Sengalese High Schools hit by supernatural phenomenon

Reports monitored by the Daily Observer indicate that Senegalese High Schools are being hit by supernatural phenomenon. Since last Friday school children continue to undergo hospital treatment following mass hysteria, marked by fainting and screaming.

The whole story started last Friday at Lamine Gueye High School, located in the heart of the Senegalese capital city, where fifty-three teenage girls and two boys were reportedly subject to convulsive movements. "The phenomenon started in one of the classrooms," said a teacher. "Three students, all girls, fell down. The same phenomenon was repeated 30 minutes later during recess."

Worried parents fussed over their daughters at the hospital, and some allowed their girls to be interviewed on condition that their name not be published.

A 15-year-old girl said that she was in the middle of chatting with a friend. "Suddenly I had a horrible headache. It hurt so much that I started screaming. And then I fainted. From that moment on, I no longer knew where I was," she said.

Doctors didn't immediately provide a medical diagnosis, and rumors began circulating in the city linking the incident to supernatural involvement.

Chief hospital psychiatrist Ababacar Wilane tried to put it into perspective, saying many of the students were "probably caught up in the moment and succumbed to a kind of domino effect" when they saw the others fainting and screaming.

Walf Fadjri, one of the main Senegalese daily newspaper, revealed ,yesterday that the phenomenon is now spreading throughout the country. Waoundé Ndiaye High School, in Bakel has also joined the dramatic saga.