Have you heard about what is happening in Malawi?  Well, first of all, you may be asking yourself—who or what is a Malawi?  Malawi is a rather small country in southeastern Africa.  It is bordered by Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania.  So what is happening?  Malawi is like many other countries in Africa.  Belief in witchcraft and the supernatural is common.  In recent weeks much of Malawi has been in a panic because of rumors of vampirism.

It is believed that there are blood-suckers on the prowl, looking for victims whose blood they can drink.  The purpose of this particular vampiric activity is to use the blood in witchcraft rituals.  In addition to the vampirism, the people of Malawi believe these vampire witches can also shape-shift, or skin walk—that is, they can change their form from human into the shape of dog, cat or some other animal.

The situation has become very serious.  People are so frightened that they have formed vigilante groups who are hunting vampires.  There are accounts of people being dragged from their cars at roadblocks set up to catch vampires.  As of this writing (Friday, October 13, 2017), there have been seven people killed by these vigilante mobs.  Things have deteriorated to the point where U.N. workers have been pulled out of their posts.  The President of Malawi has declared a 5:00 p.m. curfew in hopes that this will curb the activity of the vigilantes and restore some order.  (Here is a U.N. report on this situation.) Continue reading →