An illegal “black magic” shrine is allegedly operating in a Hackney office. CCTV videos show a goat being ushered into the building but the animal never emerged

12:46, 07 Jun 2026Updated 13:28, 07 Jun 2026

View 3 Images

An investigation found a disturbing 'black magic shrine'

A goat appears to have been scarified as part of a "black magic ritual" in a trendy London office. CCTV footage shows a live goat being ushered through the Hackney building on April 17.

After some time, men were seen leaving the office at 4.31am carrying a heavy rubbish bag and a transparent container. The animal never emerged.

The grim discovery was first published by London Centric after they obtained internal security footage from the building. The day after the CCTV footage was recorded, a video posted on Instagram showed a goat being gripped tightly by its horns.

View 3 Images

Bizarre footage seemingly showed Quimbanda rituals

Another video shows the same goat laying motionless on the ground. A man kneels over it with his hands raised in the air and chanting.

The office’s walls are painted black and red. The man captured on CCTV dragging the goat into the office appears to have a history of similar activity.

There are years of Instagram posts showing him holding dead birds by the legs, posing with a severed goat’s head, and pressing animal hearts wrapped in leaves into the ground with bloodied hands. Away from the Hackney office, he also appears to stage comparable rituals in public cemeteries across the capital.

Other videos allegedly show the group carrying out elaborate ceremonies involving animal body parts, explosives, and the burning of replica coffins beside graves belonging to people with no apparent connection to them.

View 3 Images

The man shared bizarre posts on social media

The man appears to be a follower of Quimbanda, which is an Afro-Brazilian diaspora religion that developed during the era of the transatlantic slave trade. It is often called “black magic”.

Rituals, sometimes referred to as “trabalhos”, are typically intense and highly sensory, designed to attract and “feed” spirits. Animal sacrifice is widely reported as part of Quimbanda practice, with blood offered as part of certain requests.

In Brazil, ritual animal sacrifice was ruled constitutional by the Supreme Federal Court in 2019 under religious-freedom protections. In the UK, however, slaughter is tightly regulated and is generally only lawful in licensed slaughterhouses, with strict rules around animal welfare and pre-stunning, meaning such acts would be illegal if carried out elsewhere.

Article continues below

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.