Mass Possession or Mass Hysteria?
CEBU, Philippines - At least 14 students of Toong Integrated School in the mountain barangay of Toong, Cebu City were allegedly possessed by evil spirits yesterday noon.
Most of the affected students were brought to Msgr. Frederick Kriekenbeek, who is known to perform exorcism, at the Mary’s Little Children Community in Tabunok, Talisay City.
Barangay Toong councilman Milven Bacalso said 12 students, mostly high school, were brought to Kriekenbeek upon the advice of the parish priest of the nearby Buhisan Shrine.
“Nagsugod ni mga ala una sa hapon. Naay usa nagsugod ug kasudlan dayon nagtakod-takod na. Una namong gitawag ang pari sa Buhisan Shrine pero ingon siya di niya kaya ang sitwasyon. Siya maoy nag suggest nga adto namo dad-on kang Msgr. Kriekenbeek,” Bacalso told The Freeman.
Members of the Cebu City Quick Response Team were immediately dispatched and helped transport the students to Talisay City for spiritual intervention.
They arrived at the spiritual center past 3 p.m. and prayers were immediately done to calm the students.
Msgr. Joseph Tan, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Cebu, emphasized the importance of prayer as the armor against evil.
“For those directly concerned in supernatural phenomenon that suggests diabolical possessions, it is important to bring them to priests for blessing and prayer. Taking them to Msgr. Fred is a very positive move as he is experienced in healing and deli-verance prayer,” Tan told The Freeman.
He then referred to an old practice which is considered shield from negative energies.
“As a traditional practice, holy water is used in defense from the devil. This is to bless themselves and protect from sorts of evil. This is not implying something magical but more of calling upon God’s protection,” Tan continued.
He reminded the parents to guide their children especially with the things they read and watch.
“It is very important for parents to exercise caution, for them to monitor their children on the things that they read and watch. It could start from simply reading about their in books or watching videos online but could reach to the point of them practi-cing rituals or something like that. It is not uncommon for the young to be curious on these things. But these are not intended for them as this can trigger and become portal for evil to enter. We don’t encourage that children watch or read these without adult supervision,” he added.
Apart from spiritual steps, the archdiocesan spokesperson suggested seeking medical explanation, stressing the need to exhaust possible assessment on the situation.
“A medical doctor has to also check on these children to see if there is a need for their intervention,” said Tan.
But Councilor Dave Tumulak, chairperson of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the supposed demonic possession could just be a mass hysteria.
“In my personal assessment after going to the site, this is mass hysteria. One student claimed to have seen a little child, panicked and fainted. Those who helped said they saw the same and likewise fainted. Nagkatag-katag na until it became mass hysteria,” Tumulak told The Freeman.
Upon reaching Barangay Toong, Tumulak saw that even teachers and parents were panicking so he conducted a debriefing and discussed mass hysteria and how to deal with the situation.
“I lectured them on the importance of presence of mind and making sure the children and even adults in panic do not sustain injury. The parish priest of Buhisan also led the community in a prayer. They did the rosary,” Tumulak said.
The medical team along with the councilor had checked on the students and found that their vital signs were normal. Immediately after the hysteria, their pulse rates were high which was understandable, Tumulak added.
A Mass will be held today inside the school campus. The debriefing will also continue.
According to Tumulak, he will make use of the opportunity – when parents and guardians of the students will be around today because of the scheduled distribution of cards – to conduct lecture on mass hysteria. - PhilStar
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'Black Seadevil'...first image
A rare and elusive species of deep-sea fish has been captured on camera off the coast of California.
With its pitch black skin, a mouth full of sharp teeth and a face that wouldn't look amiss in a horror movie, the appropriately named black seadevil is rarely seen despite its distinctive appearance.
Typically found in temperate waters, the fish lures in its prey using a unique luminescent 'fishing pole' that dangles above its head.
Now a research time diving in Monterey Bay has managed to capture this bizarre species on film for the first time.
"We've been diving out here in the Monterey Canyon regularly for 25 years, and we've seen three," said MBARI Senior Scientist Bruce Robinson. The team even managed to catch the creature for further study however it isn't clear how long it will survive.
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Thomas Beatie, the transgender man who gave birth after beginning to change from a woman to a man, is accused of stalking his estranged wife.
Beatie, 40, who lives in Anthem, was arrested Thursday and booked into the Maricopa County Jail on one count of stalking. He was released on his own recognizance Thursday night.
Beatie is accused of putting a GPS tracking device on his wife’s car in October of 2012, about six months after he served his wife with an order of protection that required her to leave the couple’s home.
The device was found by an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer when he stopped to help the victim change a flat tire, according to an officer’s probable cause statement.
Phoenix police said the victim, who was identified in the statement as Beatie’s spouse, Nancy Beatie, said she believed it was Thomas Beatie who put the GPS device on her car. She claimed Beatie would randomly show up wherever she was at the time, would mention places she had been and questioned her about times that she returned home.
Investigators said Thomas Beatie admitted to installing the device, monitoring it online and recharging the battery whenever it was low on power.
Thomas Beatie was denied a divorce in March 2013 by Maricopa County Family Court Judge Douglas Gerlach because at the time Arizona’s ban on same-sex marriages prevented the union from being recognized as valid.
Thomas Beatie was born a woman and underwent a double-mastectomy but retained female reproductive organs and gave birth to three children.
Gerlach said he had no jurisdiction to approve a divorce because there was insufficient evidence that Thomas Beatie was male when he married Nancy Beatie in 2003 in Hawaii.
He made headlines across the world as the “pregnant man” and appeared on magazine covers and was on several talk shows, including The Oprah Winfrey Show. - WTVR
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More mysterious fires in Nigeria...170+ houses destroyed
The mysterious fire, that has burnt over 164 houses in Soro in Ganjuwa Local Government Area of Bauchi State, seems not in a hurry to stop as it has shifted to Darazo, the headquarters of Darazo LGA.
The acting district head of Soro, Alhaji Muhammad Kilishi, had last week informed that a mysterious fire outbreak had hit the town, razing more than 100 houses with property worth millions of Naira destroyed.
According to him, no one knew the cause of the fire outbreak, which started in October, saying that people only discovered that fire would come from nowhere and gut houses. No life was lost to the fire outbreak.
He ascribed the mysterious fire outbreak, which he said was abnormal, to a spiritual attack on the town.
The Nigerian Tribune gathered on Tuesday night, in Bauchi, that the mysterious fire broke out on Monday in Darazo, a distance of about 35 kilometres to Soro.
Sources informed that between Monday and Tuesday, nine houses were gutted in Darazo, adding that no one knew the causes of the fire incident.
As of the time of filing this report, no life was lost to the fire, though property worth millions of Naira were said to have been destroyed in the incident.
Confirming the fire outbreak in a statement made available to journalists in Bauchi, the Bauchi State Police Command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Haruna Mohammed, stated that nine houses were burnt down in Darazo between Monday and Tuesday.
According to the police spokesman, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), “Between yesterday 17/11/2014 and today 18/11/2014, over 9 houses were burnt down by mysterious fire in Darazo town of Darazo LGA of Bauchi and cause of fire is still unknown.
“However, no life was lost and the value of property destroyed, is yet to be ascertained.You may also recall that over 164 houses were razed down mysteriously in Soro town within one month.”
The PPRO, however, stated that investigation into the matter was in progress. - Tribune
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Who built this Siberian summer palace… and why?
Experts still divided over mysterious 1,300-year-old fortress-like structure located on island in middle of lake.
With its island location and towering square walls that were once impenetrable, it looks at first glance to be an ancient fortress or kremlin to keep out enemies. Others believe the 1,300-year-old structure in rural Siberia has more mystical properties and might have been a summer palace, monastery, or even an astronomical observatory.
Whatever it is, more than a century after it was first explored, archaeologists are no further forward in discovering the secrets of Por-Bajin, who built it or why.
Most likely constructed in 757 AD, the complex has fascinated and frustrated experts in equal measure since it was located in the middle Tere-Khol, a high-altitude lake in Tuva, in the late 19th century.
First explored in 1891, with small-scale excavation work later carried out between 1957 and 1963, it was not until 2007 that proper research took place at the site.
Archaeologists found clay tablets of human feet, faded coloured drawings on the plaster of the walls, giant gates and fragments of burnt wood. But nothing yet has provided a definitive answer as to why the structure was built, and excavation work continues. Read more at Siberian Times
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