A Chinese family sued their daughter’s school after the child was diagnosed with acute and transient psychotic disorder, allegedly caused by a horror movie she had watched in class.

The unusual case began two years ago, but only recently concluded in Court. In October of 2023, because their teacher was on temporary leave, a class of students at a school in Hangzhou, China’s Guanxi Province, watched a movie screened by the school with their and their teacher’s consent. No details about the film have been disclosed to the press, but according to the parents of one of the students, it was a horror movie that had a very serious impact on her. Problems allegedly began on the evening following the screening, when the young girl began exhibiting unusual symptoms, including incoherence and a loss of touch with reality. Panicked by her behavior, the parents took her to a local hospital, where she was diagnosed with “acute and transient psychotic disorder.”