Experts: Casting Spells Not About Killing

Casting spells and the study and practice of witchcraft is nonviolent and often misunderstood, experts say.

Lawrence Douglas Harris Sr., 25, of Sioux City told investigators he was casting a spell that "had gone bad" when his stepdaughters, ages 8 and 10, died Sunday. He faces two counts of first-degree murder.

Professor Helen A. Berger, author of three books on witches, said she doubted anyone claiming to have killed children while casting a spell is a true practitioner of witchcraft or Wicca, a nature-based religion often associated with witchcraft and spell-casting. Full Story

Related: religion, wicca, pagan, spells