Cracher-Mortel

A Cracher-Mortel (CRA-shay mor-TEL; Fr. Cracher "to spit" + Mortel "deadly" or "mortal") is a puffer fish-like Wesen that appeared in.

Baron Samedi is seen outside the crime scene of Richard Mulpus' death and the assault of Sergeants Wu and Franco. He had apparently spit on both Richard Mulpus and Lilly O'Hara. He is later seen in the hospital, taking away Lily from the ICU.

On a solitary road, Baron Samedi had called someone to fix his car. He states that "she just died, I cannot bring her back to life." The repairman takes a look inside, and simply turns the key to start the engine. The Baron then woges and spits on the repairman.

Later on, he enters a bus, looks around at the passengers, and proceeds to spit on them, making each of the passengers members of his zombie army.

He kept his victims in a storage container, where he would come with a new batch of zombies and place them in the container, telling them that their time would come soon.

In the hotel room of Eric Renard, the Baron enters and bows, warmly welcoming the Prince to Portland.

Biology
When woged, Cracher-Mortel gain large round heads covered in short spikes on their scalps, jawlines, and chins. These spikes replace their hair, both scalp and facial. Their faces are tan in color with accents of a sickly-green on the sides and toward the backs of their heads. They have big eyes and a wide mouth, which is often curled into a malicious grin. When mustering up their spit, their heads inflate. The more spit they muster, the larger their heads get. The inflation of their heads causes the spikes to become more erect.

Behavior
Cracher-Mortel have the ability to spit tetradotoxin (TTX) from the mouth, which shuts down the neurosignals of nerves and heart cells and causes suspended animation. In this state, the victim's breathing and heartbeat are essentially undetectable without special equipment, he or she becomes paralyzed, and the victim is usually pronounced dead and buried alive. Atropine and scopolamine toxins reanimate the victim in a permanently zombified state. In this state, the victim is in a trance and will perform whatever task is asked of them by the Cracher-Mortel. Zombification has been a tradition of Vodun bokurs of Yoruba for several centuries. The state that a Cracher-Mortel victim enters after being touched by the green spit is similar to Lazarus syndrome. This entire process is known as Dämmerzustand.

Excerpt from Grimm Diaries
"I had followed the Voduo priest to Bois Caïman alligator woods near Cap-Français. Hired by the crown, I was to determine if the priest was Wesen. The priest's name, Dutty Boukman, translated as "the book man," given to him because he had taught slaves to read. As Boukman presided over the Voduo ceremony, one of the slave women started dancing, a knife in her hand. I found her movements exotic and alluring, until she slit the throat of a black pig and gave the blood to those around her, who all swore to rise and to fight and to kill."

"He was referred to as the Baron, with several names attached to him. Samedi, Cimetière, La Croix, and Kriminel.* He is the head of the Guédé Family of Loa, one of the Voduo deities, who accepts those who have died into the realm of the dead. Later, I was to witness him wake a man who appeared to be lifeless, and who was about to be buried. When I finally found the courage to confront him, I found that I was dealing with a Cracher-Mortel, whose spit can induce a death like trance. But I was forced to retreat, unable to dispatch the Baron."


 * Note: Dutty Boukman was a hero of the Creole people who was thought by many to be an earthly manifestation of one of the four barons mentioned here. He was worshipped and eventually given the title of "Zamba Boukman", a god of creation. According to the legend, this man died for the greater good and is obviously not the same man as Baron Samedi.