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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: witches

witches stories: 10 news summaries

(Newser) - A British tourist attraction is seeking to conjure up a new resident witch, the BBC reports. Wookey Hole Caves has advertised for a witch willing to live in the site's caverns and practice her—or his—trade for an annual salary of $75,000. Applicants need to have strong cackling... More »

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Britain • witchcraft • witches

Five Found Guilty in Maori Exorcism Death

Mentally ill woman was drowned in attempt to purge her of evil spirits

Jun 13, 09 4:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - Five people who drowned their niece in an attempt to rid her of evil spirits have been found guilty of manslaughter by a New Zealand court, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The 22-year-old woman, who prosecutors said was mentally ill, died after the group poured water over her face for... More »

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New Zealand • ritual • witches • indigenous peoples • Maori

 Abuse of 
 Child 'Witches' 
 Burgeoning 

Growing number of kids suspected of witchcraft worldwide

May 18, 09 10:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - Children dubbed “witches” are facing increasing abuse in Nigeria and elsewhere, advocates say. “They would take my clothes off, tie me up and beat me,” said a 14-year-old, whose grandfather concluded he was a “witch” 2 years ago when he cried at the threat of being... More »

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torture • Nigeria • child abuse • Nepal • witchcraft • witches • beatings

(Newser) - An increasing number of women are being tortured and murdered in a series of witch hunts in Papua New Guinea, reports the Independent. The problem is so severe that the government has launched a new commission to address it. Women are often blamed for any untimely death in a tribe.... More »

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torture • crime • Papua New Guinea • murder • witches • Stop Snitching • witch doctors • witch hunt

Trial Begins in Maori Exorcism Death

Woman drowned during ritual to rid her of evil spirits

May 5, 09 2:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - Nine Maoris accused of killing a mother of two during a botched exorcism have gone on trial in New Zealand, the Daily Telegraph reports. The six women and three men have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter in the death of the 22-year-old woman who drowned when the accused restrained her... More »

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New Zealand • witches • indigenous peoples • Maori • Janet Moses

ANALYSIS

 Downturns Spark 'Witch 
 Hunts' Against Elderly 

People lash out during tough times, researchers explain

Sep 20, 08 8:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - "Witch-hunting” is a hot term these days as angry Wall Street investors pine for revenge—but in some countries they take it literally, Tim Harford writes in Slate. In Tanzania, Bolivia, and India, elderly women are often targeted as witches when resources are scarce. Tanzanian women are killed by... More »

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economics • Tanzania • poverty • witchcraft • witches

Swiss Pardon Europe's
Last Executed Witch

Housemaid accused of casting spells was beheaded in 1782

Aug 28, 08 4:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - It's 226 years too late to restore her head to her body but the Swiss have decided to restore the good name of convicted witch Anna Goeldi, the Independent reports. Goeldi, the last person in Europe to be executed for witchcraft, was tortured and killed after being accused of casting... More »

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Switzerland • pardon • exonerate • witchcraft • witches

 JK Rowling Pens Potter Prequel 

800-word manuscript to be auctioned for charity

May 29, 08 3:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - Harry Potter fans mourned when JK Rowling ended the enormously popular schoolboy wizard saga with the seventh and final book last year. But now she has written a surprise short prequel likely to trigger a bidding frenzy. Rowling has donated an 800-word handwritten manuscript to the British bookseller Waterstone's to... More »

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Harry Potter • JK Rowling • witches • Harry Potter Lexicon

Kenya Mob Torches 11
for Witchcraft

'Sorcerers' accused
of casting spells
on villagers

May 22, 08 8:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - A mob in western Kenya hunted down and killed 11 people they accused of being witches and wizards, AP reports. The gang went from house to house with a list of suspected sorcerers and the spells they had cast. The eight men and three women, most over 70, were lynched... More »

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Africa • Kenya • lynching • witchcraft • witches

Africa's Child 'Witches' Abused, Abandoned

Superstition, poverty take ugly toll on Angolan, Congolese youth

Nov 15, 07 1:34 PM CST
(Newser) - Thousands of children in Angola, Congo, and the Congo Republic are being abused, abandoned, and even killed after being accused of witchcraft, the New York Times reports. Such accusations—born from tribal superstition and poverty that leaves some families unable to care for children—are a "massive" problem, sending... More »

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Africa • children • Democratic Republic of Congo • witchcraft • witches

10 Stories


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