Witchcraft and the Occult

Ghanaians are very spiritual and believe fervently in the supernatural. I'd like to share with you some interesting little tidbits about such things that I have encountered (or at least heard of) here in Ghana.

• Whistling at night will attract evil forest dwarfs.
• If a puppy touches a fully grown dog on the nose, the older dog will die.
• At church, people fall over and writhe around screaming under the weight of the holy spirit.

• Witches are real. If you are a witch you will be sent to live in an extremely isolated witch camp.
• Speaking of witches, Hogwarts actually exists somewhere, most likely in America. And it produces lethally trained witches and wizards, which are obviously the direct spawn of the devil himself.
• Putting a curse on someone is serious shit. Late one night, around 1 AM, I awoke to frantic pounding at my front door. One of the girls in the dorm had put a curse on another girl, and all the others were afraid.
• A curse can have major psychological effects. If a person fails an exam, there are two equally likely explanations: (1) he didn't study, or (2) someone cursed him to forget everything.

• A curse can also manifest physically. If a person is sick, there are two equally likely explanations: (1) malaria or (2) someone cursed him.
• Word on the street is that shrunken, preserved monkey heads are really effective for witchcraft and other acts of heradry.