brunei ghost epidemic

[swstephe]

http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Aug05/190805/nite01.jpg

I live in the tiny country of Brunei Darussalam, which is on Borneo Island, near Indonesia and the Philippines. Technologically, it is fairly advance, (just got that 3G phone network), and wealthy, however, they still carry forward a lot of the old superstitions and traditions. Although a moderate Islamic country, (alcohol and gambling is banned -- but they are very tollerant of other races, religions and even gays and transvestites), they still have a very strong belief in ghosts and spirits.

On July 21st, it was reported in the news that several girls went "hysterical", (their words, not mine) and had to be constrained. Over the next 2 weeks, more and more girls at a single all-girl school also went hysterical. A few days ago, there were more reports, but this time, from other schools.

At first, they claimed the attacks were caused by spirits raised by ouija board. I've recently seen a video which showed a girl supposedly possessed by a "jinn" who referred to himself as "Idrus". I noticed that there were lots of similarities to Indonesian television series.

I thought there might be some medical reason that the people here were missing. One thought was ergot poisoning, (suggested somewhere else), [ergot is a bread mold that is related to LSD]. Anyone else know of something rational to suggest that could be a possible cause? The locals here are eager to assume supernatural possession and won't look at natural causes. The Sultan of the country has only said he is "concerned" so far, (there was a "hysteria" attack in front of him when he visited the school). The police has issued a statement saying that anyone caught spreading rumors about this issue would be arrested and jailed. However, the local papers are still reporting the news as if the cause is definitely supernatural. Religious teachers and "bomohs", (native shahmans with lots of islamic dressing), were called in to exorcise spirits.

Of course, the obvious cause -- just a bunch of kids trying to get out of schoo, (the kids get to go home and schools are closed -- and exams are coming). Any ideas?

[espritch]

Reading your post brought to mind the Salem Witch Trials here in the US back in the 1692.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/salem/

A small girl fell sick in 1692. Her “fitts�—convulsions, contortions, and outbursts of gibberish—baffled everyone. Other girls soon manifested the same symptoms. Their doctor could suggest but one cause. Witchcraft.

That grim diagnosis launched a Puritan inquisition that took 25 lives, filled prisons with innocent people, and frayed the soul of a Massachusetts community called Salem.

The incident is quite infamous and a lot has been written about it. It had nothing to do with witches and a lot to do with bored girls, greed, and superstition run amuck.

[swstephe]

Mass Hysteria In Brunei Schools: Police Again Warns (http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Aug05/200805/nite01_1.htm)
Stay Calm Says MOE To Parents (http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Aug05/200805/nite02.htm) (MOE = Ministry of Education, not one of the 3 stooges:D ).
MOE Takes Emergency Measures (http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Aug05/070805/nite02.htm)
Education Authorities Seek Blessings To Stop Hysteria (http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Aug05/060805/nite03.htm)
Two Primary School Students Go Hysterical (http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Aug05/040805/nite03.htm) Mystery Phenomenon Hits Students Again (http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Aug05/030805/nite03.htm)
STPRI Girls Return After Bomohs Shoo Spirit (http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Aug05/020805/nite05.htm)
Girls Go Hysterical In School As If Possessed (http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/July05/290705/nite02.htm)
Sultan's Surprise Visit To STPRI (http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Aug05/160805/nite02.htm)
His Majesty Meets Girl In Hysteria As He Visits School (http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Aug05/160805/nite01.htm)
More Students Go Hysterical (http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Aug05/190805/nite01.htm)

All articles are in English.

[swstephe]

my wife brought some videos home of the 'possessed' girls that are being passed around.

video 1 (http://202.160.32.42/~zahi/monster.3gp) shows a woman, (mother of 4), who is supposedly possessed by a spirit/jinn named 'idrus'. the jinn is asked to convert to islam. the woman recites/screams the words. the woman is then told not to make trouble. the ustaz, (religious teacher), then starts smacking different areas -- supposedly the place that hurts is the place the spirit/jinn entered. i noticed that the actions on this video are very similar to the some indonesian local television programs.

video 2 (http://202.160.32.42/~zahi/hysteria.wmv) is one taken by brunei news services. there are two halves, one from each camera. the cameras typically follow the sultan of brunei around and usually shown first on the local news. this was not shown on the local news. the sultan had paid a regular visit to this school, apparently unaware of the strings of "possessions". one girl went 'hysterical' and had to be restrained. first she shouts, "don't try to run" in malay. when questioned, she first said her name was "mimi", then "mevi", (sounds like "maybe" in the video). she says she wants the blood that she was promised, first from "you" (speaking to the ustaz), then from everyone. she said there are 28,000 spirits that were released. there is also some footage of the sultan having a meeting with some of the staff and leaving the school. apparently very angry that nobody told him about these occurances.

i guess it couldn't be really chemical hysterical reasons, since the girl seems to talk a lot about the spirit/jinn background story. so i guess it is either some kind of psychological mass hysteria or an act for some reason or another -- like daring each other who would be brave enough to go into the act in front of their king.

please let me know if you have any theories. most of the news around here has died down, but i think there is a general acceptance of this being a supernatural occurance, which i would like to dispell.

[Jyera]

Check out the following article:
http://www.dailyreckoning.com/Writers/Boric/Articles/020504.html
Long article but look for "EPILEPTIC FITS by James Boric"

It mentioned ...
------------quote---------------
Within minutes of the battle airing on TV, hospitals were flooded with calls. Pokemon viewers were suddenly suffering
from acute nausea, blackouts and epileptic fits. There were even kids who entered into trance-like states, similar to
hypnosis. One little girl described her sudden illness like this: "As I was watching the blue and red lights flashing
on the screen, I felt my body becoming tense. I do not remember what happened after that."

It turns out the combination of the colors, the flashing effect on the screen, and the duration of the fight scene created an optical stimulus that triggered instant attacks in thousands of Japanese viewers - leaving many temporarily helpless.
---------------------------------

My question:
Q1: Did it actually happened? (The Pokemon incident.)

Q2: Is it true?
That is, is it true that it is possible to trigger an optical stimulus as stated above?

Q3: Is there a medical name to describe the effect?

Q4: What actually happened inside the brain or body?

Q5: Could the brunei incident be similar to the pokemon case?

[Nucular]

Wow, interesting videos. I'm gonna do some reading. Just some random thoughts:

The second video particularly, clearly records quite a spectator event: video cameras and flash photography - certainly interesting that her 'episode' coincided with the Sultan's visit.

Working in psychiatric wards, I have seen one person undergoing a very similar experience - a young man, diagnosed with a psychotic breakdown (possibly drug related, at least as a trigger - cocaine/speed). He was in that state for, literally, weeks, 24/7; needless to say, he needed a lot of support and care. ECT had only a temporary effect, typical neuroleptics seemed to have no effect; an atypical neuroleptic was finally tried, and made a huge, amazing difference. It's all now just an unpleasant memory for the guy, who is getting on with life.

There was no suggestion (from him, I mean) of possession; though undoubtedly a hundred years ago that would have been a popular understanding. He did, however, shout strange things, act like an animal, writhe, flail, scream and shout; and I saw at least one person go away believing him to be psychic (another story).

It's not a typical presentation of psychosis, but MRI and EEG exploration ruled out as far as possible head injury and epilepsy; and because the treatment was based on the psychosis diagnosis, and worked (eventually), it seems reasonable in his case to stick with that as an understanding.

Onset of psychosis is usually in late adolescence.

i guess it couldn't be really chemical hysterical reasons, since the girl seems to talk a lot about the spirit/jinn background story.I wouldn't rule that out for that reason: if the people around her are acting like it's possession, it's very likely she may believe them, or play up to it, regardless of actual cause.

Ergot poisoning (ergotism) is also known as St. Anthony's Fire (http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=14891), as the visions of St. Anthony were very likely ergot-related. It's a horrible condition, characterised not only by lysergic visions and hallucinations, but also by intense pain, gangrene, convulsions, etc. Follow the link for the similar tale of the French villagers of Pont Saint Esprit in the twelfth century.

A thought that's occurred to me before in a different context: ergot is a fungus which grows on rye, and so without adequate care often finds its way into bread, which is usually assumed to be the source of ergotism outbreaks. But ergot is also used in the treatment of migraines, as ergotamine tartrate (http://www.bnf.org/bnf/bnf/49/openat/3556.htm?q=%22ergotamine%22); given its availability, and ability to produce hallucinations in high doses as per LSD, I wonder if intentional ODs on it in experimenting, semi-informed teenagers are all that uncommon?

Ergot/ergotamine can also be (mis)used in DIY abortions, due to its oxytocic effects. Teenage girls, in an Islamic country...?

[patnray]

Sounds like a classic case of mass hysteria. Check these links:

Pokemon Panic (http://www.csicop.org/si/2001-05/pokemon.html)

and

Historic Cases (http://www.csicop.org/si/2000-05/delusions.html)