2 weeks ago
Possession rumours drive 610 students out of Amravati school
In a school in India, some girls suddenly started crying and laughing without any reason, and a few even fainted.
Soon, other girls began acting in the same strange way.
People in the nearby villages started saying that the girls were being controlled by ghosts.
Worried parents took about 610 students out of the school hostel.
Doctors came to check the girls and said there were no ghosts.
They explained that the girls were stressed and their minds showed it in a strange way, like a copycat game.
Doctors call this 'mass hysteria'.
Teachers and helpers from an anti-superstition group visited families to calm their fears.
The group told parents that education was important and there was nothing to be scared of.
Now, more and more students are coming back to school.
Around July 29, girls at a government tribal hostel in Doma village, Amravati, began crying and laughing uncontrollably without any apparent reason, with some falling unconscious.
Rumours of possession and a haunted campus spread, prompting parents to take home nearly 610 of the school's roughly 852 students.
A District Mental Health Programme team examined six affected girls and diagnosed dissociative symptoms, describing the episode as 'mass hysteria' and 'selective hysteria'.
Officials such as Additional Commissioner Sandip Golait said health experts found no evidence of supernatural activity, citing stress and unexplained fear as possible factors.
Teachers, health officials and Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (ANIS) activists counselled families in neighbouring villages, and daily attendance at the school has since crossed 200.
- Who
- Girls staying at the government tribal hostel, many from the village of Ektai, along with their families, health officials, teachers and anti-superstition activists from ANIS.
- What
- An outbreak of uncontrollable crying, laughter, forgetfulness and other symptoms diagnosed as 'mass hysteria', which sparked rumours of possession and a haunted hostel.
- Where
- Shaskiya Madhyamik Va Uchha Madhyamik (Kala va Vigyan) Ashram Shala in Doma village, Chikhaldara taluka, Amravati district, Maharashtra, India.
- When
- The incidents were reported around July 29.
- Why
- Health experts attributed the symptoms to mental stress, fear and cultural beliefs, noting that observing others behave unusually can spread such symptoms.
Medical and scientific explanation
Traditional and supernatural beliefs
Cause of the girls' symptoms
Medical and scientific explanation
Health experts found no evidence of anything supernatural and diagnosed dissociative symptoms or 'mass hysteria' linked to mental stress, fear and observation of others' behaviour.
Traditional and supernatural beliefs
Rumours in the villages held that the girls were possessed and the hostel was haunted; some bhumkas said the girls had been affected by a 'chakwa', a supernatural phenomenon.
Most appropriate response
Medical and scientific explanation
Doctors and anti-superstition activists counselled parents to bring students back, stressing that education was important and there were no ghosts or possession to fear.
Traditional and supernatural beliefs
Several families took their daughters to bhumkas, or traditional tribal healers, who performed rituals after which the girls reportedly became fine.
Key facts
- Location
- Doma village, Chikhaldara taluka, Amravati district, Maharashtra, India
- School
- Shaskiya Madhyamik Va Uchha Madhyamik (Kala va Vigyan) Ashram Shala
- Incidents reported
- Around July 29
- Total students
- Around 852
- Students taken home from hostel
- Nearly 610
- Girls examined by health team
- Six
- Diagnosis
- Dissociative symptoms; described as 'mass hysteria' and 'selective hysteria'
- New hostel
- Under construction; expected to be ready within a month
Quotes
Shivani Kalsekar
Class XII student affected by the incident
“This is indeed a case of mass hysteria. Once hysterical symptoms emerge, others may also display similar behaviour after observing it. Counselling of parents is therefore essential, as patients may consciously or unconsciously reproduce such symptoms.”
indianexpress.com
“We found that the girls were fine. Some were cooking while others had gone to the fields.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
Related news
Tribal students flee Maharashtra hostel over 'possessed' girls
Amravati Tribal Girls to Move After ‘Haunted’ Hostel Episode
608 Students Leave Maharashtra Hostel Amid Ghost Rumours
Four more Park Institution girls admitted to RG Kar hospital
Palghar Ashram School Boy Dies; Students Hospitalised With Fever
Seven More Park Institution for Girls Students Hospitalised; Hostel Shut
Stocks to Watch Thursday as Key Corporate Developments Drive Focus
Jarange Accuses Maharashtra Government of Inciting Riots During Fast
Mumbai Trains Election Officials Amid Statewide Electoral Roll Revision
Bombay Gymkhana Squash Finals Set After Junior Semifinals
NMMC Launches Navi Mumbai Drive to Protect Existing Trees
