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A quiet kitchen, a Sunday supper, and a six-year-old who suddenly sounds sixty-three. That’s where our journey takes a sharp turn, pulling us from small-town routine into a confrontation with the unexplainable. We trace Mary’s strange history from her astonishing twelve-day unresponsive state as an infant to a chilling scene where she cuts her arm, clutches a knife, and insists her name is Katrina Hogan. Layer by layer, we learn how hardship, faith, and the frontier mindset shaped what people believed.

I read a vivid passage from Watseka, America’s Most Extraordinary Case of Possession and Exorcism that captures the room’s shifting air: Anne’s panic, Nervie’s shock, Asa’s steady command, and Josiah’s calm invocation of Spiritualism. The debate that follows feels modern even now. Was this a spirit, a trauma response, a dissociative state, or the pressure of grief and gossip on a family under strain? The details matter—the mud on boots, pegs on the wall, pigs in the yard—because they prove this wasn’t theater. It was a normal day interrupted by something no one could easily name.

I share why the Watseka Wonder still holds me: I lived in that town, walked those streets, and recently even stayed at the Roff house. We close with Porchlight Whispers, our open line for witnesses and storytellers. If you’ve seen the light at Lantern’s Lane, felt the hair rise at the old mailbox, or carry a legend from your own hometown, step into the circle. Follow Small Town Whispers for new chapters every Friday, share the show with a friend who loves history and hauntings, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find us. What do you think happened in that kitchen—possession or psychology? We’re listening.

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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!