Some students at a public school in Cebu City in the Philippines were apparently possessed by evil spirits last week. The revelation came to the surface when Toong Integrated School decided to conduct an overnight activity earlier this month. According to local media, 35 students from different grades collapsed all of a sudden and began to convulse in the middle of the afternoon while attending their classes.

One of the girls said a spirit that identified himself as Jake spoke to her right before she fainted. Her sister, who is in a different grade, said she too was addressed by a spirit named Maria. Their mother said her children were probably possessed by spirits because Toong Integrated School recently decided to cut down two mango trees on the campus to make way for the construction of a two-story building. She also said this was not the first time that such an incident had taken place on school grounds.

As the children started screaming and convulsing at the time of the attack, teachers at the school rushed to seek help from Barangay officials. The school administration then sought help from priests at Mary Help of Christians Parish. Reverend Nicolas Ramos, who is familiar with the Roman Catholic rite of exorcism, asked the officials to bring the children to the Church where he could pray over them. He later said that some of the students reacted violently when he sprayed them with holy water and salt. The priest who exorcised the students was Frederick Kriekenbeek. Reportedly, all of the students recovered before they were sent home. However, a few days later, four more students experienced similar convulsions before fainting on school premises, when a mass was expected to take place there.

Teachers refused to speak about the incident with the media but a few students explained how a group of spirits had been trying to take over their bodies.

Following these incidents, Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council went to the school to examine the facility. CCDRRMS councilor Dave Tumulak conducted a seminar for parents and teachers to teach them what needs to be done when such mass hysteria takes place.

While the church has said further investigations need to be conducted to determine if these were genuine cases of demonic possession, Tumulak said the incident was possibly a case of mass hysteria.

Photo Credits: Catholic Exchange