New Orleans is the psychic seaport of the South. There are more spirits hovering here than any other southern city. The reasons for this are numerous: spirits seek the moist, humid places that New Orleans provides, the Voodouns here practice ancestor worship and keep the spirits of their ancestors close by and call on them ritually. In Voodoo rituals the living open themselves to be mounted by the spirits and used as vehicles for the various ancestors and Orishas.