Just in time for the Olympics, The Sun, that most tabloid of tabloids, runs a photo essay on a Mudangs, shamen who claim to be possessed by a God, who are called in to perform rites that console the dead and warn off evil spirits. No word on whether a Mudang has been called to PyeongChang to help the Korean team, who thus far have only medaled twice. (Warning to those of you with sensitive stomachs or fond memories of “Babe”: dead pig images ahead. And shots of the Mudang preparing meal with a liberal addition of pig’s blood, which helps scare away hardships.)
In Liverpool, a tourist visiting the city’s St. James’ Cemetery came across what some have claimed is the ghost of Jennie Greenteeth, who many believe to haunt the centuries-old boneyard (which is the final home for, among others, a U.S. Senator, and the first woman to climb the Matterhorn). Lucky for them, they were on a ghost walk, so were ready to snap a photo. We’re sure the Sun could direct them to a Mudang, if they’re interested….
But best keep that Mudag out of Nigeria, where the riot squad was called in to the Cross River province for an incident that began with the killing of a cow. Four leaders of the Itigidi tribe were brought in to be questioned by police, which made the local youth, as the police report so sanguinely put it, “restive.” So restive, in fact, they threatened to set the police station on fire. As you might expect, the police did not take well to those threats, and when the smoke cleared, the local mortician was dead. Even though Donald Trump thinks Nigeria is one of those “shithole” countries, people there have picked up on his rhetoric: “To be honest with you, the matter was politicized,” a local resident told Punch.
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