Case file · High strangeness
Malawi vampire scare
Rumours of blood-sucking vampires in southern Malawi led to mob killings and the UN withdrawing staff from two districts.
2017 CE · -15.79, 35.00 · status: explained
The account
In September–October 2017 rumours spread in Mulanje and Phalombe, with links to similar beliefs in Mozambique, that people were being attacked at night and drained of blood. Mobs killed several people suspected of being vampires, and the president promised action.
The sceptical view
No attacks were confirmed; police and officials described a rumour panic fed by poverty and mistrust.