CALAPAN CITY, Philippines—(UPDATE) They were crying in pain as they suffered from seizures and shortness of breath in a paranormal phenomenon that has left a public high school here petrified and perplexed.

Classes at Pedro Panaligan Memorial National High School in Calapan City have been disrupted since August 8 after about 25 students were “possessed by evil spirits,” school principal Henry Tungol said Wednesday.

Even students who had gone home showed signs of being possessed, he said.

The victims, mostly girls, pointed to evil spirits apparently angered by the cutting of a 30- to 40-year-old tree at the school backyard.

"But that was three or four years ago," said Tungol, now on his sixth year as school head PPMNHS.

A mass was offered by a Catholic priest at the request of frightened students.

Last Friday, local healers offered two black pigs, hoping this could appease the angered spirits.

Still, the haunting continued.

Located in the village of Comunal, about 50 meters away from the highway, the school has a population of 692 students. It boast of graduates who became scholars and honor students in college.

In past years, there were one or two cases of "seizure" reported but in the last week of July as many as 25 students were reported having "seizures," Tungol said.

From August 8 until August 19, classes were disrupted because of various stages of "evil possession," he said.

"Periodical exams were postponed on August 14 to 15 and students don't obey our advice to stay home until things return to normal," said Tungol.

One girl was observed by her guardian staring blankly before she had seizure attacks in the house, he said.

"I even saw a student with patches of pieces of ... intermediate paper on the head and drops of candle wax on the feet after treatment by a faith healer," said the principal.

Due to the worsening cases of "seizure" the school administration is appealing for help from experts.

"We're open to whatever will be effective and will heal the students. We want our classes to return to normal as soon as possible," said Tungol.

He also asked the cooperation of parents and guardians as he cautioned the public against sensationalizing the issue.