Weird Story

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

My mom, a teacher in a Pontiac public school, related to me a strange story having to do with her work. A little boy, maybe in second grade or so, has been claiming to have had (for lack of a better word) visions of Jesus on the cross, the devil, as well as his aunt and grandma, both of whom are dead. This kid's been to psychiatrists and counselors, and has also for some reason been to the hospital. His teachers and his mother have all heard the same stories and don't know quite what to do. He's been claiming that the devil's been trying to call him to Hell. I don't know if the kid's bullsh**tting, if he's crazy, if he's lying, or if he's actually having these visions, but I found it interesting and a bit scary.

[John Dibble]

I don't find that particularly weird, but I do find it disturbing. If the kid isn't lying (and this doesn't seem the kind of thing a child that young would lie about) then he may be having nightmares that seem very real to him, or worse yet he may have some sort of mental health condition that causes hallucinations. In either case, I find it likely that the kid has probably been exposed to some heavy religious indoctrination involving use of hell as a scare tactic - it happens quite often, and honestly I would think this kind of thing happens quite a bit.

I would tell your mom to have the school counselor have a talk with the boy to see if he's alright and see if he can learn a bit about what kind of church he goes to and what kind of things he gets taught in Sunday school. If the parents aren't aware of an overzealous preacher teaching their kid, they need to be made aware, and if they are aware that might be indicative of a worse problem.