رونوشت 🔗
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Welcome to Small Town Whispers, where history, folklore, and the paranormal collide.
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I'm Bethany Yucuis Borden, and I lived in Watseka, Illinois from 1988 to 1999.
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For over a decade, I walked the same streets, saw the same houses, and even had friends connected to the story we're about to dive into.
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This isn't just history for me, it's personal.
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We've finally arrived at the end of season one.
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After months of following the twists and turns of this remarkable story, it's time for the final chapter.
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Traditionally, an epilogue takes us beyond the main story.
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It reveals what became of the people we've come to know.
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In this episode, I'll be reading the epilogue from David St.
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Clair's book.
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And then I'm joined by several members of our cast as we start back and examine the story as a whole.
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Together we'll explore the novel followers of historical record where it takes creative liberties and how it compares to Dr.
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E.
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W.
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Stephen's original eighteen seventy-eight case study.
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You can reach me at PorchlightWhispers@gmail.com or send a message to the small town whispers Facebook page.
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By the time they got to Asa's office, Mary was gone, and Lurancy had returned for good.
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She called Asa Mr.
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Roff and embraced Tom and Lurinda Vennum.
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She willingly went home with them and was completely restored to health.
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No more fits, fainting spells, or seizures by other personalities.
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She was enrolled back in school that September and graduated with the rest of her class.
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When Lurancy was 18, she married a local boy named George Binning, and two years later they moved from Watseka to Kansas.
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They bought a farm and she had 11 children.
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While visiting one of her daughters in Northern California in the late 1940s, she died.
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Asa and Ann were besieged with hundreds of letters from skeptics and believers when the story appeared on the front page of the Watsekaa Times and was later published in several national spiritualist magazines.
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After one year, the pressure of prejudice in Watseka forced them to sell their home and move to Kansas.
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Seven years later, when the incident had time to cool down, they return to live with Minerva and Henry Alter and to die of old age.
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They are buried in Watseka.
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Charlie Roff was the first of the children to join Mary.
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He died in 1885 at 20 years of age of consumption.
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The other boys have faded into history.
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Tom and Lurinda Vennum stayed in Watseka for many years.
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Finally, he died, she sold the house, and moved in with Laurancy and her children.
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There is no record of what happened to Henry.
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Dr.
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E.
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W.
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Stevens lectured on the Watseka Wonder for eight years before dropping dead at a friend's house in Chicago a few days before Christmas 1886.
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Colonel Peters did not get re-elected mayor of Watseka.
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Charlotte Viedner went to Chicago when the Roffs were forced to move to Kansas.
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Loozie has any number of great-great-grandchildren scattered about Canada.
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Over the years, some streets were renamed in Watsekaa, and a great number of the older homes were torn down.
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Surprisingly, the Roff home, located at 300 East Sheridan Street, is currently an Airbnb.
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The Vennum Home, 135 Belmont Street, still resides right across the street from Watseka Community High School.
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Mary Roff never returned again.
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Good evening again.
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We have a Zoom room full of amazing women.
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And then sitting next to me is my husband Chris, who's also been along the whole journey of the podcast.
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So you hear him in the Porchlight Whispers intro, and he's done various voices.
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We have Mary here.
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Hi everyone.
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Emily Thompson here is Mary.
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I was the first uh one that got on board with Bethany when she had all this planned and was ready to roll.
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And when we were just talking, I was like, well, what if like there's an actual other voice?
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And then it all became this.
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We have Laurence.
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Hello.
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Barricading.
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Um, this was really fun to do.
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I had no idea that it had started even, and I had talked to your sister, Amy, and we're talking on the phone one night, and she was telling me about it and mentioned it.
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I was instantly like, uh yes, please.
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Definitely.
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This sounds
Load full transcript
like fun.
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So I'm really glad that you invited me to be part of it.
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Yeah, I'm so glad you had time.
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I know you're busy.
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Then the second voice we got on board, we needed somebody for Katrina.
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So we have Mary Ann.
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Yeah, Emily and Bethany said they were doing this and they needed an older voice.
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And I'm like, well, that's me.
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It's true, I can't deny it.
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I'm definitely older.
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It was really fun because at one time I thought I wanted to do like voiceover, but I never pursued it.
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So this was kind of a really fun little thing to do and to find my inner Katrina over.
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You came top of mind too for me because you have such a distinctive voice.
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And as people are listening, they need different voices to really draw their attention, and I just thought you'd be a great fit.
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Oh, thank you.
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I just loved the family connection as well because Marianne is Emily's aunt, and there's not a ton of voice similarity, but every once in a while I could tell within a line.
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So it gave even that little extra authenticity to it.
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Missy and Laura Beth both came on board when we had an episode where I needed a bunch of gossipers, and we're all from the Midwest, so we know how to do that.
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Uh but yeah, I'm uh Melissa Heckman.
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People that know me call me Missy.
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Um, live up in Chicago.
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And when you guys reached out to me about doing some little voices for this, I was like, oh, 100% yes.
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Like that sounds so fun.
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And I took it very seriously.
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I had one line, and I think I sent you guys like 10 different options because I don't know which ones you need.
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Like, was one of these is gonna work.
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So that was really fun.
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I was I love to be included, and this is a story that's like just very near and dear to my heart, right?
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I mean, this is something that we grew up with uh our whole lives hearing about and seeing the places, you know, the different houses and where everything occurred growing up.
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So it was really cool for you guys to include me in this.
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I appreciate it.
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You did an outstanding job on your line.
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And Laura Beth.
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Well, this is all new to me.
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I know Bethany here where we live now in North Carolina, but it was I'd I've been along for the ride and I've enjoyed hearing it for the first time.
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I didn't know how it was gonna end or anything that was gonna come next.
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I didn't read ahead or look ahead, and it was super fun to join in and gossip a little bit, like you do.
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That was probably one of my favorite episodes so far was putting all those different voices together, especially how many were from Watseka.
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Another friend that I've made here in North Carolina is Caroline, and ironically, she lived only about an hour from where Watsekaa is when she grew up, so she has that Illinois background as well, but she also brings her interest in the paranormal from being here in Wilmington.
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I am just gonna like lead a couple things of discussion between us.
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My original inspiration for making this podcast was to keep the book Watzika alive as it becomes more rare.
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I read the book around 1992, again around 2014, and recently I basically studied it enough to do a dissertation on it.
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So I just wanted to gather again who here had read the book prior to listening to the podcast?
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I think I read that when I was maybe 13.
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It had been a very long time.
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I had been wanting it for a long time, and my uncle actually got me one for Christmas, but it was the one that was reprinted in the UK.
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I think it's reprinted under the title A Child Possessed.
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So I actually read that one first, and then later on, a couple years later, got the actual Watseka book copy.
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It is very similar, almost the exact same.
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This was kind of like you said, like the Hollywood version of what actually happened.
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Like I've never been able to go back and read like the original transcripts of like what had happened.
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I'm excited because I went through and did some bullet points of that today, so we could kind of talk about what actually happened and what didn't.
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Well, I put my name on the wait list at the Watseka Public Library in like 1993.
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It was a little yawn.
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I mean, I shouldn't have been reading it at that age zero.
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But yeah, I mean, I knew it was a long wait list.
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I was like, cool, you know, by the time I'm in high school, I'll get the book.
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And they never ever ever called.
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So it
just never happened.
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Someone probably stole it.
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So that was kind of cool.
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As you're getting scripts to read as Mary, you didn't know what was coming next.
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Oh, I had no idea.
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Yeah.
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I mean, I knew generally just, you know, what we all grow up hearing that one girl possessed another girl.
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I didn't know the detail of how much gap between them or anything else.
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So it was really cool to hear like our our home history.
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For those of us from Watsica, did you hear about Lurancy Vennum ever outside of reading the book?
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I don't think so.
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Mary was the main name that I remembered hearing, actually, more than anything.
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And then and then Bloody Mary, that whole thing.
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Yeah, same here.
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I don't think I ever heard Lorenzi's uh name outside of it.
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It just catches my attention because the whole case study is about Lurancy, but all of us all we knew was the Roffs.
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Obviously, the author of the book, David St.
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Clair, embellished the case study.
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He was an internationally known psychic medium and author.
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So I always wonder if he channeled any of the details or if he just created them for entertainment value.
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Because some of them really do line up and seem so specific.
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Here are some of the facts from the case study.
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I just reviewed it today, I've read through it a couple times.
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One thing I noticed was that he deemed this case a startling and instructive chapter in the history of spiritualism.
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So it was approached very scientifically, like this is coming from an observational standpoint, not trying to entertain anybody.
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Another thing I read from the editorial note that I loved, this quote, to doubt the story is to impeach all human history.
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Wow.
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That was from the publishers of the book.
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And it does appear in 1878 they were actually very hopeful to learn more about mental and spiritual abilities.
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And that was kind of the direction things were going.
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And then obviously, I think we know in our country it didn't continue that way.
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So this did happen in Watsekaa, that's absolutely confirmed.
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The dates that the Lurancy Vennum case happened are July 11th through May 21st.
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It is 1878.
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Tom and Lurinda Vennum were married in Ohio in 1855.
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Lurancy was born on April 16th, 1864, which weirdly is my mom's birthday, not the year, but the date.
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The Vennums lived in did live in Milford from 1866 to 1870.
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Then they moved to Watseka.
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It said for a stint for like a little part of the summer, they were about 40 rods from the residence of Asa Roff.
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So that actually, I looked up the measurement, that equates to about an eighth of a mile.
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That's not fun.
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So I don't I know there's an original Roff house that Mary did live in, and then they moved, and that's where Laurency went.
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For Marianne and Caroline and Laura Beth at the high school every day across the street.
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Yeah.
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Is it an old high school?
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Is it like the the high school the school that's in in Hampstead?
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Is it that that kind of school?
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Do you know what I'm talking about, Bethany?
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I know that the doctor's house is over on Locust Street.
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And I don't know how far really that is from if you're cut if you don't have the whole town there.
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You know what I mean?
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When it was the doctor, one of the doctors in Watseka or Doctors?
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Um the the doctor that did the leeches.
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Was it Pitwood?
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Dr.
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Pittwood?
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Yeah.
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Right, yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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The high school was built in 1909.
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Whoa.
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It probably was similar in construction to the one in um maybe even earlier than the one that's that's in Hampstead.
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Yeah, it is brick.
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It's too much.
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I had some friends that are probably up in their 80s or even 90s now that went to that school, went to that Hampstead high school.
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Yeah, thinking about it having been in both high schools, it is very similar setup.
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Like the steps.
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That was just sort of that.
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That was the schoolhouse because the school my mother went to in South Carolina looks very similar.
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At the end of the summer, they moved across town and they
had not really ever interacted, the Roffs or the Vennums.
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Mary died in 1865.
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Okay.
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The Vennums lived in Watseka.
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They went to Miss because they lived in Middleport first, which was kind of original Watseka when the railroad was built.
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Um it seems like Mary died in 1865, and then the Vennums moved to Watseka like right after that.
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So they they the girls never would have known each other.
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Oh no.
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They were separated by age as well as yeah.
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Yep.
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In the case study, it it starts calling her Rancy, so that's where we get that.
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Rancy, it said only had a light run of measles in 1873, but hadn't been too sick.
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So, unless I'm mistaken, in the book they acted like she was kind of sickly.
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Yeah, like she had to be upstairs to have the breeze and um so she wasn't I had I had the measles as a child.
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I was sick for two weeks.
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What what was it?
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Was it like chickenpox at all?
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No, no, it was like uh it was a it was a very bad disease.
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You had this rash under your skin, it wasn't like pustules, it was under the skin.
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And uh and I was sick for two weeks, and I remember the doctor coming to see me and actually coming to see me, and I was a little little kid, but coming to see me and I was asleep and asking my mom when the doctor was coming.
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Well, he was already here.
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So yeah, so it was yeah, that was very definitely a very dangerous and still is a very dangerous um illness.
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Mm-hmm.
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A few days before all the incidents happened that made this case famous.
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Rancy told her family there were persons in her room.
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The next night she couldn't sleep and said people kept calling.
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And I want you to say it, Sarah, what they keep calling.
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Rancy.
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Yeah.
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Um I'm just thinking whatever I wouldn't want to hear in the middle of the night.
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Well, it gave me chills right there, so that worked.
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So they documented that that's what was happening.
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She was hearing people calling her.
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Lurinda did stay with her that night.
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Doesn't say any family dynamics with the Vennums.
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There was never any talk of how Tom treated Laurence or anything like that.
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Just like in the book on July 11th, 1877, she had her first episode.
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She was like helping her mom with something in the living room, went totally stiff for like five hours.
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The next day, same thing.
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She started to speak of seeing people in spirits, including Laura and Bertie, her siblings.
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So that is documented that she could see some of those family members.
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She had many trances between there and September, but then they subsided.
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So no mention of school, anything happening in a classroom, all of that.
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All that was made up.
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And honestly, that was one of my favorite characters, that little girl in the class.
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It was like the little goody two shoes.
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I think it's interesting that you picked up on Laurence's home dynamics because I was reading through that the excerpt of what you sent, and I noticed that right away too.
00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:17.440
Like, at least in how the parents are portrayed here, it sounds like they were much more loving and caring and you know, kind of happy to do whatever she needed to be cared for versus being angry about her, not not understanding why she's acting a certain way.
00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:27.039
So November 27th, it says she started having violent pain in her stomach five to six times a day for two weeks straight.
00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:44.960
And this is where I think I have heard from multiple sources that when people, whoever wrote The Exorcist, referred to this book for some of the references, it says in the case study she would double back in pain until her head touched her feet.
00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:53.119
So when you think about our version of modern day possession, I feel like that's portrayed in a lot of the movies.
00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:58.960
I don't know if you guys see that visual of uh yeah.
00:19:59.359 --> 00:19:59.839
Definitely.
00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:14.720
She went unconscious into a trance up to 12 times a day until February 1st.
00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:23.599
So she was just kind of constantly under attack of whatever was happening in her body, whether it was a physical thing or otherwise.
00:20:23.599 --> 00:20:26.240
No mention yet of voices.
00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:31.200
Some of the relatives and friends of Lurancy did believe she was insane.
00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:33.680
And it documents that Reverend B.
00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:34.000
M.
00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:38.400
Baker, the Methodist minister, wrote to the asylum to see if they'd take Lurancy.
00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:40.799
So he really did that.
00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:45.039
Asa Roff in the case ended up bringing Dr.
00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:48.720
Stevens in to investigate from Wisconsin.
00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:50.799
So do you guys remember how Dr.
00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:53.200
Stevens came in in the book?
00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:54.880
Sort of.
00:20:54.880 --> 00:21:09.359
So that couple, that lady visited Watseka from somewhere else in Illinois, and they were having dinner after a spiritualist get together in the book, and Dr.
00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:10.960
Stevens they had invited over.
00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:19.279
They were like a wealthy and the lady while she was in Watseka was like, oh my gosh, you're talking about Mary Roff, and they're treating this girl horribly.
00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:21.920
And or I'm sorry, Laurancy at that time.
00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:24.640
There's this girl Laurancy Vennum in Watseka, Illinois.
00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:25.759
Have you heard of her?
00:21:25.759 --> 00:21:28.079
And that brought Dr.
00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:31.119
Stevens to come into town and see for himself.
00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:35.599
In the case, there was no friend that brought him.
00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:39.200
It was actually Asa as a spiritualist, knew of Dr.
00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:41.359
Stevens and brought him in to investigate.
00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:45.680
January 31st, 1878, Dr.
00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:46.480
Stevens and Mr.
00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:48.319
Roff went to visit the Vennums.
00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:58.400
When they walked in, it's documented that she was sitting near the stove on a common chair, looking like an old hag, perched with her hands resting on her knees.
00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.680
So you can kind of imagine.
00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:01.519
Like almost like feral.
00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:07.279
She wouldn't be touched and was very angry and just very aggressive.
00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:10.240
And then Katrina Hogan came through.
00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:13.920
And in the case study, it's like, what's your name?
00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:15.359
What's your name?
00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:17.519
Katrina Hogan.
00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:19.279
How old are you?
00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:21.039
How old was I?
00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:22.880
63 years.
00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:25.279
63 years.
00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:26.799
Where are you from?
00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:28.880
Germany.
00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:33.119
All of those words are documented in the case from 1878.
00:22:33.119 --> 00:22:34.480
I love how you did that.
00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:35.279
Wow.
00:22:35.279 --> 00:22:52.480
I was kind of getting spooked out thinking if Katrina Hogan as a spirit exists and I'm speaking as her, am I somehow connecting with this entity who just may or may not ever exist or may still exist?
00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:56.880
It kind of scared me a little, but nothing bad happens.
00:22:57.759 --> 00:22:58.720
That is interesting.
00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:06.799
I mean it's kind of interesting because literal things that this entity said I'm saying.
00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:11.119
That's a really cool point.
00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:11.599
Yeah.
00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:14.559
Yeah, I didn't think about it all.
00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:15.680
Neither.
00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:16.799
Yikes.
00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:22.000
Well, if you need us to come in with some sage, Marianne, we're there.
00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:31.599
After Katrina Hogan, it was documented that Willie Canning came through and that his name his father's name was Peter, so all that was true.
00:23:31.599 --> 00:23:37.599
That night when the men went to leave, Lurancy did go into a straight and stiff trance, to which Dr.
00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:44.000
Stevens used some magnetic passes and was able to bring Lurancy back and speak to her.
00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:51.119
That's when Lurancy explained that there were a lot of spirits on the other side, and one wanted to come through, and her name was Mary Roff.
00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:54.319
And Asa confirmed who Mary was.
00:23:54.319 --> 00:24:02.880
And that is essentially how, according to Mary in the story, the gate was opened for her to come through and help heal Lurancy.
00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:09.440
That's when in the case study they do, and I say a very brief description of Mary Roff and her life.
00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:14.799
Which is why I'm so shocked that all of us know the Roff story more than the Vennum story.
00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:15.920
Yeah.
00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:17.599
That is kind of weird.
00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:22.640
Mary was born October 8th, 1846 in Warren County, Indiana.
00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:27.519
In 1847, they moved to Middleport through 1857.
00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:34.880
And it's mentioned that the Roffs had a child who was sick and they moved to Texas to try to get some kind of medical treatment.
00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:39.440
It never mentions like who that child was, if it worked.
00:24:39.440 --> 00:24:42.960
Like there's mention of them going to Texas and coming back.
00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:46.480
But I don't know if the child came back with them or any of that.
00:24:46.480 --> 00:24:50.720
Uh they returned in 1859, so they were in Texas for two years.
00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:54.960
It does document that when Mary was six months old, she had her first fit.
00:24:54.960 --> 00:25:00.400
Uh they didn't think she was gonna live, but she recovered in two to three weeks and was fine.
00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:04.720
But then she continued to have fits until she was 10 more frequently.
00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:13.519
She would often be sad and despondent, playing solemn music like We Are Coming, Sister Mary, and she was very into music.
00:25:13.519 --> 00:25:22.000
At 15 years old, it became too much and too violent, so that's when they sent her to the Peoria water cure for 18 months.
00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:27.680
In the book, they very lightly describe what that would entail.
00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:31.440
But at this time, water treatments were not good.
00:25:31.440 -->
00:25:34.319
Like this was not a good thing.
00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:44.000
And I don't think that's really talked about, you know, going away for 18 months, going through whatever I've seen Return to Oz.
00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:45.920
I know what they do to people in mental health.
00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:50.720
Um, but like for real, it wasn't a great situation.
00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:54.640
And they ended up bringing her back in 1864.
00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:59.920
She was continuing to be under the doctor's treatment where she did start to apply her own leeches.
00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:02.799
It said she did become really fascinated with that.
00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:09.440
July 16th of that year, she did cut her arm and became so violent, five men had to hold her down.
00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:14.960
After that, she it is also documented she could perform many different psychic abilities.
00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:16.240
And there were more details.
00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:20.559
I didn't write down all the details, but all of this is available for free.
00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:23.680
U of I has a free copy of the Watseka Wonder.
00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:25.599
There's several copies online.
00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:28.640
Finally, there was a Reverend J.
00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:32.079
H Rhea, R-H-E-A, Ray Rhea.
00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:32.640
Right.
00:26:32.640 --> 00:26:37.759
Um, he was the Methodist minister in town when Mary was alive, and also A.
00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:38.079
G.
00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:40.880
Smith was the editor of the Iroquois Times Republic.
00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:44.079
They both did investigate Mary Roff's case.
00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:48.640
On July 5th, 1845, Mary's parents were in Peoria.
00:26:48.640 --> 00:26:58.240
She ate breakfast, she laid down, she screamed, went into a fit, and they found her in a fit where she passed pretty quickly.
00:26:58.240 --> 00:27:00.559
That sounds like epilepsy.
00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:02.640
A lot of it does.
00:27:02.640 --> 00:27:05.039
A lot of it really does.
00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:06.160
Yeah.
00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:07.119
Yeah.
00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:12.000
So in the case study, that's literally all we know about the Roffs.
00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:13.839
So everything else.
00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:16.559
Losie, totally made up.
00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:18.240
What?
00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:18.960
I know.
00:27:18.960 --> 00:27:21.680
I hate to burst your bubble.
00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:23.359
I want her to be real.
00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:25.039
Charlotte.
00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:27.200
Charlotte is real.
00:27:27.200 --> 00:27:29.440
And her grandmother did come through.
00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:31.200
But we'll get to that.
00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:35.680
So now we're back to February 1st in Lurancy's time.
00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:37.680
Mary took control of the body.
00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:44.559
One week later, Ann and Minerva did visit, and they had that whole scene where they had a nice reunion.
00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:55.599
If you think about when La Rance was having all those violent pains for all that time, and they keep talking about how Lurinda's a little nervous, and Lurinda, her mom, is I mean, she was fried.
00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:56.799
She was on edge.
00:27:56.799 --> 00:28:00.319
She needed it just as much as Lurancy did.
00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:06.079
So finally the Vennum sent Lurancy to the Roffs on February 11th to live there.
00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:15.440
The Reverend Baker, who was real at the time, was threatening them and writing to the asylum and getting people in town on board.
00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:20.640
In the case study, there are several letters from Mary that are documented.
00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:22.880
Several letters from Minerva.
00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:31.759
It does document that Emma did come through, Lurancy, and did ask to go home.
00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:33.680
To which they said no.
00:28:33.680 --> 00:28:35.759
It didn't say it was a seance.
00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:39.599
It seemed like maybe a few people were together in a parlor and that happened.
00:28:39.599 --> 00:28:44.799
It says once Mary left La Rance's body and went into another body in the room.
00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:47.279
That's something that wasn't really in the book.
00:28:47.279 --> 00:28:50.480
Minus maybe Charlotte's grandmother.
00:28:50.480 --> 00:28:57.359
But in the book, it seemed like Charlotte's grandmother actually manifested it as herself, not inside of.
00:28:57.359 --> 00:29:02.799
So that's something in the study that tends to be pretty memorable.
00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:15.599
Charlotte's grandmother did come through, even to the point it said Lurancy left the room, got a couple things on, and came back in and kind of had this older woman persona, but didn't actually just show up or manifest.
00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:23.680
It is documented in the case that she did say she takes her tea in heaven and did not eat actual food for quite a while or drink.
00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:28.319
Lurancy and Henry did reunite on May 18th.
00:29:28.319 --> 00:29:34.480
There's a whole document about how Henry came over and Lurancy came back into the body and they reunited.
00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:39.759
And then two days later, May 21st, Mary left for good.
00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:48.079
There's a lot more detail in the case study of her leaving, and you really can tell what an emotional thing this was.
00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:49.200
Yeah.
00:29:49.200 --> 00:29:54.400
Out of the main bullet point details, that's kind of what I wrote down.
00:29:54.400 --> 00:29:57.279
What surprises you the most or the least.
00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:01.440
Nobody's house just went up in flames out of nowhere.
00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:02.240
Yeah.
00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:14.400
No man came and got the carved figure from the so I put so I I asked next, what are some obvious fictional elements in the book versus the case study?
00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:14.880
Yeah.
00:30:15.359 --> 00:30:18.000
And one character, one character comes to mind.
00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:18.960
Who is it?
00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:19.839
Mrs.
00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:20.720
Durst.
00:30:20.720 --> 00:30:21.039
Yeah.
00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:22.720
As Emily was Lavinia.
00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:24.319
Lavinia's Lavinia.
00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:29.440
She's one of the best evil names ever.
00:30:29.440 --> 00:30:35.200
Now, as I thought about it, that character who came into town, left, got Dr.
00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:36.480
Stevens and all that.
00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:39.519
That's how we met Lavinia Durst.
00:30:39.519 --> 00:30:43.519
So that's why all of that is a little bit different.
00:30:43.839 --> 00:30:44.160
Okay.
00:30:44.559 --> 00:30:50.799
And obviously he wanted a villain in the story, and Lavinia Durst fit the bill.
00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:54.079
Um Lavinia Durst sounds like a villain.
00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:57.759
Yeah, Chris was saying Lavinia Durst is like a cruella de ville.
00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:00.000
It's just sounds evil.
00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:01.039
Yeah.
00:31:01.440 --> 00:31:15.440
I think that was a really good move with storytelling, because the account does speak about the fact that Watseka essentially as an area is more conservative and not into the spiritualism.
00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:21.200
Somebody had to embody that fright of the unknown and not wanting it to be around.
00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:24.240
And that's why the gossip episode was so great, too.
00:31:24.240 --> 00:31:33.039
It just like it's the small town or any town really, you know, that chain of reaction to things that are scary and different.
00:31:33.359 --> 00:31:33.680
Yeah.
00:31:33.680 --> 00:31:34.079
Yeah.
00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:40.799
And I'm sure that there probably were people that maybe weren't as extreme or did took it to that level as Lavinia did.
00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:49.039
But yeah, there was, I'm sure may have felt like the villain roles were being filled, but a little more discreetly than dramatic storytelling.
00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:50.079
But I but I agree.
00:31:50.079 --> 00:31:53.359
I think that was a smart move just from the story aspect.
00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:58.640
Do you guys gather who he kind of made the hero undercover?
00:31:58.640 --> 00:32:00.559
I feel like it was Louzy.
00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:02.400
Like she had the car figure.
00:32:02.400 --> 00:32:07.519
She was kind of like the key to bringing everything together at the end.
00:32:07.519 --> 00:32:12.319
You know, I remember reading it again and going, gosh, I keep mentioning the car figure.
00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:16.880
I mean, this is such a he worked, he worked that item into the story early on.
00:32:16.880 --> 00:32:19.359
There was that whatever that thing was.
00:32:19.359 --> 00:32:22.240
But I also liked Mary's father a lot, Asa.
00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:24.480
Asa had been through a lot.
00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:24.720
Yeah.
00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:31.759
And he uh sort of raised himself up by his bootstraps and um became quite a prominent, well-respected.
00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:38.400
And he, you know, he had enough wisdom that he and compassion, I think, for something he had no understanding of.
00:32:38.640 --> 00:32:49.039
Oh, yeah, as a as a father in that time period, too, for him to at least be open and to even allow any of that.
00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:49.839
I agree.
00:32:49.839 --> 00:32:52.640
I think that was he was really putting himself out there.
00:32:53.039 --> 00:32:56.319
And spiritualism comes off very well in this book.
00:32:56.319 --> 00:32:56.880
Yes.
00:32:56.880 --> 00:33:17.680
It comes off as the modern and the progressive and the open-minded, and and ace is a great example of you can start over here, but you can come along with us, and and it's okay, and it connects not only to this, but it connects back to older religions or older beliefs your family may also be carrying as as they have immigrated by choice or not by choice to this land.
00:33:17.680 --> 00:33:20.960
Spiritualism comes off very, very well in this book.
00:33:20.960 --> 00:33:22.400
Yeah.
00:33:23.119 --> 00:33:27.519
And the interesting thing is the book was written in 1977.
00:33:27.519 --> 00:33:40.000
So almost a hundred years after I would say the almost boom of it, and it it did seem to kind of dissipate or fall back into the less mainstream for sure.
00:33:40.240 --> 00:33:40.480
Yeah.
00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:50.079
Does the book uh follow the storyline, the way you set up the podcast with Mary kind of first, and then Laurence?
00:33:50.079 --> 00:33:50.799
Oh yeah.
00:33:50.799 --> 00:33:51.119
Okay.
00:33:51.519 --> 00:33:56.160
It just says part one, and then it's literally no chapters or anything.
00:33:56.160 --> 00:34:03.440
It goes to page 104, then it's part two, and the very last sentence of part one is she was dead.
00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:06.160
The very last sentence of part two.
00:34:06.160 --> 00:34:07.599
Where is that?
00:34:07.599 --> 00:34:10.960
When Mary was going, Pa, Pa, is that you?
00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:16.639
You know, so it was like part one's Mary, part two is the transition, part three was Lurancy.
00:34:17.360 --> 00:34:22.800
And I think that catered to the podcast and being able to divide it into parts.
00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:24.400
I don't know what you guys thought.
00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:27.280
Yeah, I thought he did an awesome job with it.
00:34:27.360 --> 00:34:27.760
Yeah.
00:34:27.760 --> 00:34:34.719
I keep thinking back to what you said earlier and how so much of the case study is really about Lurancy.
00:34:35.519 --> 00:34:44.239
And yet we all think about Mary and the book that was written later is kind of has them as equals.
00:34:44.239 --> 00:35:00.159
And I guess my my speculation is that because of Asa and his position in society and his resources and his prominence in the spiritualism circles, it probably was more popularized.
00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:16.079
And even in the accounts here, you know, he's responding to the public years after the fact and trying to rest assured I wasn't trying to deceive people, and people are speaking to his, you know, his position and reputation.
00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:30.880
And it's just kind of like at that point, he almost becomes the survivor of the story, and the one that is carrying that torch forward, even as Laurancy, I presume, continued to have a good life.
00:35:30.880 --> 00:35:33.440
Or I don't know if we know anything about the rest of her life.
00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:40.000
Laurance and her family would have more reason to like move on and put it behind them in life.
00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:46.800
But the Roff family, like the Roff family got closure through that, even if it was a chaotic.
00:35:46.800 --> 00:35:58.159
So that kind of makes sense too, like for Mary's story, be like her being remembered or or that they had that closure, but Laurancy and her family may have not wanted to like commemorate it.
00:35:58.639 --> 00:36:02.000
Well, you know, look at I mean, even my parents.
00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:07.039
You you didn't talk to psychiatrists, you didn't talk about your problems.
00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:10.880
You know, the my my parents were lived through the depression.
00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:13.199
So my dad was born in 1922.
00:36:13.199 --> 00:36:21.280
You just you kept your mess to yourself and didn't air your dirty laundry, and you just got on with it.
00:36:21.280 --> 00:36:22.320
Wow.
00:36:22.320 --> 00:36:26.880
Just ignore they ignored the bad stuff and moved forward.
00:36:27.199 --> 00:36:28.480
Great perspective.
00:36:28.800 --> 00:36:34.159
Well, I don't know because there's a lot of trauma and a lot of things that never got addressed, too.
00:36:34.159 --> 00:36:35.039
Oh yeah.
00:36:36.079 --> 00:36:36.800
Exactly.
00:36:37.039 --> 00:36:39.760
And I'm sure everybody can relate to some of that.
00:36:40.559 --> 00:36:41.199
Absolutely.
00:36:41.199 --> 00:36:54.880
And I do hope that this podcast opens up conversations not just about possession and exorcism, but mental health, awareness of mental health, and even the physical side of epilepsy.
00:36:54.880 --> 00:37:00.480
I mean, all of these things are still happening, and we don't have all the answers.
00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:00.960
Nope.
00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:05.920
Just from like a paranormal investigation perspective, right?
00:37:05.920 --> 00:37:11.199
I automatically think of like Waverly Hills or those the other places that like that.
00:37:11.199 --> 00:37:14.400
And so she was already having these episodes.
00:37:14.400 --> 00:37:16.320
Who knows what all was going on with her?
00:37:16.320 --> 00:37:26.800
But I bet spending time in that place, like that's a lot of other weird energies coming in because of all of the other really just not good things happening.
00:37:26.800 --> 00:37:32.880
And so I don't I almost wonder how much worse
it was because she went there too.
00:37:33.119 --> 00:37:33.440
Yeah.
00:37:33.440 --> 00:37:35.760
Um especially for that long.
00:37:35.760 --> 00:37:38.719
Eight months is a long time to be away from your family.
00:37:38.880 --> 00:37:42.079
Well, wasn't the really b bad place in Springfield?
00:37:42.079 --> 00:37:44.320
Wasn't that the state mental institutions?
00:37:44.320 --> 00:37:44.800
Yeah.
00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:50.559
See, when I was growing up, you had to go to Mantino if you were crazy.
00:37:50.559 --> 00:37:53.360
I remember people talking about that.
00:37:53.679 --> 00:37:58.559
Yeah, I remember that one having a lot of ghost stories associated with it too, the Mantino Hospital.
00:37:58.880 --> 00:38:00.639
That's where we need to go investigate.
00:38:00.639 --> 00:38:01.679
There you go.
00:38:02.320 --> 00:38:03.280
You do it.
00:38:03.519 --> 00:38:03.840
Yeah.
00:38:04.239 --> 00:38:08.559
Well, I have something that I enjoyed the most, and it was all of the different voices.
00:38:08.559 --> 00:38:11.599
Like bringing it into a full production.
00:38:11.599 --> 00:38:15.920
I loved that because I read the book, I knew the story, grew up in the town.
00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:20.159
So have had like different perspectives or different aspects of it.
00:38:20.159 --> 00:38:23.920
But this has been my favorite because it just brings it to life.
00:38:23.920 --> 00:38:27.679
And so getting to hear everybody's parts, I thought it was really cool.
00:38:28.000 --> 00:38:29.519
Makes us kind of famous, doesn't it?
00:38:29.519 --> 00:38:31.679
That's what I tell everybody on this podcast.
00:38:31.679 --> 00:38:34.719
On our way, guys, we are on our way at home.
00:38:36.239 --> 00:38:38.719
Well, I didn't know that much about it.
00:38:38.719 --> 00:38:45.119
Emily can testify that it was only fairly recently that I realized Mary was dead.
00:38:45.119 --> 00:38:48.559
I was like two days ago.
00:38:48.559 --> 00:38:51.599
Spoiler alert.
00:38:51.599 --> 00:38:55.440
Because I wasn't following along 100% and I hadn't read the book.
00:38:55.440 --> 00:39:05.760
But I just thought, like I said, it was really neat to actually embody somebody or some essence that did possibly exist in Katrina.
00:39:05.760 --> 00:39:10.000
It was really fun hearing Emily go, pa, pa.
00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:17.039
Oh god, she broke my heart when she was Mary saying pause paw.
00:39:18.159 --> 00:39:21.519
She'd send me a reel of like 15 paw pa.
00:39:21.519 --> 00:39:26.639
I love meditating you guys' voices.
00:39:26.639 --> 00:39:27.280
It's so fun.
00:39:27.440 --> 00:39:28.559
And then at the end I'd be like pop.
00:39:28.559 --> 00:39:30.719
Oh my gosh.
00:39:30.719 --> 00:39:32.719
Your bloopers were the best.
00:39:35.599 --> 00:39:38.320
Well, I thought it was your crying was great.
00:39:38.320 --> 00:39:40.239
It had to have been torn inside out.
00:39:40.480 --> 00:39:46.559
I was telling Bethany one night, you know, there were a couple
times where I did two like recordings in a row.
00:39:46.559 --> 00:39:50.239
And it really helped me get more into the emotional state.
00:39:50.239 --> 00:39:55.360
And I did really kind of like close my eyes and really try to like think of like that pain.
00:39:55.360 --> 00:39:56.639
So thank you.
00:39:56.639 --> 00:40:02.880
Because I was like, how am I gonna make this sound without making it sound like I'm spitting or you know, percussioning all over?
00:40:02.880 --> 00:40:10.960
It was fun, it was a learning experience too, because I definitely hadn't had a lot of broadcast or you know, recording experience before this.
00:40:10.960 --> 00:40:22.800
Um for me, it was really visualizing something that, you know, like everyone said, we'd heard about it in some way based basically our whole lives growing up there.
00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:39.599
It both felt not real and real because you knew they were real people, but I just I love how this made them real people and made me think about Watseka in these earlier days when you know the Methodist church is still there.
00:40:39.599 --> 00:40:55.519
Think about them and what the town would have been like, and people just walking to church or seeing each other on the sidewalks and all those gossipers running into each other as they're doing their normal, you know, so much more community interaction at that point in time.
00:40:55.519 --> 00:41:01.280
I mean, what seekers still has a little bit of an old town look to it, you know, Main Street and stuff like that.
00:41:01.280 --> 00:41:10.320
So it's easy to take away the cars and just dust it up a little bit and think back to what it would have been like and what those people would have been like.
00:41:10.320 --> 00:41:13.760
How about Chris puts his face on camera for a second?
00:41:13.760 --> 00:41:18.639
Hi, Craig! There he is.
00:41:19.039 --> 00:41:20.000
It's good to see everybody.
00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:21.599
All right, you're in the hot seat.
00:41:21.599 --> 00:41:22.480
Ask some questions.
00:41:22.480 --> 00:41:23.519
Yeah, ask me questions.
00:41:23.519 --> 00:41:24.559
I don't know anything.
00:41:24.559 --> 00:41:26.480
She didn't come to bed a lot.
00:41:26.480 --> 00:41:28.960
Um, she was up late editing.
00:41:28.960 --> 00:41:32.880
It'd be like 11:30 at night, and I'd be sitting in the living room going, Pa!
00:41:35.119 --> 00:41:39.599
Or it'd be 11:30 at night and I'd be running out going, Do you hear a dog barking one segment?
00:41:39.599 --> 00:41:43.440
I swear I hear a dog barking, like when I when I interviewed Tom.
00:41:43.760 --> 00:41:45.840
It was an experience, one for sure.
00:41:45.840 --> 00:41:49.119
To her credit, she dedicated herself to the project.
00:41:49.119 --> 00:41:56.960
Every time like somebody had to step up and do the really hard work, there were many nights where she would come out and like give me a big hug and be like, I'm so tired.
00:41:56.960 --> 00:41:59.360
And I have like three hours
of editing to do.
00:41:59.360 --> 00:42:01.760
And I'm like, I'm like, You got this, you got it.
00:42:01.760 --> 00:42:04.079
And like 10 minutes later, I'd be asleep on the couch.
00:42:04.159 --> 00:42:04.480
Yeah.
00:42:06.239 --> 00:42:07.679
You got this, you got it.
00:42:07.679 --> 00:42:08.639
Don't worry, you got it.
00:42:08.639 --> 00:42:11.760
She'd been talking about doing this for years.
00:42:11.760 --> 00:42:20.800
Uh, we we've she talked about doing an audiobook and we've talked about the legality of audiobooks and how to do it, how to go about doing it, how to release a podcast.
00:42:20.800 --> 00:42:22.880
She finally was like, Chris, I'm just gonna do it.
00:42:22.880 --> 00:42:25.199
I'm I I gotta do it, or otherwise I'm never gonna do it.
00:42:25.199 --> 00:42:28.880
I was like, All right, if you're gonna do it, dedicate yourself to doing it and work hard.
00:42:28.880 --> 00:42:29.519
And she did.
00:42:29.519 --> 00:42:31.199
Really impressed with her dedication.
00:42:31.199 --> 00:42:43.760
Like, it was a feat some weeks to get, you know, all the work she has to do week, and then, you know, everything that we have to do in our lives, and then to come home and say, Okay, now I'm gonna spend four hours editing.
00:42:43.760 --> 00:42:47.920
Oh, by the way, you know, oh my gosh, I still haven't got so-and-so's lines yet.
00:42:47.920 --> 00:42:49.360
I don't know if I'm gonna get them in time.
00:42:49.599 --> 00:42:50.960
None of you guys, none of you.
00:42:50.960 --> 00:42:52.719
It was probably me.
00:42:53.360 --> 00:42:55.519
I think I heard each one of your names.
00:42:55.519 --> 00:42:58.559
I think I heard everybody's names at least once, but it's okay.
00:42:58.559 --> 00:43:00.239
It's uh I'm just giving you a hard time.
00:43:00.239 --> 00:43:00.800
It's fine.
00:43:00.800 --> 00:43:05.679
Um, but they were you guys were awesome, and you know, I really appreciate Bethany.
00:43:05.679 --> 00:43:09.199
She wasn't gonna do voices at first, like you guys were talking about earlier.
00:43:09.199 --> 00:43:11.840
She wasn't gonna do that, she was just gonna do it all herself.
00:43:11.840 --> 00:43:17.360
And then as Emily jumped in and started doing a voice, and then it was like, Well, that voice was really cool.
00:43:17.360 --> 00:43:18.559
What if I had another voice?
00:43:18.559 --> 00:43:34.159
And then she started reaching out, and she's like, Oh, I can have so-and-so do this voice, and then so-and-so could do this voice, and then all these really awesome voices started coming out, and then all of a sudden she's like, Yeah, I have this woman, she's gonna speak German for me, and she's coming over to my house, and it's gonna be awesome, and we're gonna do these German voices.
00:43:34.159 --> 00:43:38.239
I was like, Wow, this is this is getting serious, okay, cool.
00:43:38.239 --> 00:43:46.079
And then getting Emily's Ann involved and getting her friends from Watseka, and then you know, she's like, Okay, well, now we have to go to Watseka.
00:43:46.079 --> 00:43:53.280
Like, we have to go, we're gonna drive all the way there, and we're gonna sit weekend in the wall in the raw house.
00:43:53.280 --> 00:43:59.440
And she was gonna walk around the house all weekend and scare the crap out of herself, and it was awesome, it was a lot of fun.
00:43:59.440 --> 00:44:00.639
Thank you all.
00:44:00.639 --> 00:44:03.119
Like I appreciate everybody's help in getting this done.
00:44:03.119 --> 00:44:07.360
And I'm really excited for what we do next because I know she's got some really cool ideas.
00:44:07.360 --> 00:44:09.199
And you know, I hope you all take part.
00:44:09.199 --> 00:44:11.119
Come in, take part, have some fun.
00:44:11.119 --> 00:44:12.719
Hopefully we're just I want to raise.
00:44:14.800 --> 00:44:15.519
I need to raise.
00:44:15.519 --> 00:44:16.880
Yeah, I want to raise.
00:44:20.480 --> 00:44:22.320
Alright, I'm out of the hot seat now.
00:44:23.039 --> 00:44:23.360
Thank you.
00:44:23.599 --> 00:44:24.079
You're welcome.
00:44:24.079 --> 00:44:24.559
You did good.
00:44:24.559 --> 00:44:25.760
You did good.
00:44:25.760 --> 00:44:28.480
You did really good.
00:44:28.719 --> 00:44:29.360
Thank you.
00:44:29.360 --> 00:44:30.559
Yes, you did.
00:44:30.719 --> 00:44:32.000
You did amazing.
00:44:32.400 --> 00:44:37.199
Well, I'm so grateful for all of you personally and for the podcast.
00:44:37.199 --> 00:44:43.599
And when it takes off and we're all rich, then we'll reminisce on these days.
00:44:43.599 --> 00:44:44.960
I don't know.
00:44:44.960 --> 00:44:52.400
I don't know if it's gonna take off, but I know it has potential, and it wouldn't have had nearly as much without all you guys.
00:44:52.400 --> 00:45:00.880
Your participation and your support and your feedback have kept the engine running when it was on E.
00:45:00.880 --> 00:45:09.360
And it was a couple nights I was really on E, but I set a goal and determined to a fault sometimes, and here we are.
00:45:09.360 --> 00:45:13.599
Thank you for taking time tonight.
00:45:13.599 --> 00:45:20.079
I can't wait to put some of this in this wrap-up episode that I've been brainstorming.
00:45:20.079 --> 00:45:26.639
I think all your perspectives, all your answers, all your input is gonna make help make a really great final episode.
00:45:26.639 --> 00:45:28.719
Well, congratulations on this one.
00:45:29.920 --> 00:45:50.960
I mean, this has been amazing to hear from, you know, from a perspective of people who've like lived through it, but somebody who's even read it, like just having it fresh and coming out and hearing it from, like you were saying, the different voices, different, you know, uh dynamics of hearing it, and then hearing like the original and how it contrasts with the story, just everything coming together worked really well, and you did an amazing job.
00:45:50.960 --> 00:45:52.239
So I'm really proud of you.
00:45:52.480 --> 00:45:53.760
Oh, thanks,
Melissa.
00:45:54.000 --> 00:45:55.199
Yeah, yeah.
00:45:55.199 --> 00:45:58.320
Missy, now you can raise Maid listening to the story.
00:45:58.320 --> 00:45:59.519
She'll know it all.
00:46:01.760 --> 00:46:03.920
It'll be her lullaby at night.
00:46:03.920 --> 00:46:06.639
Listen to an episode of the podcast.
00:46:06.639 --> 00:46:10.480
Oh, oh my god.
00:46:10.480 --> 00:46:12.559
Get a button.
00:46:12.559 --> 00:46:14.239
Pa, your dog's over there.
00:46:14.239 --> 00:46:22.159
Aw, well, cheers to a great journey, everybody.
00:46:22.159 --> 00:46:24.480
And cheers to the next chapter.
00:46:24.480 --> 00:46:26.400
I hope you have a really good week.
00:46:26.400 --> 00:46:27.280
You too.
00:46:27.280 --> 00:46:28.639
Thank you for being here.
00:46:28.639 --> 00:46:31.840
Yeah, this was awesome.
00:46:31.840 --> 00:46:32.719
Bye guys.
00:46:32.719 --> 00:46:45.519
In October 2025, I released the first two episodes of Small Town Whispers.
00:46:45.519 --> 00:46:51.679
I have learned so much and connected or reconnected with so many awesome people on this journey.
00:46:51.679 --> 00:46:56.159
I honestly didn't know if I could see this thing through.
00:46:56.159 --> 00:47:00.000
But I wasn't going to let fear win any longer.
00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:05.840
Hitting publish for the first time was terrifying on Halloween, especially.
00:47:05.840 --> 00:47:10.639
But with each released episode came support and positive feedback.
00:47:10.639 --> 00:47:19.519
The encouragement gave me confidence to be myself and lean into a topic that has intrigued me my whole life.
00:47:19.519 --> 00:47:32.320
Thank you to everyone who has listened, shared a story, contributed their voice to the excerpts, given a rating or review, or shared the podcast with someone else.
00:47:32.320 --> 00:47:36.320
I look forward to continuing this journey.
00:47:36.719 --> 00:47:39.280
Season two is coming this October.
00:47:39.280 --> 00:47:42.639
For now, the porchlight ends.
00:47:42.639 --> 00:47:46.559
We'll see you in a few months.
00:47:46.559 --> 00:47:50.320
Don't forget to pay attention.
00:49:04.239 --> 00:49:08.800
Would you leave your body or would it be taken from you?
00:49:08.800 --> 00:49:21.039
We were watching from the air as your lips would move to speak or to be spoken through.
00:49:21.039 --> 00:49:43.360
Of your brothers dead and gone, of heaven and of the angels.
00:49:43.360 --> 00:49:49.199
But you wake up and be just a girl.
00:49:49.199 --> 00:49:55.440
The doctors and the priests never could explain you.
00:49:55.440 --> 00:50:05.360
No and faith and medicine had failed to bring you back again.
00:50:05.360 --> 00:50:09.679
Your family had resolved the child lost.
00:50:09.679 --> 00:50:13.760
But you found a home again.
00:50:13.760 --> 00:50:42.800
Open arms to take you in through the misplaced coast of very How did you know all of Mary's favorite songs?
00:50:42.800 --> 00:50:45.599
You sang them all so sweetly.
00:50:45.599 --> 00:50:57.280
She held you close and felt her sister tired, beating just like years ago.
00:50:57.280 --> 00:51:12.000
But the stones that left you're not the dead but people breathing and eating to be told.
00:51:12.000 --> 00:52:36.079
I wonder, am I yours?
00:52:36.079 --> 00:52:42.000
As I whisper every word on each of these strings.