[Photo/VCG]

Villain hitting

Villain hitting, or petty person beating, is folk sorcery popular in Hong Kong. Its purpose is to curse one's enemies with magic. Villain hitting is often considered a humble career, and the ceremony is often performed by older women, though some shops sell DIY kits.

Villain hitting has been preliminarily included in the list of intangible cultural heritages by the Hong Kong Home Affairs Bureau, and was selected as the "Best way to get it off your chest" in TIME magazine's 2009 Best of Asia feature. Receiving requests from clients, villain hitters require human-shaped papers with or without some information about specific people. As part of the ceremony, they beat the papers with shoes or other implements.