Thursday night was full of fun and laughter, then of course, Friday morning was filled with exhaustion as we slept really late. During the lunch hour, I decided to eat as fast as I could so that I could go take a nap afterwards.
On my way to the dorm, one of the girls (let’s call her Naledi for now) followed me. I jumped onto the bed and she did the same, sleeping right beside me. I didn’t mind this as I hadn’t invited any of them to share the bed with me the previous night. Well, none of them took the offer because I lied about having a problem of farting all night, and they chose bedbugs over beautiful farts.
I changed my mind about taking a nap; I could clearly see that Naledi needed a moment with me. She opened up about the bad relationship she has with her mom and even suggested that she thinks she is bewitched.
“I feel like I am probably walking with a tikoloshe besides me, why else would my mom hate me this much?” she said.
“You need to take those words back. Be careful of what you invite into your life. The devil feeds on broken people” I replied
I then taught her the prayer that one of the pastors instilled in me during my dark days. The days when I needed some mild exorcism (story for another day).
“You should say…..Whatever deal I have with the devil, knowingly or unknowingly, I rebuke in the name of Jesus” I added.
We then both looked at the wardrobe and laughed.
“Do you also get the sense that something bad happened in there?” I asked
“Yes…it is so creepy. Why is it covered with that cloth?” she asked
“Hai, let’s just go. Lunch time is over”
We went back and reconnected with the others. However, something was weighing me down and I thought it was just exhaustion.
Later that night we regrouped and things were different. Our conversations were dark. No one was laughing. I tried making jokes but it was just so heavy in the room. We all felt the urge to speak about death, our encounters with rape and all the heavy and dark things we witnessed. It was in the middle of summer but I was shivering. No amount of clothes would get me warm. The room became sooo cold, literally.
We then decided to go to sleep, and Naledi got in bed with me. I was woken up by the bed vibrating drastically. This is a sensation I always get whenever I encounter dark spirits. I turned my back to look at Naledi and she jumped up so high, it was scary. She landed so far from the bed that it was tough to believe my eyes. Then the jump was followed by a loud scream, I don’t think I have ever heard anyone scream so loud, ever!
“It is just a dream Jane” I convinced myself.
This dream however was too real. Everything sounded really distant but the room looked exactly the same. I saw everyone lying on their beds, I saw what they wore….I could even recognize their faces. There was no way this was just a dream.
“How come no one heard the scream? How am I the only one seeing this? Why does it sound like I am under water or inside some sort of bubble? How is everyone still sleeping? Why the hell am I so cold? Why, why does she look so scared?”
She screamed again, this time for a longer period. The scream pierced my soul.
“Nana, what’s going on?” I asked and she just stared at me
“In the name of Jesus” a loud voice said.
It was Mpho (not her real name). Suddenly, it felt as though the bubble was popped. I could finally hear the people. Everyone else got up and they were confused as to what was happening.
Naledi ran fast, towards the door.
“Lock the doors, she can’t go out at this time of night” someone blurted out as they held her tight.
She looked at me and I looked at her. She approached me and I looked at her with the “I will F* you up face”. I could communicate with her and none of us was saying the words. I could sense what she was thinking, she could read my mind.
A loud scream, a really loud one came out of Lerato.
“What is going on” they asked
“Nana, what’s wrong” I asked Naledi who was now lying on the bed, poker face on. Her eyes told a story though. They said she was scared.
I felt the urge to say to everyone “Pray, stop asking questions and pray” but no one was hearing me.
A loud scream followed, from another participant. Attention reverted to her.
“What is going on” they asked
“Pray!!!!!” I said. Every time I uttered those words, I felt an extremely cold sensation on my back. It was as though someone was whipping me with bags of ice. I knew we were under attack. No one else was hearing the screams. One by one this thing attacked. I felt its presence.
“Pray!!!!” I said in a voice so strong, it didn’t sound like mine. The attacks became more. One scream after the next.
“There’s something pinning me down” the ladies cried.
“Pray!!!! Modimo Ntate, Modimo Mora…..I prayed out loud” and they joined me.
This spirit would go from one body to the next. They would jump high and attempt to run out. We now had the challenge of making sure no one left the room. The coldness engulfed us all.
“Let’s call the host, let’s call someone”
For some weird reason, all of our cellphone connections were off. The network was suddenly bad.
“Do not give up. That’s what it wants you to do….. To give up. We try until we can access someone” I gave the orders.
I could feel its presence, its movement and its emotions. I knew when it left the room and when I came back with more powers. Oh gosh, time went by so slow. Ever experienced a minute feel like an hour? It was only 2 minutes past 12 when it started, so much happened and it wasn’t even 20 past 12 when I looked at the time.
There were soldiers staying at the dorm next to ours, there were people in that yard…none heard our screams.
We eventually managed to get hold of the facilitator, after about an hour of dealing with the attacks and praying until words could not come out.
“Please pray for protection on your way here, we are dealing with something”
He arrived and started a prayer cycle. There was suddenly a little sense of peace but I could still feel the presence of this spirit. Some saw shadows, I could just sense it.
I had a conversation with it and it told me its name. It told me that it was killed by its step mom, she poisoned him. I then blocked him out. I knew that if I started feeling for it, then it would latch on to me.
“So just because you were murdered, you want to kill others too?” I asked as I sensed its energy moving towards Lerato. After that night, I started having this connection to Lerato. I could feel when she was not okay, I could sense when she needed help.
When I asked the spirit those questions, I didn’t know what I meant then, but turns out Lerato was pregnant, and she later miscarried.
Months after the encounter, Lerato opened up to me. She said “I got so scared when you mentioned its name. It was the same name as my mother in law’s stepson. He died mysteriously. It was him, I know it was him. He was probably sent there to kill my unborn baby. My mom-in-law was never happy about my pregnancy”.
Anyway, Friday was not the end of the spiritual attacks. We had more nights there and more shadows walking around and tormenting us. I lost my voice, literally.
One night, Lerato slept next to me and saved my life. For some weird reason I kept waking up and thinking the sun was shining. I kept looking at the wardrobe and seeing more shadows, looking outside and seeing the sun shining bright, falling asleep and going through the same experiences over and over again. Something wanted me outside, but every time I attempted to get up, Lerato would suddenly get up and ask “oya kae?” in a very concerned voice full of authority too. For some reason I could speak when she asked, I could respond. My voice was back. None of the roommates could hear us though, despite how loud we were.
The next day, Lerato couldn’t remember any of the events. I knew then that my voice was gone because I was the one who sensed the spirit and warned others. I was the one who knew when we needed to pray. All they felt was the attack, but I could sense it and be way ahead in the game.
Sunday was worse. We all saw the shadows, we all sensed the vibrations. There were more spirits in there. I decided I wasn’t going to sleep there. I wasn’t sure if we could win this round. We literally drove up the hill and slept in the car. I wanted us to go to the host’s house; I was there on the first day. It wasn’t far from where we stayed. For some reason though, the landscape was different at night. It was as though we were somewhere else. Weird thing, the minute we left the place, my voice was back.
It took me months to recover from this. Apparently people experience sh** like this all the time in villages.
It sounds like a movie I know. Hell, sometimes I think I am crazy as I tell the story. However, there were about 10 of us in there and we all tell the same story. For anyone who doesn’t believe in paranormal activities, please go there and tell me what you think. That’s if you make it back home … hahahaha.
Anyway, I am glad the lady said “In the name of Jesus” and burst that bubble. I am not sure we could have been here to tell the story, if she didn’t utter those words.
Funny thought…..Imagine if the spirit was an atheist and couldn’t be moved by any of those words.
Phew! It feels kind of good finishing this chapter.
Jane Mpholo is a multi-award winning theatre Practitioner and an Audience Development Specialist at the Performing Arts Centre of the Free State (PACOFS) . She has been active on both the national and international platforms with collaborations with practitioners from the Netherlands, USA and Australia, to name a few. Jane is a senior judge for the World Monologue Games and World Monologue Film Festival. Her highlights as a writer include being chosen as one of the 5 top playwrights for the NATi Yong Sterre program for her script "The Dawn", making it to the top 20 playwrights list for the African Women Playwrights Festival of Plays for her script "The Naked Truth" (which she later turned into a short film) and having her script "Fragmented" on the program for Teksmark 2022. Her autobiographical show "Psalm 69" has proved to be timeless and has showcased on both the national and international platforms such as the Global leadership summit 2018. Jane is a panel member for the National Arts Council and is a former FS Provincial Liaison for the BASA Debut Program. She is a recent graduate for the BASA Cultural Producers Program, an initiative between British Council; BASA, Common Purpose and the Manchester International Festival. Her short film "Cleanse" which looks at the life of a woman under oppression as a domestic worker has won multiple international awards and aired on DSTV pop up channel 150 (Woordfees TV 2022). Jane is also one of the contributors for the Stemme/Voices monologues 2022, an initiative by the Suidoosterfees.
Jane practices as a professional actor (has over 40 theatrical shows under her belt), playwright, producer, dramaturge, facilitator, arts coach , speaker and mentor. She is passionate about inclusive education and creating a safe space for audiences to engage in discussions pertaining to the social ills of the world. She is a true advocate for human rights.
Amongst the many awards and recognitions....she is a three times Kyknet Fiesta Nominated artist and made it to the lists "Mail and Guardian Women Changing South Africa" and the "Sunday World Unsung Heroes 2022".
