LOS ANGELES: A catholic school in Nashville, Tennessee has banned Harry Potter books, saying that the curses and spells mentioned in JK Rowling's wizard saga may lead to "conjuring evil spirits" when read by a human being.
According to local news outlet The Tennessean, the pastor at St Edward Catholic School sent an email to the parents of the student informing them that he had contacted exorcists who advised the school to remove the books. "These books present magic as both good and evil, which is not true, but in fact a clever deception," Reverend Dan Reehil wrote in his email.
"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," he added.
The "Harry Potter" series, published between 1997 and 2007, have sold over 450 million copies worldwide, distributed in more than 200 territories and translated into 79 languages, and have been turned into eight films.