For Discovery News I wrote a piece about the history of 'real' zombies, derived from Haitian Voodoo belief and folklore. You can read it HERE.
Magic and witchcraft
An Australian man is on trial for allegedly killing his parents for their inheritance; he did so after a psychic told him that he was owed "an abundance of riches." Read the rest HERE.
Quoted in an NPR Story About Prophecy–And the Farmer’s Almanac
There's been something wacky with the weather this winter, and many forecasters never saw it coming. Among them was The Old Farmer's Almanac, the quirky, centuries-old mix of historical data, prognostications and folk wisdom. Millions of people consult the almanac,...
Quoted in the Washington Post on the Ides of March…
Maura Judkis of the Washington Post quoted me on superstitions: “People will come to believe a date is ‘bad’ or unlucky and will focus on anything that goes wrong on that day,” wrote Benjamin Radford... “In that way, it becomes kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy: You...
MonsterTalk Interviews a Witch About Defense Against Demons
In the latest episode of MonsterTalk, Blake Smith and I interview witch Emily Carlin about her book Defense Against the Dark, on how to protect yourself from evil spirits. It's an interesting and respectful skeptic-versus-believer discussion; you can listen to it HERE.
Hide Your Daughters! ‘Oily Man’ Monster Stalks Malaysia
What's scarier than Rick Santorum as president? The orang minyak (Malay for "oily man"), a bizarre monster said to abduct young women by night throughout Malaysia. The creature has been occasionally sighted for decades, but never captured.... My article on this...
Discovery News: Unexplained Mysteries of 2011 and 2012
As we head inexorably toward 2012, I wrote a piece for Discovery News looking back at some of the strangest mysteries of this past year, and some of the mysteries that remain with us as we enter the new year. What's behind, and what's ahead? You can read the story...
Saudi ‘Witch’ Beheaded for Black Magic
An accused witch, Amina bint Abdulhalim Nassar, was beheaded in Saudi Arabia last week. She had been convicted of practicing "witchcraft and sorcery." In case anyone thought that belief in magic was a relic of the past, or was harmless. You can read the story HERE.