Baba Lavelle is the main antagonist of Dean Koontz's novel Darkness Comes (or Darkfall).
Character[]
An exceedingly powerful bocor - being so powerful that he could open the Gates of Hell but not powerful enough to control the creatures within them, Lavelle largely works for the "dark" gods of voodoo. He is almost fuelled by evil and is extremely depraved and warped (actively relishing the thought of murdering children). Lavelle uses a pit in his "hideout" to summon forth spiritual creatures.
History[]
Born in Haiti, Lavelle had a brother named Gregory Pontrain. Both brothers immigrated to America - with Gregory becoming an investigative journalist while Baba became invested in voodoo. Gregory's pieces became somewhat well known but also gained the ire of the Carramazza crime family - who killed Gregory with a car bomb. Upon learning this, Baba began a quest to completely destroy the Carramazza line (not because of any remorse for his brother's death but out of fear that the Petro and Congo gods would turn their backs on him if he did not). Using small assassins conjured up from damned souls in Hell, Baba began eliminating the Carramazzas.
These crimes were investigated by NYPD Detectives Jack Dawson and Rebecca Chandler. In an attempt to throw Jack off the case (and sate his own blood lust), Baba Lavelle sent his assassins after Jack's children. Unfortunately for him, this only strengthened Jack's resolve to take down Lavelle. Under the stewardship of a voodoo store-owner named Carver Hampton, Jack realized that his pure nature made him immune to Lavelle's magicks and servants. He also learned that Lavelle had unwittingly opened the gates of Hell. Eventually, Jack travelled to Lavelle's hideout and confronted him. During the confrontation, the gates of Hell fully opened and one of the Ancient Ones killed Lavelle by swallowing him.