'Black figure' 'haunts' catholic school

A wave of mass hysteria has hit a Roman Catholic Church-run, Kana Primary School in Gokwe South under Chief Mkoka following reports that a dozen of pupils and a nun collapsed while screaming in unexplained fits.

The mysterious hysteria reportedly started two weeks ago with several pupils at the school having supernatural experiences while claiming they were seeing visions and hearing strange voices.

While in a trance, the pupils would also claim to be seeing a "black figure" lurking in the school. Some pupils, mostly girls, reportedly exhibited strange behaviour such as speaking in what sounded like a strange language.

The panic reportedly went a gear up on Friday last week when the strange experiences also attacked a nun at the school.

There were also reports that parents of the affected pupils were contemplating withdrawing them from the "haunted" school.

It is reported that the mass hysteria has also swept through another Roman Catholic Church-run school, Mateta Primary School from the same area,  causing pupils to randomly hallucinate while claiming to be seeing visions of an undressed woman during lessons.

Relating the frightening experiences to B-Metro a source from Kana Primary School, formerly Sacred Heart, said pupils who were hit by the spell complained of something forcefully pinning them down.

"About 12 pupils in various classes and grades were affected and started screaming hysterically, fainting and convulsed as they succumbed to the strange occurrence.

"While in a trance they were complaining that a "heavy" presence was hanging on them, while others claimed a "black figure" was attempting to enter their bodies," said a source who refused to be named for professional reasons, adding that the school was desperate for a solution.

The source who feared that another attack could leave pupils dead further said the mass hysteria episodes, led to some people believing that it was witchcraft, and this caused some pupils to stay away from school last week.

One of the parents who identified herself as Mrs Ndoro claimed her child was one of the victims of hysteria attacks.

"How else do you explain what has happened. This is very worrying and scary. Whatever is happening is very unsettling. We cannot explain it, except to say that it is clear that this is a sign of the moral degeneration which is occurring in our society.

"As parents we welcome any help from anyone who thinks that they are able to solve this mystery for good so that our children can conduct their lessons without any disturbance," said a distressed Mrs Ndoro.

The provincial education officer for Midlands Province Agnes Gudo confirmed the incident. She said the department was aware of what had happened at the school and was concerned.

"I picked up that information from the district education officer and we are waiting for reports from them so that we can have a clearer understanding of what exactly happened.

"It is important to have the reports as we have to get to the bottom of this urgently," she said.