'Possessed' girls cry, laugh uncontrollably at 'haunted' hostel; 600 students leave

Girl students at a tribal residential school in Amravati will move to a new hostel from September 1. The shift follows weeks of fear after a stress-linked possession scare exposed overcrowding and superstition.Four girls, strange behaviour and ‘spirits’: Inside Maharashtra school scare (Representative photo)Four girls suddenly began crying and laughing uncontrollably at a government residential school in Maharashtra's Amravati district. Within days, an unsettling chain of rumours had spread through the campus and surrounding village - from spirits living in a mahua tree to a local deity angered by a drainage channel, and even the ghost of an Adivasi youth.The episode eventually became serious enough for nearly 600 tribal students to leave the school and return home, amid claims that some girls had been "possessed".Now, weeks after the July 22 incident, authorities are taking steps to bring the students back and restore normalcy. All girl students at the ashram school in Doma in Chikhaldara taluka will begin moving into a newly constructed hostel on the school premises from September 1.The new hostel is separate from the existing girls' accommodation, which officials say has remained overcrowded for a long time. Additional Tribal Commissioner Sandip Golait said the new building has bunk beds that can accommodate all the girl students.The move comes as officials try to address an episode that began with unexplained behaviour but quickly acquired a supernatural explanation in the minds of some students and villagers.IT STARTED WITH FOUR GIRLS The first signs appeared on July 22.Four girls at the residential school began behaving unusually, crying and laughing uncontrollably. The behaviour caused alarm among other students and staff.What followed was not simply concern about the girls' wellbeing. As word of the incident spread, different explanations began circulating around the school and village.Some students and locals began talking about spirits.According to a psychological report prepared by authorities, one of the theories centred on a mahua tree that had once stood on the school site.The belief was that spirits lived in the tree. After the school management cut it down, some people believed the spirits became angry and began troubling students.But the mahua tree was only one part of the story.THEN CAME THE TEMPLE THEORYAnother explanation focused on a temple of the local deity located behind the school.The belief circulating in the area was that the temple had been affected or encroached upon by the school's drainage channel. Some people believed the deity had been upset by this.Then came a third explanation.An Adivasi youth had died in a field near the school. Some people began believing that his spirit had turned into a ghost and was troubling students on the campus.These theories added to the fear surrounding the incident.The psychological report prepared by the authorities attributed the episode to a combination of mental stress, fear, superstition and local beliefs about spirits.FEAR SPREAD BEYOND THE SCHOOLThe situation did not remain confined to the students.The psychological report said several women from the village later developed similar mental symptoms.As the fear grew, nearly 600 tribal students eventually went home from the residential school.The school itself houses around 810 boys and girls and serves students in the Melghat region of northern Maharashtra.What began with four girls displaying unusual behaviour had therefore turned into a much wider situation involving students, villagers and competing explanations for what had happened.COUNSELLING TO BREAK THE FEARAuthorities also brought in senior office-bearers of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, an organisation that works towards eradicating blind faith.The group met students and counselled them as officials tried to address the fear and beliefs that had spread following the incident.The authorities' assessment did not endorse the supernatural explanations circulating among students and villagers. Instead, it linked the episode to psychological stress, fear, superstition and deeply rooted local beliefs surrounding spirits.NEW HOSTEL TO SEPARATE GIRLSAlongside counselling, authorities are also addressing a practical problem that existed at the school well before the unusual episode — overcrowding in the girls' hostel.A separate hostel building has now been constructed on the school premises.Golait said the building has bunk beds and is large enough to accommodate all the girl students.The girls will begin shifting into the new building from September 1.The move is expected to provide the students with more space while authorities work to restore confidence among those affected by the episode.For a school where a few girls' unexplained behaviour quickly turned into rumours about a mahua tree, an angry deity and a ghost, the new hostel marks an attempt to bring the focus back to the students' safety, wellbeing and education.- EndsWith PTI inputsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 19, 2026 20:11 IST