Michael White

Michael White, the author of the following piece, argues that voodoo priests have the ability to create zombies and harm people with hexes. However, they do so not by using supernatural powers but through a combination of social conditioning and drugs. Terror at being "hexed" and the social ostracizing of the victim cause enough stress to induce cardiac arrest in a true believer in voodoo, making it seem as if the magic of the hex itself were responsible for the death. Similarly, zombies are produced by administering calculated amounts of physical punishment, drugs, and universal brainwashing techniques. White was formerly science editor of British GQ and director of scientific studies at d'Overbroeck's College in Oxford, England. He has written several books on scientific topics and was a consultant for the Discovery Channel's series The...