What Happened in Watseka?

As someone who enjoys paranormal horror films (and writes them from time to time), I know that one thing people love to be scared by is a possession story. There's something about suddenly being at the whim of some unseen being that is thrilling and terrifying and speaks to a very primal fear inside nearly all of us. Whether one believes in demons or spirits or that "possession" is even real, it still evokes fear because of the notion of losing control of our own bodies and minds.

The story we're going to talk about today is one of the most well-known possession cases in history. In addition to the aforementioned fear, this case also brings up concerns and considerations about the historical treatment of mental health in our society, showing how much has changed (or perhaps how little) since that time. This is the story of the Watseka Wonder.

The Roff House, Watseka IL (newsbug.info, 2020)

The story begins in April 1864 in a small town called Watseka, Illinois, with the birth of a child named Mary Lurancy Vennum. Lurancy, as she was called, was one of seven children, though several of her siblings did not survive past infancy. She and her family lived a quiet and well-respected life in Watseka, at least until the summer of 1877.

In July of 1877, thirteen-year-old Lurancy had a string of nights where she was awoken by hearing her name called by someone in her room, and struggled to find sleep afterward. In the following weeks, her troubles worsened and she experienced a series of epileptic seizures. After she came to, she told her family that she had been to heaven and had seen angels. These seizures became progressively worse, often leading to prolonged periods of unconsciousness during which she continued to see angels as well as her deceased family members.

Once fall came, these episodes seemed to come to a close, but on the night of November 27, Lurancy began experiencing stomach pains so intense, her body would contort unnaturally, and she again would see spirits. After a few weeks, the pain went away, but she was still entering a trance-like state and continued having visions. During her visions, Lurancy was happy and seemed to enjoy speaking to the people she encountered in "heaven".

At the start of 1878, after being in the care of multiple doctors, it was urged that Lurancy be sent to live at an asylum, as there was nothing more her family could do for her, and folks about town were beginning to talk about the strange happenings at the Vennum house. However, the local spiritualist community fought for Lurancy to be able to stay at home.

Newspaper about the Watseka Wonder (AmericanHauntingsInk.com)

Primary among the spiritualists fighting for Lurancy were Asa and Dorothy Roff.  The couple saw something in her that reminded them of their daughter, Mary, who had died at the age of nineteen. Mary had experienced similar "fits" and trances, which eventually led to an episode of self-harm that resulted in her being sent to the local asylum. It was there that she passed away in 1865. 

When they learned that the Vennums were considering institutionalizing Lurancy, they reached out to let them know of their own experiences. The Roffs felt they could keep her from experiencing the same fate as Mary, and they suggested that a spiritualist doctor, Dr. Stevens, should pay a visit.

The Vennums agreed, and Dr. Stevens began to visit Lurancy to observe and document her condition. During her trances, Lurancy would seemingly be possessed by various spirits, speaking in strange voices and even providing their names or information about them. During one such trance, she claimed to encounter a young woman named Mary Roff, and she was encouraged by Asa Roff to let Mary possess her.

Mary reportedly did take over Lurancy and that began a months-long episode that is widely known to be one of the first (and best) documented possessions in American history. 

Lurancy Vennum and Mary Roff (The Dark Histories Podcast)

When Lurancy "became" Mary, she was able to recount personal family stories, recognized Mary's friends and family and belongings, and felt unfamiliar in her own family home, crying to "go home" to the Roffs. Once Mary's family heard of this, her parents went to see for themselves, and they decided to let "Mary"/Lurancy stay with them for the time being. That temporary respite turned into several months, until one day when "Mary" announced that she would soon be leaving Lurancy's body and "Lurancy's soul would return May 22 at 11:00".  As wild as the rest of this story has been, I'm sure you won't be surprised when I tell you that right on schedule, Lurancy returned to normal. 

Lurancy went on to live the rest of her life as normal, marrying and moving away. She no longer continued to have episodes or seizures, though some say that Mary once again inhabited Lurancy's body during labor, so that Lurancy could have a painless childbirth. 

Lurancy (Mary L.) and her family in 1905 (Don & Betty Nees, 2000)

Obviously, there are a lot of red flags for us as modern readers. It seems that there are a lot of potential factors at play here, including mental illness, grief, epilepsy, and even possible charlatans preying on a family who dearly missed their daughter. While this case is incredibly well-documented, it was also mostly documented by a spiritualist who had a stake in proving Lurancy to be possessed, so it's important to take it all with a grain (or handful) of salt.

As skeptical as I am about this particular story, I have to say I think there are some remarkable similarities to this event and others- the Brooklyn Enigma (Mollie Fancher) for example. So someday I'd like to take a look at what other folks may have claimed to have experiences like Mary and Lurancy and Mollie, to see if there might be anything to be gleaned there.

What are your thoughts on this story? Do you believe Mary inhabited Lurancy's body in order to have a little more time with her family? Do you think either woman was having actual visions or possessions, or were they experiencing some sort of medical episode? Was it all a hoax? Tell me what you think on our Discord chat, or the comments below.