EVENING WITH THE WATSEKA WONDER
”AN EVENING WITH THE WATSEKA WONDER”
| 7:00 PM
MINERAL SPRINGS HOTEL | ALTON, ILLINOIS
DINNER AND PRESENTATION INCLUDED
$44 PER PERSON
CLICK HERE FOR RESERVATIONS!
Join Troy and Lisa from American Hauntings at the haunted Mineral Springs Hotel for another night of our “An Evening with…” series of events! This eerie night will include a catered dinner, served at the hotel, just as they did back in 1914 when the hotel opened. After dinner, author Troy Taylor will be presenting “An Evening with the Watseka Wonder,” the true story of the strangest — and most documented — spirit possession in American history!
In 1878, a small town in Illinois gained notoriety around the country as home to one of the strangest spirit possessions in American history. The story of what came to be known as the “Watseka Wonder” created a mystery that endures to this day. But what really happened in this enigmatic case and how much of the mysterious story that has been told over the years --- about the spirit of one dead girl invading the body of a living one – is truth and how much is fiction? You’ll find out on this spooky night at the Mineral Springs and if you don’t already believe in ghosts — you will!
Join us for this eerie night and discover the mystery of the “Watseka Wonder!” CLICK HERE FOR RESERVATIONS!
CAN THE DEAD RETURN?
AND CAN THEY INHABIT THE BODIES OF THE LIVING?
The story of the “Watseka Wonder” officially began in 1877, when a young Illinois woman named Lurancy Vennum began to suffer strange seizures and spells that caused her to lose consciousness for hours and even days at a time. During these trances, she claimed to communicate with the spirit world. After being examined by a number of doctors, it was suggested that she be sent away to an insane asylum. There was nothing physically wrong with her, they said, so her symptoms could only be caused by insanity.
But before Lurancy could be locked away, her family received a visitor — a man named Asa Roff, whose daughter, Mary, suffered from the same illness more than a decade before. Mary’s life had been a chaotic one. Her spells and trances had started when she was an infant and no doctor could ever find a reason for them. As she grew older, they allowed her to manifest clairvoyant abilities and speak to spirits — or so she believed. Her family and doctors weren’t convince and so Mary was sent to an asylum, where she died in July 1865.
By the winter of 1878, Asa Roff had become a devout follower of Spiritualism and believed that Mary had not been insane — she had been a gifted, but misunderstood, spirit medium. He begged the Vennum family not to send Lurancy away. He believed that a Spiritualist physician could alleviate her symptoms and save her from Mary Roff’s grim fate.
The Vennums agreed to try and during a visit from Dr. E. Winchester Stevens, Lurancy entered a trance and became possessed by the spirit of a dead young woman who professed to be able to help her. When Lurancy regained consciousness, she seemed different — unlike her former self. When Dr. Stevens asked her to identify herself, she replied, “My name is Mary Roff.”
Soon, it becomes obvious to the Roff and Vennum families — as well as scores of local townspeople, neighbors, friends, relatives, and more — that Lurancy has somehow become a woman who died more than a dozen years earlier. She recognizes people that Mary knew, identified things that belonged to the dead girl, and knows intimate family secrets that there was other way Lurancy could have known. It seemed impossible — but it was happening!
For the next five months, Lurancy lived as Mary Roff in the Roff family home, possessed by her spirit. There was no logical explanation for how this could be happening — and yet it was. Lurancy, who Dr. Stevens would dub the “Watseka Wonder,” became the best documented paranormal event in American history.
Author Troy Taylor, long fascinated with the story, presents the first full-length account of the story since Dr. Stevens’ own book, which was released in 1879. Using archives, letters, and first-hand accounts from the era, he has explored the details of the story and presents the evidence for you to decide whether you want to believe in the impossible. This is a night not to be missed!