Unsure about the magical/mystical elements of story

Gaelle's part of the story in the present day had me interested especially wanting to learn more about what happened in Haiti. However, the whole thing with the remote control and the old woman has me worried this story is going to be filled with magic/mystic stuff which does not interest me. While I am curious to see how the present day and the story line in the 1800s are connected, I feel like I need to hold off on reading this book until I find out more about it.