In April and May 2010, and again in April 2014, all-girls secondary schools in Brunei experienced outbreaks of mass hysteria, with students screaming, shaking, fainting, and crying, claiming to be possessed by spirits or jinn. The incidents caused a wave of panic among parents and educators, and the school responded by cutting down trees believed to be home to supernatural spirits. The outbreaks reflected the persistence of traditional beliefs in a modern Islamic society.

The Brunei school possession outbreaks have been the subject of literary and anthropological works that explore the intersection of religion, modernity, and gender in Southeast Asia. The events have inspired writers to examine the psychology of fear in educational settings and the role of cultural beliefs in shaping the expression of mass hysteria. They also serve as a vivid example of how spirit possession can be a form of collective coping mechanism, a theme that has been explored in both Eastern and Western literature.