Black figure sighting in Malaysia school causes mass hysteria, closure on Thursday to exorcise apparition

School authorities in Kota Bharu, Malaysia, ordered the closure of the SMK Pengkalan Chepa 2 Secondary School for two days after mass hysteria swept the school for three straight days beginning April 11. The reason behind the hysteria are sightings of a mysterious black figure which was captured on camera by a student.

The photo, believed to be an apparition, was tweeted by a Philip Golingai, reports The Telegraph. On Monday, 25 students claim to have seen the black figure, while 50 pupils and 11 teachers made the same claim on Wednesday, said Siti Hawa Mat, principal of the school, reports Free Malaysia Today.

After the school shuttered on Thursday, authorities called in Islamic traditional experts, scholars and witch doctors to pray and perform exorcism rites. There was recital of Quranic verses for two hours. The witch doctors is a Chinese bomoh from Perak who came with his team.

On late Monday morning, screaming and shouting were heard again after the school reopened. A senior school staff says the students were possessed and disturbed by the spirits. She explains that the disturbance could be because the students are disobedient to some rules such as littering the school grounds with trash. “Perhaps they hit some ‘djinns’ and offended the spirits,” the teacher points out.

Another teacher, Norlailawati Rami, recalls that she was holding one of the students when her arms felt extraordinarily heavy, prompting her to recite the istighfar. After the pupil recovered and went home, “I then felt as though someone was hanging onto the left side of my body. I saw flashes of black, like a black figure,” she shares.

A third teacher, Kamariah Ibrahim, adds besides seeing the black figure, it also attempted to enter her body, but co-teachers surrounded her and recited verses from the Quran. She felt her head bloated and then became numb, while tears flowed. After she prayed the Ayatul Kursi repeatedly, after one hour, her head began to feel lighter.

Sociologist Robert Bartholomew describes the incident as a “textbook case of mass hysteria.” He notes the susceptibility of Malays due to their belief in a lot of spirits.