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Published 20:16 IST, September 2nd 2019

Harry Potter: US school removes books, claims 'curses are real'

St Edward Catholic School in Nashville, Tennessee has removed all seven books of the Harry Potter series from its library, as per international news reports.

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In a cruel move depriving many school children of the world's highly acclaimed work of fiction- Harry Potter, St Edward Catholic School in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday has removed all seven books of the Harry Potter series from its library, as per international news reports. This move has reportedly been taken by the school's pastor Reverend Dan Reehil after he felt that the 'curses in the book were real'. Reports state that the pastor had consulted with several exorcists in the US and Rome before taking the controversial decision. These exorcists reportedly believed that curses described in the book posed a 'risk of conjuring evil spirits' when read out loud.

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Pastor calls 'Harry Potter' curses real

Local US reports state that Reehil has emailed the students' parents about the decision. In his email, he states that  while many of the characters in the series use their magic for good, 'it's all a clever deception'. He explains in his email,"These books present magic as both good and evil, which is not true but is, in fact, a clever deception. The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells; which when read by a human being risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the text."

The Harry Potter series

The Harry Potter series conceptualized by Joanne Kathleen Rowling hit shelves in the United Kingdom on June 26, 1997. It gained global fame in the next year as fiction fans all over the world fell in love with the boy wizard and the magical world. The plot revolves around boy-wizard Harry and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger as they fight the evil-wizard Voldemort to save the wizarding world. The book series has succeeded in breaking several records, crossing sales of 500 million copies in 2018, while its movie franchise produced by Warner Bros. Pictures drummed up over $7 billion at the box office. 

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19:52 IST, September 2nd 2019