went to doctor after doctor, hospital after hospital, but none could explain her condition. Tests were inconclusive. Medicine gave no answers. Rituals were done, prayers lifted, offerings made — yet the curse clung to her with merciless grip.
I still remember visiting Cary in the hospital. The white dress and headscarf she usually wore had been replaced with a pale hospital gown, but she refused to remove her elekes. She had nearly tripled in size, her skin stretched painfully tight from her arms to her legs. Beads of water seeped constantly from her skin, soaking the sheets beneath her. It was unbearable to see her suffering, knowing the doctors were powerless and that even our spiritual efforts could not release her.
Cary was beautiful — with soft brown hair and café au lait skin — but by then, she was nearly unrecognizable. Still, her smile lingered through the pain, and her faith never faltered. Eventually, the swelling overtook her completely, and she passed into the embrace of the ancestors. The doctors never wrote “curse” on the report, but my family knew. We had seen La Maldición del Sapo with our own eyes.
This story is not just about fear. It is a reminder of what our Afro-Caribbean parents and ancestors taught us: never accept food blindly. Behind a simple plate can hide another’s envy, resentment, or malice. Magic is not always the “cute” spells shared online — it can be potent, dangerous, and even deadly.
Our elders weren’t being superstitious when they warned us: “Nunca comas lo que otro te da sin saber su intención.” Never eat what another gives you without knowing their true intentions.
I share Cary’s story to honor her spirit, her joy, and her devotion— and to remind us all that magic is real, it is powerful, and it must be respected. No matter how powerful we may be, anyone can fall into the grips of the darkest curse.
Written by Alain Isai
Owner of Touch of Magick Shop, a metaphysical and spiritual store dedicated to esoteric tools, ancestral wisdom, and sacred traditions. Alain is a psychic medium, Santero, occultist, author, and writer, whose work bridges Afro-Caribbean spirituality and global mystical practices. He has read for thousands over the years and continues to share teachings from his lived experiences and ancestral lineage. Alain is currently completing his Bachelor’s in Religious Studies at Florida International University, with a focus in Psychology exploring the intersections of science, consciousness, spirit, culture, and tradition.