Right about now, after reading the heading above, you’re probably thinking, "The Salem Witch trials? What does that have to do with the future?" Actually, it has a lot to do with the future. By now, in the 21^st century, most of the world has accepted that witches are non-existent, non-real, superficial, and superstitious. Most of the world. Not all.

Let’s focus on South Africa. Since 1990, more than 2000 cases of witchcraft-related violence, including 577 killings, have been reported in a remote, northern corner of South Africa alone. In many parts of the world, certain court cases and trials have been referred to as witch trials, but none actually deal with witchcraft. At least, most of them don’t. Here are a few stories that occurred recently involving witchcraft:

• 42-year-old Violet Dangale was driven from her home by her relatives 3 ¾ years ago. Her relatives claimed she was a witch and had grown rich from the work of zombies, or the "living dead" as they are known in that area. Now, penniless, she is in hiding, and she currently lives in a tent she received from the local police.
• 75-year-old Francine Sebatsana and 55-year-old Desia Mamafa were burned to death on pyres of wood in the small village of Wydhoek. Wydhoek is in the same province as the village where Violet Dangale lives. Francine and Desia were executed after being denounced and "exposed" as witches.
• Noledzane Ernest Maduba reportedly murdered his 11-month-old baby, planning to use the body parts as muti, or ingredients for bewitching potions and compounds. He did this in the pursuit of magical power, according to the charges against him in Venda High Court. He has also been charged with forcing his wife, Helen, to assist in the killing of their child and to drink the baby’s blood as well.
• Ndweleni Collbert Ramagoma, a nanga, or traditional healer in the village of Vondwe used to earn quite a large sum of money by helping the sick and distressed. He believed in polygamy, and had 4 wives. Today, all but one of his wifes have left him. His house and many of his possessions have been burned. All this because a neighbor’s son kept his father awake one night chanting the name "Ramagoma". The father then accused Ramagoma of bewitching his son, and organized a witch hunt against him.
• This particular modern witchcraft case actually takes place in Ethiopia. An Ethiopian court sentenced the owner of a flour mill, a sorceress, and her friend to death for murdering a seven-year-old girl. The flour mill owner, who was struggling to be able to put bread on his table, sought advice from the local sorceress, who said that the only way out of his problems was to sacrifice a suitable girl child, and then sprinkle her blood on the flour of the mill and mill house. The sorceress them paid for people a grand total of $2.40 each (yes, that’s it!) to kidnap such a child and take her to the flour mill owner. The four kidnappers were sentenced to life in prison, all for the price of $2.40 each. A friend of the sorceress, who had taken part in the killing, was also sentenced to death.