Photo taken on Oct. 26, 2020 shows a view of the "Ghost Manor" house in New Orleans, Louisiana, the United States. To celebrate the upcoming Halloween holiday, a special house in New Orleans has been decorated by the owner as the "Ghost Manor". With jack-o'-lanterns, spider webs, skeletons and all kinds of Halloween-themed decorations, the manor has attracted a lot of visitors. (Photo by Lan Wei/Xinhua)

A woman from East China's Anhui Province was swindled out of 50,000 yuan ($7,748) on fake classes on psychic arts, including telepathizing with ghosts and animals. 

The woman surnamed Liu has been taking a variety of courses including magic, mental telepathy, shaman and feng shui from a WeChat official account Magick Area since January, hoping it would "improve their fortunes of finance and romantic relationships." 

According to Liu, she spent more than 50,000 yuan on several courses and props between January and August. Some courses such as mental telepathy with animals cost her 3,000 yuan for a four-hour lesson. The courses even invited some overseas "experts" to teach trainees to telepathize with animals to know their moods. 

However, she later found that the two companies based in Nanjing in East China's Jiangsu Province which manage the WeChat account and offer these courses have never registered with local authorities. 

Through a preliminary investigation, the local market watchdog identified that the companies engaged in feudal superstition are suspected of criminal offences, and handed over the case to the local police. 

Global Times