Iraq's clairvoyants see fame, fortune — for themselves

BAGHDAD — Reports of a haunted house in Karbala, south of Baghdad, circulated in media outlets and on social media late September demonstrating the growing interest of Iraqis in magic and superstition. Iraqis’ growing enticement with the supernatural, jinns, clairvoyants and healing potions have been on the rise with the publication of books narrating people’s “first-hand” experiences with haunted houses, TV shows on satellite channels, clairvoyants on social media and the public seeking potions or visiting coffee readers in the markets.

The recent myth of the haunted house shows the growing interest in the supernatural, according to Karbala-based engineer and civil activist Reyam Salah. “The haunted house — although it actually isn’t haunted at all — reflects people’s interest in superstition,” she told Al-Monitor. “In fact many haunted houses are just shams where a buyer wants to buy the house at a lower price and spreads rumors so no one else would make an offer.”

She said that the so-called haunted houses are often old and owned in the past by members of minority groups expelled from the country a long time ago, such as Iraqi Jews and Iranians. For others, the belief in a haunted house can also be a reflection of collective conscience and a feeling of guilt for not helping those people or even sometimes taking over their properties.

In September, the Baghdad provincial council warned that witchcraft and sorcerers were widespread in Iraq and urged local authorities to take serious action to close down their offices. Ali Jaafar al-Alaq, a member of the council, told local media, “Charlatans who claim to practice witchcraft have become owners of huge wealth and satellite channels [and] the spread of their offices has become a phenomenon suffered by all parts of the capital Baghdad." He also cautioned that some people engaged in witchcraft offer potions that could lead to poisoning.