150 years ago Jacob Cooley ordered his African American slave Hosea to build a chest for his first child. Hosea set to work, crafting a wooden chest of some remark. For some unknown reason his master was displeased with his efforts and beat his slave to a pulp, killing him. Cooleys other slaves vowed to avenge the death of their friend and sprinkled the dried blood of an owl in the chest and had a conjure man curse the chest. As if by magic, Cooleys first born died in infancy and over the forthcoming years a total of seventeen deaths were attributed to the chest. Eventually the curse was lifted by a conjure woman. The chest can be found in the Kentucky History Museum in Frankfort.

An elegant mahogany veneer chest of drawers, hand- carved by an African-American slave 150 years ago, resides in the Kentucky Historic Museum at Frankfort. Crafted in the Empire style, the chest has glass knobs on its four drawers. Nothing about its outward appearance gives any hint that tragedy has stalked its existence. That it's known to historians as the "conjured" chest. Two decades before the Civil War, the family of one Jacob Cooley lived a sumptuous life as wealthy Southern planters. Jacob owned many slaves and farmed thousand of acres.

He was also an evil, dispicable man who frequently beat his slaves for the slightest infraction of his stringent rules. Jacob Cooley ordered one of his slaves, an excellent furniture maker named Hosea, to construct a chest that would be used for his firstborn child. For some unknown reason, Jacob was angered at Hosea's finished product and beat him so savagely that he died a few days later. Cooley's slaves, led by an old "conjure man," placed a curse on the chest for all future generations. One drawer was sprinkled with dried owl's blood, and a "conjure" chant was sung.

http://theunexplainedmysteries.com/The-Conjure-Chest.html