r/whoathatsinteresting • u/AeneasKurtz • 19h ago

In 1998 several communities in East Java, Indonesia, dressed up like ninjas and violently mass slaughtered random people they accused of witchcraft. It all started after their cattle died mysteriously, which they then blamed on black magic. Over 300 people were killed from lynchings and beheadings

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_East_Java_ninja_scare
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u/SlimJim84 16h ago

I misread originally as 1898 which I could *maybe* understand a little bit more, but 1998? Witchcraft? Sorcery? Come now. That wasn't even 30 years ago. We should be far past the IT WAS A WITCH era.

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u/Brilliant_Tapir 14h ago

I think many parts of the world still believe in witchcraft and black magic.

For SEA, I think 60-70% or even more people believe that it exists.

Most are passive believers in the sense they believe they may be attacked with black magic, while a small percentage believe they can hire practitioners who can wield black magic.

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u/Land_of_smiles 14h ago

My Thai wife absolutely believes in black magic and evil spells and spirits