Police have found a further 41 dead bodies at a horror Buddhist black magic cult in Thailand.

Officers raided the twisted meditation retreat - where devotees believed they were being taught clairvoyance by praying to corpses - last week following claims of suspicious behavior.

Shocked officers found 12 human bodies - including the corpse of an infant - among bamboo huts in remote Kamphaeng Phet province on November 20.

Witchcraft gurus at the Siri Chan Forest Monastery defended the practice and claimed that the dead bodies gave worshippers supernatural powers.

But police have now closed down the retreat and turned it over, yielding a further 41 corpses. Some had recently passed away while others were several years old - but all of them have been used in the gruesome occult rituals suspected of duping thousands of devotees who made lavish donations.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Praphas Intha of the Pho Thale district station said each body was found with a handwritten death certificate and cash donations.

He added: 'We are now identifying each body and contacting the relatives. Tissue samples will be taken as part of the process.

'Some of the relatives live in different regions. It is a long process and the retreat has delayed it by refusing to co-operate fully.

'The organisation is not an official monastery but had requested temporary permission to use the donated land for ritual practices.'

The National Office of Buddhism, which called for an evaluation of the monastery's claims about mental training and ritualistic practices, as they may conflict with Buddhist principles.

The police added that documentation was found that some of the relatives of the deceased had donated the bodies to the monastery.

However, followers of the suspected cult have defended its practices.

Worshipper Mae Mai, one of those who meditated with corpses, said: 'The monastery teaches something original that cannot be learned at ordinary temples.

'The master, Phra Ajarn Saifon, spent not only days but ten years learning clairvoyance.

'Practitioners have to spend around six hours meditating and going through specific processes before meditating in front of the corpses.'

Alleged cult leader Phra Ajarn Saifon had previously claimed the religious group had 69 branches across Thailand. He also said in interviews that he was capable of other supernatural feats such as swapping bodies and walking through crocodile pits unscathed.

Thailand, a predominantly Buddhist country, is home to a wide range of spiritual beliefs - including some groups that might be considered religious cults or black magic.

In May 2022, Thai witchcraft bosss Tawee Nanla was arrested after police found 11 dead bodies in his home in Chaiyaphum province. He was said to have detained several of his followers and forced them to eat his urine and faeces.

While in January, Thai witch doctor Ajarn Man, also an alleged cult leader, sparked outrage as footage emerged of him licking followers' bottoms in a bizarre ritual meant to bring them good fortune. Police said they took no action as there were no complaints filed by his alleged victims.