New Orleans plans to unveil the refurbished tomb of Marie Laveau on Friday after a rough year for the “Voodoo queen’s” monument, which according to local lore, can grant wishes and cure the sick.

In December of 2013, a vandal covered the tomb in pink latex paint. Then, the Archdiocese of New Orleans pressure washed the structure, chipping away the original plaster and brick in the process. That came after decades of people kicking and drawing on the structure for luck, which caused the tomb to deteriorate slowly.

Now it will re-open to visitors on Halloween, said Amanda Walker, director of the local non-profit Save Our Cemeteries that spearheaded the restoration effort.

It “just fell into place. I think it’s interesting,” Walker said laughing.

Halloween is high season for the New Orleans voodoo industry. The staff at Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo, a shop in the city's famed French Quarter selling voodoo accoutrements and souvenirs, declined to be interviewed, saying Halloween is their “busiest time of the year.”

A rumor started decades ago that Marie Laveau would grant visitors to a tomb a wish if they drew an X on its surface, turned around three times, kicked the structure and then yelled out what they desired. Ever since, advocates for the tomb’s preservation have complained of the graffiti X’s and the damage done to the bricks that are soft with age. Voodoo practitioners say the practices have no grounding in the syncretic religion.

Restoring the structure cost $10,000. Save Our Cemeteries has so far raised all but $3,000 of the money needed to pay Bayou Preservation, which tested and recreated the plaster used on the original tomb. One of Laveau’s high-profile descendants says she will help bridge the gap in funding.

Desiree Rogers, President Barack Obama's former social secretary and current CEO of Johnson Publishing Company, which owns Ebony and Jet magazines, said she was unaware that her ancestor’s tomb had been damaged.

“Certainly the family is willing to be a part of that — the last $3,000,” Rogers told Al Jazeera, “We’re very proud of her history. Whether you believe [in Voodoo] or not, she comforted a lot of people.” New Orleans legend, although not substantiated by historical documents, holds that Laveau used her powers to cure comfort the ill.

Rogers requested that Al Jazeera connect her with Save Our Cemeteries.