Remember back in the day when the Russkies claimed that they were spending kajillions researching this stuff? They called it “parapsychology” and were perennially dropping hints that they were just a year or two away from acquiring “the power to cloud men’s minds” (cue “The Shadow” theme).
I think even “60 Minutes” did a show on that.
If magic were real then our world would resemble “Conan” or “The Lord of the Rings”. The Harry Potters would be ruling us.
The CIA blew millions on this too, including ‘research’ on LSD.
I remember Coast to Coast covering stuff like this years ago.
I believe that magic can be real, but that it is mediated by supernatural beings that have their own wills and which are often constrained by the Supreme Being (God). So nothing like science as we know it can grasp or grok the phenomenon, and would-be Harry Potters are going to be mostly disappointed or meet private disaster. It is a theological scale issue.
Magic, witchcraft, voodoo, hoodoo, etc. has always been around. The naive and ignorant are the greatest supporters of it. The bottom line is money and power. If you can make your enemies think you are powerful thru some trickery or hoax, then you have won half the battle...
If that was the case, wouldn't the rulers disguise their magick?