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Content Warning:
This episode contains descriptions of self-harm, blood, graphic injury, violence, and strong language. Check the Chapters for details.

Listener discretion is advised.

The porchlight flickers, the storm gathers, and a small town decides what it believes. We return to Watseka, Illinois, where Mary’s brief calm gives way to a terrifying rupture: a blade in the kitchen, a sprint into the fields, a rescue met with fury, and a town’s certainty hardening into rumor. It’s raw, human, and painfully close to the bone—and it’s the kind of story that outlives the facts and settles into the voice of a community.

From there we follow the echo. You know the ritual: lights off, three turns, a name spoken to a mirror. We unpack why kids dare each other with Bloody Mary, how structure turns chaos into a game, and why certain stories choose us rather than the other way around. Along the way, we share a cherished memory of a teacher who calmly led a whole line of girls into a dark bathroom and said the words for us, proving that curiosity and courage can coexist with folklore. The tension isn’t between belief and skepticism—it’s between fear that isolates and stories that give us a safe way to look at fear together.

This is a story about possession, panic, and the mechanics of myth-making. It’s about how a 19th-century girl named Mary might sit just beneath a chant kids still whisper at sleepovers, and how whispers move faster than facts in any era. We listen to lived voices, sift the gossip, and notice the patterns: summoning rituals, moral panics, and the way a town protects itself by telling and retelling a tale until it feels like a law of nature.

If you’ve ever stood in a dark bathroom with a racing heart, or grown up in a place where everyone knows your name and your business, this one’s for you. Press play, then tell us your own Bloody Mary story—send a note to Porchlight Whispers at gmail.com or message the Small Town Whispers Facebook page. If the episode resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves folklore, and leave a quick review so more curious minds can find our porchlight.

Voice Credits to:

"Mary"- Emily Thompson (Watseka 1988-2000)

Gossipers from Watseka:

Jamie (Kilgore) Elson

Melissa (Sherman) Heckman

Amy Yucuis

Karlie Peters

Justin Lareau

Jenn (Thompson) Jayasingha

Gossipers Living In Watseka:

Justin Bryant

Stacy Beam

Nick Dillon

Scarlett & Elliott

Abby Laird

Friends & Family

Scott Carney

Samantha Borden

Caroline Withers

Laura Beth Payne

Chris Borden

Amanda Sadanaga

Sally Timaeus

Support the show

Please share your stories with us at porchlightwhispers@gmail.com or send us a message on the Small Town Whispers Facebook page! You'll also want to head to our Patreon page for exclusive footage of the Roff house, bonus listener stories, and more! Don't forget to tell a friend or family member about the show. Thank you!