Romanian woman claims ghost of her dead grandmother took a 'selfie' on her phone to warn her she was being punished in the afterlife

Churches in Scurtesti in souteastern Romania packed with terrified locals

Gina Mihai, 34, is told by fortune-teller message means grandmother needs to be prayed for

Romanians give food to poor once a year at service of alms for the dead

Miss Mihai hasn't given food for three years which is why she received the spooky message

The churches in Scurtesti in souteastern Romania have been packed after a local woman claimed that her dead grandmother’s ghost had taken over her mobile and used it to send a ‘selfie’ from the other side.

‘When I switched the phone on I was horrified to see my dead grandmother's face,’ said Gina Mihai, 34. ‘She had what looked like a snake around her neck, and the whole image looked as if it had been taken through a hole, like it was shot through a tear in the fabric that separates the living from the dead.

‘I took it to a fortune-teller who told me that my grandmother was sending me a message from the other side, the snake around her neck was a symbol of the fact that she was being punished in the other life for some sin.

Spooky: Gina Mihai's dead grandmother took over her mobile and sent this 'selfie' complete with snake around her neck to show she is being punished The mobile belonging to Gina Mihai that shows the 'selfie' sent from the other side from her dead grandmother

‘By contacting us she was telling us that if we were to pray for her, we would still be able to save her soul.’

Miss Mihai and her family have been spending much of their time since praying in church along with dozens of other families terrified about the implications of a snake wrapped ghost sending a message from the other side.

Once a year there is a feast, the service of alms, in which Romanians travel to the local graveyard and hand over food as a gesture to the spirits in the afterlife.

Gina Mihai, 34, has received a selfie from her dead grandmother who is being punished in the spirit world because she has not given food to the poor for three years

The food itself is in reality handed over to the poor at the end of the day, but the gesture is seen as regarding nourishment for those who have died and are now in the afterlife.

‘My grandmother died three years ago and I haven't taken any food for her to the graveyard. I was making doughnuts at the time and didn't want to get the phone dirty so I put it in my pocket, and when I took it out there was the image on the phone,’ said Miss Mihai.

Gina Mihai's late grandmother. She has managed to send a 'selfie' from the afterlife to say that she is being punished

‘The fortuneteller told me that was a mistake not to have paid tribute to her with an offering of food, and it was significant that she contacted me while I was cooking. I have taken doughnuts to the cemetery every day since then.’