Paranormal Group Hosts Ghost Hunting Fest At Haunted Roff House

Chicago IL

13 September, 2021

12:58 PM

Description

WATSEKA, IL — Take a trip back to the spiritualism movement of the 19th century, when Graveside Paranormal hosts Parapalooza 3 at the Asa and Dorothy Roff House in Watseka, IL, on Saturday, Sept. 18. Walkthrough tours will be offered all day, followed by some evening smoke scrying where paranormal invgestigators will attempt to conjure up a spirit or two. The Roff House is the site of the first documented possession in the United States, earning the nickname of the "Watseka Wonder," famous for paranormal activity and its eccentric former owners. Built in 1868 by Asa and Dorothy Roff after the death of their 19-year-old daughter, Mary, the house inspired the 2009 movie "The Possessed." Mary was a baby when experienced her first "cataleptic fit." The incidents, most likely epileptic seizures, became more frequent and violent as Mary grew older. She claimed there were spirits communicating with her during her trances. As a teen, Mary demonstrated her clairvoyant abilities by reading any book while completely blindfolded and speaking in tongues. Sadly, her parents had to admit her to an asylum in Peoria where Mary died in 1865. The legend of the "Watseka Wonder" was born in the winter of 1878. Asa Roff, heard of another local girl, 13-year-old Lurancy Vennum, who also claimed to communicate with the spirit world just like his precious Mary. Lurancy began to manifest similar clairvoyant trances, including conversing with two siblings who had died in childhood, and would also sleep for days after communicating with the spiritual realm. Asa Roff was a devout believer of spiritualism, a religious movement that brought comfort to believers who wished to communicate with departed loves ones in the afterlife. He recognized the similarities between his daughter and Lurancy. Like many clairvoyants in the 19th century, Lurancy's parents wanted to put their daughter in an asylum. Asa convinced them not to, and called for a spiritualist physician to place Lurancy in a hypnotic state to figure out what spirits dwelled within her. Lurancy is said to have become possessed by the spirit of Mary Roff, the lost daughter of Asa and Dorothy. Lurancy lived with the Roffs for 120 days while, according to Mary, Lurancy's soul was being repaired in heaven for an earthly return to her body. After eight months of living with the Roffs, Lurancy was healed and went on to live a long, quiet life. Guests will be given EVP equipment and taken in groups throughout the day to record the spirit world from the top floor of the Roff House, all the way down to the basement, for a session with the Ana Hatta box. Attendees will be emailed their own paranormal findings picked up by the EVPs during their investigations. "There are many forms of possession that actually happen and in this case here, it's not something demonic," Graveside Paranormal investigator Neal Gibbons said in a recent podcast. "A lot of people when they hear the word 'possession' they think of demons. I don't think that's what this subject is about. I want people to decide for themselves if it's a possession or spiritual possession." The Roff house has been lovingly restored by the owner, John, who saved this beautiful Victorian-era home from collapsing into a pile of rubble. When the owner first came across the 1868 Italianate-style house in 2005, it had not been inhabited for 115 years, and no work had been done to maintain it in 40 years. "It was a wreck," said John, who doesn't want his last name used. "I saw it not only as a place where something interesting happened, but a place interesting to people locally and an interesting piece of architecture for the town and the county." John spent 13 years restoring the house back to its original condition in 1868, spending money when it was available and when he had the time. The first several years of restoration were spent on preventing further damage from happening. The house had beautiful floors buried beneath decades of linoleum and varnish that had to be peeled back. The home received the 2020 preservation award from Landmarks Illinois. "I tend to think of the house as a living thing, and it was a living thing worth saving," John added, who says most of his paranormal experiences in the home have been positive. Walkthrough tours of Roff House are $10 (cash only on the day of the eventt) will be offered from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., as well as tarot card readers, angel card readers and vendors selling their wares. Ghostly Podcast will be broadcasting all day from Parapalozza, as they recap the events from the Roff House and collect visitors' own ghost stories. Food and beverages are available for purchase at the event. Paranormal fans can also watch Graveside Paranormal investigator Steve Leinweber build a smoke scrying box, when, after sundown, the investigators will try to get a spirit to materialize in the smoke. Other paranormal sleuths who've been to the home claim it is one of the most active sites they've visited. The Roff House, 300 E. Sheridan St., Watseka, IL, is located in Iroquois County, 15 miles west of the Illinois-Indiana border. The home is a 90-minute drive from Chicago and Bloomington-Normal, an hour's drive from Urbana-Champaign, and 2.5 hours from Springfield. Bring a face mask just in case, even you are vaccinated. "If you're thinking of Linda Blair from 'The Exorcist,' then this isn't for you," Gibbons said, who claims fest goers will have a paranormal encounter. "I want people to have fun. Ghosts like positive energy, and the more positive energy there is, the more receptive the spirits will be."