Understanding Occult Crime in South Africa
By Nicky Falkof
South Africa can sometimes appear to be awash with occult crime, stories of satanist conspiracies, witchcraft accusations, muti murders and demonic possession frequently surface in the media. A trawl through our national news suggests a society at war with the forces of evil.
Why does the occult have such a firm grip on our collective imagination? This fascination is especially striking in a vastly unequal country like ours. South Africa faces deep crises of gender-based violence, child abuse, poverty and unemployment. These are clear and pressing dangers to our social stability.
Blaming the supernatural for violence
Why, then, are South Africans so quick to blame the supernatural for violence and misfortune? How do beliefs in occult crime intersect with deeper problems of gender, race and class? And most critically, is there any truth to these supernatural tales?
The Devil Made Me Do It explores these and other thorny questions. The book probes the stories, beliefs and rumours that lie behind the so-called occult crimes which continue to enthral South Africa’s fractured psyche.
The book includes historical and contemporary cases. These range from the murder of a child mistaken for a tokoloshe in the 1920s to the satanic panic that gripped the nation in the 1980s and 1990s. The book also covers the Krugersdorp cult killings from 2012 to 2016, and the muti murder of a six-year-old girl in 2022.
The Devil Made Me Do It asks what these crimes, and the way they are represented by media, police and other institutions, reveal about South Africa today. Through this investigation, the book highlights how the supernatural can serve as a lens for understanding social anxiety and cultural unrest.
The Devil Made Me Do It provides not just a catalogue of disturbing events. It also invites readers to reflect on the deeper narratives that shape our responses to fear, violence and the unknown.
About the author
Nicky Falkof is a writer and academic based in Johannesburg. She is a professor of Media Studies at Wits University and currently heads the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies. Her research focuses primarily on race and anxiety in South Africa.
She has a specific interest in the forms, mythologies and consequences of white fear. In addition, she explores topics including gender, popular media and culture, moral panic and the social geography of global south cities.
Nicky holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Humanities and Cultural Studies from the London Consortium, which is part of Birkbeck College at the University of London. This is her fourth book.
- PUBLISHER | Penguin Random House SA |
- ISBN | 9781776390991 |
- Recommended Retail Price | R240.00 |
- Classification | Current Affairs |
