Anti-gunners Really Do Think Guns Have Magical Properties

We know that, but they rarely put it in writing.What Guns Do to Our State of Mind.

Three men, in a dangerous community, in a dangerous nation, owned a gun, and all three died. The reason? The gun was magic – cursed, even

When I asked Belairians why these deaths occurred, they often surmised that the gunmen fell victim to maji, or “magic.” In Haiti, magic refers to an unethical use of spiritual power, distinct from ceremonial forms of Vodou, which call on ancestors to heal and protect the family. (Vodou is the preferred spelling, rather than Voodoo, which some practitioners view as derogatory.) This form of magic entails engaging with secret powers that allow a person to advance at the expense of another. To many, the men died because the occult forces they had been using for unethical gain had ultimately turned against them—opening them up to conflict and failing to protect them.

So I wonder what other inanimate objects are imbued with magical, mind-altering powers.