In August 2019, students at SMK Ketereh, a national secondary school in Kelantan, Malaysia, began screaming and claiming to have seen 'a face of pure evil,' sparking a wave of panic. The school responded by cutting down trees believed to be home to supernatural spirits. Professor Simon Wessely suggested it was a form of 'collective behavior,' while medical sociologist Robert Bartholomew attributed it to the stricter implementation of Islamic law in the school.

The Kelantan school panic has been the subject of news articles and cultural commentary that explore the intersection of religion, education, and mass hysteria in Southeast Asia. The event has inspired writers to examine the psychology of fear in religious institutions and the role of cultural beliefs in shaping collective behavior. It also serves 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.