Paranormal Magazine

If Sebenzile Nsukwini’s bones are anything to go by, the World Cup is going to pass off without a hitch and hosts South Africa are destined for great things.

“Eish, it is looking very good for South Africa,” the 33-year-old Zulu witch-doctor said after casting her eyes over a seemingly random scattering of animal bones and sea shells during a seance in downtown Johannesburg.

“Look, the trouble is far, far away. No bombs,” she added, pointing to a polished and highly decorated knuckle-bone lying apart from the mass of trinkets strewn across the concrete floor in the corner of a dingy bus station.

A weekend newspaper report, vehemently denied by the South African government, of an “80 percent chance” of a terrorist attack during the June 11-July 11 soccer spectacular suggests her confidence is not universally shared.

But in Africa, where mysticism and magic play a part in many people’s lives, pronouncements from a ’sangoma’ such as Nsukwini can carry as much weight as those from governments, especially when it comes to the murky world of security agencies.

In sport, too, sangomas have been a regular but unofficial fixture on the African team sheet, using their ability to commune with the dead to determine a player’s fortunes and whether a dose of sympathetic magic and traditional ‘muti’ potion is in order.

Predicting the outcome of a World Cup is beyond a sangoma’s normal remit, although Nkuswini was confident enough to say South Africa would “be strong” despite being a lowly 83rd in the FIFA rankings and 125-1 outsiders according to the bookmakers.

There was more certainty from 78-year-old Nigerian soothsayer John Adatiri, who was able to make a precise call on the outcome despite admitting it was the first time he had analysed a soccer tournament in his 50 years as a mystic.

After a brief but intense stare into a two-sided mirror pulled from an old wash bag in his zinc-roofed hut in Lagos, Adatiri declared: “Nigeria go play quarter final. Brazil go win.”

In Ivory Coast, another West African nation with big World Cup hopes, fans have been going to juju priests and a charmed grove near the capital to conjure up some magic on the pitch.

“We are visiting our sacred forest two or three times a week to support the fight,” said Gnahouleou Emile, president of the national side’s supporters’ club.

South Africa’s sangomas have also done their bit, slaughtering a cow at the new 95,000-seater Soccer City stadium near Johannesburg to bless the pitch and give national side Bafana Bafana (The Boys) a spiritual boost.

However, insiders say traditional beliefs might be on the wane at top domestic clubs due to an influx of non-African coaches who prefer to get their team spirit from the training manual rather than the afterlife.

“All the muti stuff was before my time,” said Linda Moreotsene, a soccer reporter at the Sowetan newspaper.

“I can’t say I’ve seen any smoke or herbs being burned in the changing rooms. Many of the top sides have got European coaches now and they don’t think much of that sort of thing.”

Nevertheless, for many ordinary South Africans, muti — derived from the Zulu word for ‘tree’ — is a potent force and ‘muti killings’, in which a child or old person is murdered for their body parts, are not unheard of in remote areas.

Muti markets boast a stomach-churning array of decaying animals and aromatic herbs said to cure everything from dodgy knees to marital mishaps — afflictions common to many of the players now landing on South African soil.

“This one here is for sore legs,” said 56-year-old muti merchant Lawrence Mkise, pointing to a sack of powdered orange bark. “And this will make you strong, just like a donkey,” he said, with a wink and suggestive thrust of his fist.

“And this one will get your wife back. You rub it on your hand and call out her name. But it is very expensive.”

[via: reuters.com]

This is the time of year when most of us engage in some form of spring-cleaning – washing, dusting and sweeping spiders out of dark corners should swiftly dispel the winter gloom.

But if it doesn’t, then maybe your home is suffering from a deeper malaise than grimy curtains – or so believes ‘house healer’ Sandra Kendrew, who has been working with troubled buildings and their occupants for nearly a decade.

‘We’ve all been into houses that just don’t have a nice atmosphere, even if you can’t put your finger on what’s wrong,’ explains Sandra.

‘Often, the occupants report feelings of tiredness, unexplained headaches, depression, even relationship problems. My job is to identify the energy that’s causing the problem, and disperse it safely.’

[Read on at dailymail.co.uk]

When a famous tantric guru boasted on television that he could kill another man using only his mystical powers, most viewers either gasped in awe or merely nodded unquestioningly. Sanal Edamaruku’s response was different. “Go on then — kill me,” he said.

Mr Edamaruku had been invited to the same talk show as head of the Indian Rationalists’ Association — the country’s self-appointed sceptic-in-chief. At first the holy man, Pandit Surender Sharma, was reluctant, but eventually he agreed to perform a series of rituals designed to kill Mr Edamaruku live on television. Millions tuned in as the channel cancelled scheduled programming to continue broadcasting the showdown, which can still be viewed on YouTube.

First, the master chanted mantras, then he sprinkled water on his intended victim. He brandished a knife, ruffled the sceptic’s hair and pressed his temples. But after several hours of similar antics, Mr Edamaruku was still very much alive — smiling for the cameras and taunting the furious holy man.

“He was over, finished, completely destroyed!” Mr Edamaruku chuckles triumphantly as he concludes the tale in the Rationalist Centre, his second-floor office in the town of Noida, just outside Delhi.

[via: timesonline.co.uk]

Devotees of a Miami man claiming to practice a traditional African religion say they had to ingest the mucus of a Giant African Snail that made them ill in the process.

Federal authorities in January raided Charles L. Stewart’s home after receiving complaints.

Stewart has not been criminally charged, but prosecutors and state and federal wildlife agencies are investigating. The Giant African Snail is prohibited in the U.S. without special approval.

Experts say it devastates new ecosystems. The snail grows up to 10 inches long, can reproduce on its own and can even eat plaster.

Stewart says he means no harm, and his religion uses the snails in healing ceremonies.

Followers said they got violently ill, losing weight and developing strange lumps in their stomachs.

[via: cbsnews.com]

The Devil is lurking in the very heart of the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican’s chief exorcist claimed on Wednesday.

Father Gabriele Amorth said people who are possessed by Satan vomit shards of glass and pieces of iron.

He added that the assault on Pope Benedict XVI on Christmas Eve by a mentally unstable woman and the sex abuse scandals which have engulfed the Church in the US, Ireland, Germany and other countries, were proof that the Anti-Christ was waging a war against the Holy See.

“The Devil resides in the Vatican and you can see the consequences,” said Father Amorth, 85, who has been the Holy See’s chief exorcist for 25 years.

“He can remain hidden, or speak in different languages, or even appear to be sympathetic. At times he makes fun of me. But I’m a man who is happy in his work.”

While there was “resistance and mistrust” towards the concept of exorcism among some Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI has no such doubts, Father Amorth said. “His Holiness believes wholeheartedly in the practice of exorcism. He has encouraged and praised our work,” he added.

The evil influence of Satan was evident in the highest ranks of the Catholic hierarchy, with “cardinals who do not believe in Jesus and bishops who are linked to the demon,” Father Amorth said.

In a rare insight into the world of exorcism, the Italian priest told La Repubblica newspaper that the 1973 film The Exorcist gave a “substantially exact” impression of what it was like to be possessed by the Devil.

People possessed by evil sometimes had to be physically restrained by half a dozen people while they were exorcised. They would scream, utter blasphemies and spit out sharp objects, he said.

“From their mouths, anything can come out – pieces of iron as long as a finger, but also rose petals,” said Father Amorth, who claims to have performed 70,000 exorcisms. “When the possessed dribble and slobber, and need cleaning up, I do that too. Seeing people vomit doesn’t bother me. The exorcist has one principal duty – to free human beings from the fear of the Devil.”

The attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II by a Turkish gunman in 1981 and recent revelations of “violence and paedophilia” committed by Catholic priests against children in their care was also the work of the Devil, said Father Amorth, who has written a book about his vocation, Memoirs of an Exorcist, which was published recently.

Father Amorth, who is the president of the Association of Exorcists and fought as a partisan during the war, has previously claimed that both Hitler and Stalin were possessed by the Devil.

In an interview with Vatican Radio in 2006, he said: “Of course the Devil exists and he can not only possess a single person but also groups and entire populations.

“I am convinced that the Nazis were all possessed. All you have to do is think about what Hitler and Stalin did.”

He also condemned the Harry Potter books, saying they were dangerous because they dabbled in the occult and failed to draw a clear distinction between “the Satanic art” of black magic and benevolent white magic.

[via: telegraph.co.uk by Nick Squires]

A former Ugandan witch doctor has been charged with lying about carrying out child sacrifices in a BBC report.

Polino Angela told the BBC Newsnight programme he had killed about 70 people, including his son, before becoming an anti-sacrifice campaigner.

He allegedly repeated his claims to a Ugandan police officer and has been charged with “giving false information to a public officer”.

He reportedly denied the charges and was remanded in custody.

Moses Binoga, head of the Anti-Human Sacrifice and Trafficking Task Force, said the police had spoken to relatives and neighbours of Polino Angela’s son, who all say he died of malaria and was not sacrificed.

“The boy died a natural death,” he said.

“Seventy people [killed] was just fantasy to make the story look interesting.”

Mr Binoga said that Mr Angela had admitted lying, saying he hoped the international publicity would lead to a flow of donations to his organisation.

Mr Angela said he carried out the killings in the 1980s.

He says he stopped in 1990 and now tries to persuade other witch doctors to stop carrying out child sacrifices.

Mr Binoga said he had not yet decided whether he would ask to formally question BBC correspondent Tim Whewell.

The task force does, however, fear that child sacrifice is a growing problem, with 29 suspected cases last year.

Many Ugandans believe in the powers of witch doctors and traditional healers.

Some say that potions made with human body parts are more powerful.

[via: news.bbc.co.uk]

A RIBBLE Valley businessman is bidding to buy a huge castle to open Britain’s first ‘psychic school of excellence’.

Clitheroe-based Kevin Horkin has put in an offer of £850,000 to buy the derelict Grade I-listed Gwrych Castle in Abergele, North Wales.

Mr Horkin, who owns psychic management company Parallel, wants to spend ’several millions’ renovating the 19th century castle, installing a hotel and facilities for psychics to connect with the spiritual world.

He said: “It has always been one of my ambitions to open a psychic retreat somewhere and this would work on several fronts.

“It will be somewhere where psychics can go to meet like-minded people, to further their interests and develop their psychic senses.

“There will be some psychic workshops because I think there is a desire and a need for that.

“That’s why we have gone for North Wales. It is a fantastic place and this is a dream of mine.”

During an 18-month search for a base of psychic school of excellence, Mr Horkin and his staff at Parallel, based in Waddington Road, Clitheroe, visited around 20 houses and castles before deciding on Gwrych.

It even included an ultimately fruitless search for a suitable location in Lancashire.

However, he believes the psychic retreat in North Wales, which would include a tie-up with a hotel operator, will appeal to ‘ordinary’ people.

Mr Horkin added: “It is something different. There’s a risk with opening it but I just feel strongly about it.

“I love the place and I feel that people will love it too. There’s just something about it.”

Earlier this week, Mr Horkin revealed how a ghostly image had shown up on mobile phone photographs he took at Gwrych Castle.

If all goes to plan, he hopes to open his psychic school of excellence in late 2012.

[via: lancashiretelegraph.co.uk by Chris Hopper]

BUCHAREST, Romania – In the latest bizarre claim to come out of Romania’s presidential race last year, the loser and his wife have claimed he was subject to attacks of negative energy by aides of President Traian Basescu during a crucial debate.

Former Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana who lost the Dec. 6 runoff, claimed Basescu ordered the attacks against him, Mediafax news agency reported Monday.

“During the Dec. 3 debate … people who were working for Basescu in this domain were present to the right of the camera. … I saw them and I know who they are,” Geoana told Antena 3 television. Geoana fared badly in parts of the debate.

His wife Mihaela Geoana said Saturday her husband “was very badly attacked, he couldn’t concentrate.”

Former President Ion Iliescu dismissed the allegations as “discussions for naive people, for uneducated people,” according to Monday’s edition of the daily Gandul.

Geoana aide Viorel Hrebenciuc has previously alleged there was a “violet flame” conspiracy during the campaign. He said Basescu dressed in purple on Thursdays to increase his chance of victory.

Asked about the violet connection, Basescu joked earlier this month that “it was the colour of the year” in 2009.

Basescu narrowly won the election. Geoana’s Social Democracy Party claimed the ballot was marred by fraud.

[via: cbc.ca]

A Brazilian toddler has been found with some 40 needles inside him, which police say his stepfather inserted during a possible “black magic” ritual.

Police said Roberto Carlos Magalhaes had confessed to sticking the sewing needles into the two-year-old boy, and had been arrested.

Mr Magalhaes said his mistress had told him ritually to kill the child to take revenge on his wife.

Doctors are set to begin operating on Thursday to remove some of the needles.

The toddler was taken to hospital in the north-eastern Bahia state by his mother, complaining of stomach pains and vomiting.

X-rays showed scores of sewing needles inside his neck, torso and legs. At least one had punctured a lung, another his liver.

Police said Mr Magalhaes had broken down and confessed after being arrested.

“He did that for revenge, to get back at his wife,” the police chief in the town of Ibotirama, Helder Fernandes Santana, was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

“His mistress told him to kill the child through a macabre ritual,” Mr Santana said.

The boy’s mother told police she suspected the child had been the victim of a black magic ritual after she found suspicious objects in the home she shared with Mr Magalhaes – her husband of six months – and her six children.

Doctors said most of the needles would be removed, but not the ones inside organs as their removal could cause more damage.

They said there were no signs of wounds on the boy.

Reports say the boy is in a serious condition, but that he has shown some improvement since being admitted to hospital on Sunday.

[via: news.bbc.co.uk]

Russian police say hypnotism is not an uncommon criminal technique.

MOSCOW, Russia — Bank robbers have threatened tellers with knives, shot their way into banks and tunnelled up into vaults. But one woman in southern Russia chose a more peaceful method: Police say Galina Korzhova hypnotised a bank teller into handing over tens of thousands of dollars in what is believed to be just one in a series of daring, if non-violent, bank robberies.

Galina Korzhova was arrested, said Anton Kornoukhov, a spokesman for police in the southern city of Volgograd, on suspicion of hypnotising a bank teller in the nearby town of Volzhky into giving her more than $80,000. She is suspected of having robbed up to 30 additional banks in what Russian media have called a “grand tour” around the country.

“She met the woman on the street, saying that she would remove curses and help cure sick relatives,” said Kornoukhov in a telephone interview.

Korzhova is accused of telling the bank employee, whose name has not been released, to put the money into a plastic bag and meet her outside the state bank Sberbank, on Communist Street in the small town. There, the case goes, the teller gave Korzhova the money.

The robber took off with 30,000 euros, $20,000 and the rest in rubles for a total of 2.6 million rubles or $81,000, police said.

The teller only realised what she had done a couple of hours later and told her bosses at the bank what had happened.

Strangely enough there is a well-known tale of a Sberbank teller being hypnotised on longtime Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s orders. Wolfgang Messing was a German Jew who escaped to the Soviet Union from the Nazi Germany after he predicted Adolf Hitler’s regime would collapse. Messing was said to be Stalin’s personal psychic and claimed that he hypnotised a teller to hand over 100,000 rubles as an experiment on Stalin’s orders. The Soviet secret police later gave the money back — the teller had a heart attack when he heard how he had been tricked.

Police say that Korzhova is a “tsiganka,” or Roma. Police, who are often criticized for racial profiling, say this type of crime is most often perpetrated by Roma who are traditionally involved in fortune telling and are often seen begging in Russia.

The Roma, or Gypsies, are nomadic people who live throughout Europe. Human rights groups say they are severely discriminated against in Russia and that police routinely assume their guilt and harass them.

[via: globalpost.com - Kevin O'Flynn]

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