hoodoo

Short definition from Wiktionary

Noun

1. 1
   A set of spiritual practices and traditions created and concealed from slave-owners by enslaved Africans in North America, based on traditional African beliefs.
2. 2
   A practitioner of voodoo.
3. 3
   Supernatural bad luck, or something or someone believed to bring bad luck.
4. 4
   A tall thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of arid basins and badlands.

Verb

1. 1
   To jinx; to bring bad luck or misfortune to.