Synopsis: In this special series, The Straits Times dives into some of the greatest unsolved mysteries in South-east Asia, and examines the underlying issues that they exposed.

In this episode, we revisit the spate of mass hysteria in Malaysia's north-eastern state of Kelantan to find out why the disorder is more prevalent among schoolgirls.

ST regional correspondent Jia Ning Tan speaks to Ustaz Abd Rashid Ahmad, faith healer and spokesman of an Islamic medical facility called Darussyifa, and Mr Robert Bartholomew, a medical sociologist and co-author of Mass Hysteria in Schools: A Worldwide History Since 1566.

She also interviews a woman who had a brush with mass hysteria as a schoolgirl and wants to be identified only as Nur.

Highlights (click/tap above): (Headphones recommended)

1:53 The Ketereh Secondary School in Kelantan gripped by a fast-spreading screaming plague in July 2018

3:31 Students say they saw a tall, dark figure in the school compound

4:57 Ustaz Abdul Rashid Ahmad says the tall, dark figure is an evil spirit that possesses the weak-minded

9:29 Scientists conduct an experiment to prove that people could be tricked into perceiving ghosts

11:52 Mr Bartholomew describes Kelantan’s screaming schoolgirl occurrences as a collective stress reaction

15:08 Girls and women are more likely to experience mass hysteria than men

19:17 Nur says the mass hysteria episode that happened to her has left a permanent mark

Produced by: Tan Jia Ning ([email protected]), Magdalene Fung ([email protected]), Ernest Luis, Penelope Lee and Teo Tong Kai

Edited by: Teo Tong Kai

Follow The Unsolved Mysteries Of South-east Asia podcast series here every third Tuesday of the month till July:

Channel: https://str.sg/wuZ2

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/wu3W

Spotify: https://str.sg/wuJ9

Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wE7i

SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/

Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

Feedback to: [email protected]

Read Jia Ning Tan's articles: https://str.sg/wEq4

---

Discover more ST podcast channels:

All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u

In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt

COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE

Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7

Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN

Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf

Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m

Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE

#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad

Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX

---

ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa

---

Special edition series:

True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T

The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2

Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn

Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB

Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa

---

Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:

The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB

Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX

#unsolved

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.