Papa Legba (American Horror Story)

"Everybody pays, everybody suffers."



 Papa Legba  is the gatekeeper of the spirit world as well as the god of travel, opportunity and luck. He is a character in American Horror Story: Coven portrayed by Lance Reddick. He is also associated with life and death. Before and after a voodoo ceremony Papa Legba has to be summoned to guide the spirits back to the spirit world.

Background
At some point in time, Marie Laveau sold her soul to this spirit for immortality, he asks her every year a sacrifice, each year worse than the other. In order to make a deal with Papa Legba, the Sellers must have a soul and kill someone with an innocent soul. Papa Legba is a Loa meaning that he is a spirit of Haitian Voodoo.

Personality & Appearance
Papa Legba is a tall, shadowy Loa with coal-red eyes, grey-white face paint in the shape of a skull and black dreadlocks. He wears a long black overcoat and a hat with small skulls around it, decorated with various bird feathers. Papa Legba posses a claw-like attachment to his finger from which he snorts cocaine. He is mainly seen walking with a cane.

Being the gatekeeper of the spirit world, Papa Legba is always interested in aquiring souls no matter who they are from. He was willing to make a deal with Fiona Goode for her soul despite her being vain, cruel, and murderous but revoked the deal when he found that she lacked a soul. Yet once he succesfully makes a deal for someone's soul Papa Legba delights in tormenting his victims into sacrificing innocent souls for him.

Despite his often antagonistic and somewhat sadistic persona; Papa Legba is an honest individual. He explained clearly and honestly his terms of granting immortality to Fiona when she asked for details. Furthermore he meticulously explained the dynamics of Marie and Delphine's immortality to Queenie while also praising her for her sharp mind and powerful magic in being able to enter and exit the spirit world succesfully.

What Papa Legba does with the innocent souls he aquires from his accomplices (namely Marie Laveau) is unknown. Theoretically because these souls are in fact innocent and therefore haven't done anything to warrant damnation to their own personal hell then it can be assumed that Papa Legba sends these innocent souls to a lighter afterlife that doesn't warrant eternal torment.

To summon Papa Legba the individual must have true desire and intent to see him and must offer something of value to pique his interest. Being the spirit of Life and Death Legba is able to grant immortality to those who request it, but it comes at a price, your soul. Along with your soul Papa Legba will demand the sacrifice of an innocent soul one day, of his choosing, every year.

To make matters worse, Papa Legba makes his prices worse as time passes, as an attempt to psychologically drive the person into madness for their desires.