'Girls laugh, cry, then go numb': 608 flee Maha school amid 'mass hysteria'
Over 600 students fled a government school in Maharashtra, India, following an outbreak of mass psychogenic illness characterized by laughing and crying fits. Officials attributed the event to anxiety and poor school management, while local rationalist groups are working to combat superstitious rumors of hauntings.
Why it matters
This incident underscores the intersection of mental health, social anxiety, and the persistence of superstition in rural educational settings.
By: Anil JadhavAMRAVATI: When laughter scares a village, could it be spirits lurking in the shad-ows? Or just troubled minds?In the tribal-dominated pocket of Melghat in Maharashtra’s Amravati district, rumours fuelled an exodus from a govt ashram school last week after some girls were spotted laughing without reason and then going quiet. At least 608 students of the school in Doma village went back home, with their parents and villagers fearing the premises were haunted.Officials and doctors visited the school and described the laughing fits as ‘mass hysteria’. On Thursday, state tribal commissioner Leena Rathod went to the village to review the situation.Taluka medical officer Dr Abhishek Naidu said stress and anxiety sparked the collective reaction, a phenomenon medically described as mass psychogenic illness.Officials said the episode unfolded more than a week ago, when 16 students suddenly began crying, laughing and then going numb.
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