When you think of witchcraft, the image that probably pops into your head is the infamous Salem trial – the 17th‑century drama where 19 accused souls were hanged. Yet the story doesn’t end there. The 10 modern witch phenomenon continues to haunt many corners of the globe, and the facts are as startling as they are unsettling.
Below we dive into ten recent witch‑hunt episodes that read like horror fiction, yet they happened in real life. Buckle up, because each case is a chilling reminder that superstition can still turn deadly.
10 Ghana
Much like the Salem villagers of old, many Ghanaians today settle grudges by branding a rival as a witch. A single accusation can be enough to exile or even kill a person, and such claims surface far more often than logic would suggest.
Because witchcraft is viewed as a grave menace, Ghana has set up eight “witch camps” – sanctuaries that double as prisons for those accused. These camps, some centuries old, house men, women and children who have been swept up in the hysteria.
In 2014, investigators counted more than 1,100 people living in these makeshift camps. The hunts flare up across both the northern and southern regions, often sparked by wild rumors of “penis‑theft” – a bizarre belief that witches can steal a man’s virility. Victims are usually killed, though a few manage to find refuge within the camps and spend the rest of their lives as outcasts.
9 The Gambia
In March 2009, President Yahya Jammeh gave the green light for a squad of state‑sanctioned “witch hunters” to sweep through villages, rounding up roughly 1,000 locals. Those detainees were herded into secret government facilities where they were forced to gulp down an unknown hallucinogenic brew.
Amnesty International reported that many of the captives suffered immediate vomiting and diarrhoea after drinking the toxic concoction, leaving them helpless as they were beaten and coerced into confessing witchcraft.
The five‑day roundup targeted men, women and the elderly alike. While only two of the 1,000 detainees died from the brutal treatment, the episode highlighted a grave human‑rights crisis within the nation.
Amnesty also noted that this was not Jammeh’s first controversial move – in 2007 he claimed to have discovered an herbal cure for HIV and even ordered the execution of homosexuals, underscoring a pattern of dangerous authoritarian whims.
8 Kenya
Kenya’s history with witch hunts stretches back centuries, but the violence tends to erupt in sudden, unpredictable bursts. In May 2008, a mob in the western Kisii region seized and burned eleven elders – eight women and three men aged between 80 and 96 – after accusing them of sorcery.
The victims were dragged from their homes, marched into the street and set alight one by one. Their houses were then torched, leaving everything they owned to turn to ash. The frenzy was allegedly sparked by a school exercise book that supposedly contained minutes from a “witches’ meeting” and a list of future targets.
Families of the slain were forced into hiding, and the incident was far from isolated. Kenyan communities continue to live under the shadow of occasional witch‑hunt outbreaks, with no sign of the menace fading anytime soon.
7 India
India might surprise you on this list, but certain regions remain steeped in mystic fear. Between 2001 and 2006, the northeastern state of Assam witnessed roughly 300 people – predominantly women – being captured and murdered under witchcraft accusations.
These killings left a trail of orphaned children, swelling the number of homeless youngsters in the area. Across the country, other incidents have resulted in anywhere from five to thirty‑five deaths per case.
A 2010 report estimated that between 1995 and 2009, roughly 150 to 200 women were killed each year for alleged witchcraft, pushing the total number of women slain for such accusations to over 2,500 during that period.
6 Nepal
In Nepal, belief in witchcraft runs deep, especially among low‑caste communities. Women from these groups are frequently seized, beaten, publicly humiliated and sometimes murdered after being labeled witches.
One 2010 case involved a woman who was abducted by a mob of about 35 people, tortured for two days, and forced to ingest human excrement until she “confessed” to witchcraft. Although many victims endure such torment, the death toll in Nepal remains lower than in neighboring nations.
Often, after a grueling confession, the accused are released rather than killed. Still, the brutality of the torture and the social stigma attached to these women demand urgent attention.
5 Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s wealthiest states, still grapples with a legal framework that criminalizes sorcery. Accusations of witchcraft can lead to a formal trial, and a guilty verdict often carries the death penalty.
Human Rights Watch highlighted in 2009 that the religious police effectively sanctioned a literal witch hunt, leading to imprisonment and execution of alleged sorcerers.
One notable case occurred on June 19, 2012, when Muree bin Ali bin Issa al‑Asiri was beheaded in Najran province after being convicted of practicing witchcraft.
4 Indonesia
Indonesia’s post‑Suharto era was marred by an unexpected wave of witch hunts. After the dictator stepped down in 1998, the nation faced financial turmoil and a surge of mob‑led killings blamed on alleged sorcery.
In September 2000, a mob in West Java seized a 70‑year‑old woman accused of casting spells that made locals ill. She was decapitated, her eyes gouged out and her limbs torn apart before being displayed on the street.
These brutal acts, often disguised as witch hunts, contributed to an estimated 400 deaths, illustrating how political instability can fuel deadly superstition.
3 Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea distinguishes between “white” magic – a legal, benevolent practice for healing – and “black” magic, outlawed by the 1970s Sorcery Act, which prescribed two years’ imprisonment for practitioners.
Despite the law, the ban sparked a surge in extrajudicial violence. In 2013, four women were accused of witchcraft simply because their home was constructed of wood, a sign of relative wealth. All four were tortured, and one was beheaded.
Repeated attacks on young women have been reported, but a 2013 repeal of the Sorcery Act re‑classified the killing of alleged witches as murder, offering a legal shield against future atrocities.
2 Cameroon
Not every modern witch hunt ends in bloodshed. In January 2014, the town of Buea, Cameroon, erupted into a violent protest that targeted supposed witches, but the mob’s fury was limited to property damage.
Rioters torched homes and vehicles belonging to those labeled witches, claiming they were part of a cult responsible for recent deaths. Mathias Mouende Ngamo, a local blogger, reported that 16 homes and 10 shops were destroyed, and several cars were left charred on the streets.
A darker episode from the 1970s saw a child‑witchcraft scare sweep the region. Children accused of sorcery were forced to confess, then “rewarded” with large quantities of meat to induce a purging vomit before being released back to their families – a bizarre, yet non‑lethal, resolution.
1 Tanzania
Tanzania tops the list as the deadliest arena for modern witch hunts. In the 21st century alone, an estimated 20,000 individuals have been rounded up and murdered under accusations of sorcery.
The bloodshed isn’t limited to alleged witches; the same mobs have targeted homosexuals, blending homophobia with witchcraft hysteria. Between January and June 2017, the Legal and Human Rights Center documented 479 deaths from “mob justice,” most of which involved elderly women accused of witchcraft.
These killings are often orchestrated by local governors, though some erupt spontaneously as mob fury. Regardless of motive, Tanzania remains the most lethal place on the planet for anyone branded a witch in recent times.