Whisper to the Black Candle: Voodoo, Murder, And the Case of Anjette Lyles

by Jaclyn Weldon White

In the 1950s, Macon, Georgia, was a sleepy little town where doors remained unlocked and crime was something that occurred in other places. Anjette Lyle’s restaurant was a popular gathering place. It was the place to go for lunch to hear the latest news. Then, one day, Anjette Lyles was charged with the murders of two husbands, her mother-in-law, and her nine-year-old daughter, all committed over the course of seven years. The case was the most sensational Macon had ever seen. The newspaper accounts spiced up the allegations of murder with references to voodoo ceremonies and black magic. The trial attracted record crowds and received worldwide coverage. Anjette Lyles was a glamorous figure and spectators stood in line for hours, hoping for just a glimpse of the defendant. Both lucidly written and emotionally engaging, this is the story of a woman who was called both “cold-blooded” and the “sweetest woman I ever knew,” and despite overwhelming evidence and her conviction, many still believe that she was innocent.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Jaclyn Weldon White was born, raised and has lived all her life in the South. She was a police officer for six years where she investigated street crimes and traffic offenses. She worked for four years as a detective investigating murders, sex crimes, burglaries and other offenses. She left police work and retired as an administrator for a large metropolitan Atlanta juvenile court.
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Reviews

[Fishface · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a great read. The story of a woman who believed in magic and practiced it daily, but it begs the question: why rely on roots and powders when you have a tin of insecticide ready to hand? The story never drags or bogs down at any point. There are a few details I would like to know that may not have been available to the author, compiling the story decades after the death of the accused...What was up with Little Ben? Why all the bad blood between Anjette and Jetta? And why, oh why did she have anything at all against Marcia?

[Jill Crosby · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this account of the crimes and trials of Anjette Lyles presents her murder trial and subsequent hearings quite well, we are given no history or background of this fascinating convicted killer; there is no childhood or family history offered to lay the groundwork for Lyles' development, leading an explanation of her horrific crimes.

[Lori Inouye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting local history. I do think the title is a bit over-sensational considering very little of the book addresses voodoo or the actual use of mysticism.

[Pamela Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was well written and interesting, just not the type of book I normally read. It was a fast read, though.

[Aisha Manus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, especially in how Anjenette was treated as a prisoner. So much has changed in prisoner treatment since then! I think this book could have been better with more details but still very interesting read for southern serial killer history!

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good summary of an apparently infamous murder case of which I was never aware, even though I grew up less than fifty miles away (granted it did happen years before I was born). It is a quick, interesting read, but I was left wondering what happened to all of the central characters such as the killer's surviving child, her steadfast friend the jailer's wife, and others.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting story of a female serial poisoner in Macon, GA in the 1950's. This book is very readable, but I can't help wishing the author had trusted us with a few more details from the investigation, trial, media coverage, and Anjette's years in Milledgeville.

[Dona · Rating 3 out of 5]

It held my interest mainly because I am familiar with the city and some of the participants. It is a very dry, but carefully presented.

[Alissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anjette Lyle finds herself on trial for four murders in a small Georgia town in the 1950s. Two husbands, her mother-in-law and her eldest daughter poisoned via arsenic. Did she do it?

The book was a quick read; however, I found it dry. There’s almost no background or childhood information on Anjette. The story begins in the middle of her life already married and a mother. The title alludes with witch craft and voodoo, but in reality it seems limited to some superstitions and candle lighting. We never get a good idea of the personality of our villain or real insight into her mind. People around her are dying, but she doesn’t appear to profit much from their deaths, especially the death of her daughter. It seems as though the author wished to stay neutral and let the facts speak; however, there’s not enough there. Instead the book seems wishy-washy and indecisive.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Book was good, it covered a level of betrayal of a mother, wife . She was heavy into voodoo . She betrayed herself as a victim of sorts . You never really know how dark a person really can be. She died in prison, I had thought she had gotten the chair . Arsenic was her specialty of course. Well anyways it’s still a good book and you get more of an insight to how she thinks and the chill of her response.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

While a compelling rendition of the story that kept me interested, I believe it’s the title that throws me off the most. The case does not revolve around voodoo and mentions it a few times but mostly involved motive via finances, not voodoo or mysticism. One of my relatives was a lawyer on the case, which drew me to the book. I was happy to see a photo of them included.

[WS Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book, and is a “must read” for those living in the Macon area who are interested in local yore. It is enjoyable to read about people and places from decades ago when being familiar with the settings in current time. I was surprised that there was not very much attention paid to the witchcraft and voodoo elements of the crimes and the criminal.

[Crystal V · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting insight into the life of a woman classified as evil in the 1950s in central Georgia.

[Pam Bridges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have been reading true stories of events that have happened in Macon. Great read. But it is hard to believe that people are that screwed up!

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a Georgia native then this true crime story is a must read.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

very creepy can't believe this was in Macon!

[L. Carrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always been fascinated by unusual cases from earlier years, and the murders committed by Anjette Donovan Lyles is no exception. Her spree – which included two husbands, mother-in-law, and a daughter – spanned from 1952 to 1958. Anjette’s crimes and backstory are outlined in Whisper to the Black Candle: Voodoo, Murder, and the Case of Anjette Lyles by Jaclyn Weldon White (Mercer University Press, 2006).

The contents of this book must be read to be believed, and even then, some tales are shocking. In earlier days, arsenic was the poison of choice for murder. Anjette Lyles was a popular and well-known restaurant owner in Macon, Georgia, her attractive appearance and charming, ebullient personality masking a deadly secret – four deadly secrets, to be exact.

To this day, Lyles still remains both a fascinating and controversial figure, given the unusual punishment she received after being convicted of murder. Initially sentenced to death in the electric chair, several appeals and hearings to determine her sanity followed before Anjette was judged insane. She lived out the last several years of her life at Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, where she succumbed to natural causes at age 52 December 4, 1977.

In Whisper to the Black Candle, Jaclyn Weldon White portrays a side of Anjette hidden from the public for several years as she poisoned her victims for personal gain. Anjette almost got away with it – until the untimely death of her daughter, Marcia. While Anjette’s other victims were ill and infirm, Marcia was a healthy child, which raised questions about her death. An autopsy was performed, with arsenic discovered in the little girl’s system. It was that autopsy which marked the beginning of Anjette’s downfall.

Whisper to the Black Candle is one of a small handful of true crime books written in an unbiased, brilliantly researched and candid fashion, unfolding a story of a manipulative murderess, voodoo, black magic, and one of the most sensational cases of the 1950′s in the South. An excellent page-turner, Whisper to the Black Candle is difficult to set aside, even for those not actual true crime fans.

[Jeff Jellets · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compellingly told … the macabre true story of the most ‘evil woman’ in Georgia.

Anjette Lyles was a rarity in 1950s Macon, Georgia. An attractive and popular woman, Lyles ran a favorite local restaurant, overcoming a string of personal tragedies to manage a well-known business. A friendly, gregarious woman, Lyles was a believer in voodoo, yet mixed easily with the city’s elite as the hostess of the café, and was well-liked by her friends, customers, and employees.

It seemed inconceivable then that she was also a serial killer, poisoning four people with arsenic, until they died slow, agonizing deaths.

In Whisper to the Black Candle, author Jaclyn Weldon White meticulously reconstructs the life and trial of Anjette Lyles in a gripping account of a women whom the local newspapers quickly labeled ‘the most evil woman the state has ever produced’. The story is a gripping page-turner with White’s journalistic-like prose offering an amazingly balanced portrayal of the case. White is assiduously objective, and it is the reader who ultimately falls into the role of juror -- weighing evidence and assessing guilt – with the twists, turns, and final verdict in the case as compelling as any piece of speculative fiction.

This is a book I simply don’t want to say too much about because I don’t want to spoil anything. I doubt many people have ever heard of Anjette Lyles and will go into this book – like I did -- completely cold. That’s for the best; it gives the reader the same sense of morbid drama that made this case so sensational that it brought media and paparazzi from across the country to the Bibb County courthouse. It is also a wonderful window into the 1950s, the South, turn of the century jurisprudence, and law-enforcement.

This book is an absolute gem of Georgia history. Highly recommended!

[fleegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a compelling story. Anjette Lyles lived in Macon, Georgia in the 1950’s and owns/runs a popular restaurant downtown. She’s popular. Everyone loves her. They all eat at her diner. Over a period of time she poisons two husbands, a mother-in-law and one of her daughters. She goes down for murder, and was supposed to get the death penalty, but times as they were, people were freaked out about it because she would have been the first white female to be executed in Georgia. So she’s decalred insane (which she pays up, big-time.) and there you go.

It was crazy to me that she was into voodoo. Unfortunately the voodoo part in the book isn’t really investigated much. It mentions that she had parephenalia (roots, potions, candles) but it never mentions how she got invoved in it. This lack of voodoo stuff (seeing as how it’s mentioned IN THE TITLE) was the only disappointing part of the book.

It’s a quick read. No draggy slow spots. Even the court scenes are quick.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a true crime which occurred in Macon, Georgia in the 50's. it would appeal to people of the Middle Georgia area. It is an easy to read book with details of the trial and a few pictures of the defendant.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting story, very poorly written.

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A no-nonsense, impartial account of the Anjette Lyles murder trial in Macon, Georgia in 1958. She was accused of killing two husbands, a mother-in-law and a daughter with ant poison.

[Kelly]

This one should be interesting since it took place in Macon, GA - 2 1/2 hours from where I live.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book simply tired me out. The story was interesting, the telling was long and tedious.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good local book.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read! Very hard to put down!

[Melissa Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Interesting from start to finish. Especially since I’m from the area these murders took place.