“The case of Lurancy Vennum, a bright young girl of fourteen years, has been the subject of much discussion in Watseka during the past year, and there is a good deal in it beyond human comprehension.” – “Mesmeric Mysteries,” Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH), Jun. 22, 1878 [1]

            Ever since Regan MacNeil crawled backwards down the stairs in The Exorcist, possession has been a cornerstone of American horror movies. The very idea of losing control of ourselves to something otherworldly fills us with fear. The fear of possession, of course, has been around since long before the 1970s. Cases of possession have featured on the pages of newspapers across the country since the Salem witch trials in the 1690s. We don’t have to look far to find one such case.

Watseka, Illinois is a small town that lies around 63 miles north of Champaign. With a population of around 5,000, it isn’t necessarily a household name. However, that was not always the case. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Watseka became the subject of national attention, with newspapers across the country debating a series of strange occurrences. It all began with one young woman, Mary Lurancy Vennum.

Not a lot has been written about Lurancy’s birth and early childhood. She first appears in the historical record in July of 1887 when she was 13 years old. Lurancy, the story goes, suddenly began to feel ill and behave strangely, complaining to her mother that she was unable to sleep. Each night she was awakened by the sound of someone desperately calling her name, only to find that no one was there. Further complicating matters were severe stomach pains which were soon accompanied by trances in which she would claim to see spirits floating around her.[2]

It wasn’t long before the community caught wind of her symptoms, with everyone forming their own opinions on the matter. Many in town pushed for her to be sent to an asylum to undergo treatment. Others, however, pushed for the intervention of a different type of “expert,” someone who could address the spirits that allegedly haunted Lurancy. Desperate to help their daughter, and possibly put off by the horrific reputations of asylums, the Vennums put their faith in the spiritual. It was with this in mind that they brought in renowned spiritualist E. W. Stevens to examine the situation. (Stevens, you may notice from this post’s reference section, later wrote a book about his experience. This book serves as the most detailed account of these events.)[3]

As time wore on Lurancy’s symptoms became increasingly peculiar. One newspaper noted that

“She could also place her hand on a book and without seeing it would point to any letter that was named. These spells would last sometimes an hour or two, then she became quite rational and appeared as well as ever…This continued until sometime in January last, when, after one of those trances, she declared that she was an old German woman named Katrina, but this illusion soon vanished and she became Mary Roff, a young lady who died twelve years ago.”[4]

Mary was not as quick to relinquish control of Lurancy, stating that she would retain control of the body while Lurancy’s soul was healed. Mary, in the meantime, wished to visit with her family and friends. News of this occurrence eventually reached Mary’s parents who visited the Vennum home to see if the stories were true. Upon seeing the Roffs, Lurancy (or Mary) became frantic, demanding that she be allowed to stay with them. The Roffs, seeing the distress that the event was casing the Vennum family, agreed to watch her until Lurancy returned to normal. According to both Stevens and the Cincinnati Enquirer, Lurancy was capable of remembering numerous events and people from Mary’s life. Furthermore, she seemed to have lost all memory of much of the Vennum family and friends.[5]

For several months Lurancy lived as Mary, staying with Roffs and visiting with Mary’s friends and family. That is, until May 7^th when she promptly announced that Lurancy’s soul was returning to her body on May 22^nd at eleven o’clock. As promised, Lurancy soon returned to her body. By all accounts she returned to life as normal, happy and healthy.[6] There does not appear to have been any resurgence of strange behavior on Lurancy’s part.[7]

Stevens’ account of the “possession” is at turns fascinating and dubious. His writings show no indication that he had any real interest in finding non-supernatural causes for Lurancy’s behavior. Furthermore, he fills the account with grand stories over Mary’s ability to take and relinquish control of Lurancy’s body at will. Supposedly, she was even able to take over the bodies of others, possessing a Dr. Steel and making a show of her control over his body.[8]

Given the questionable nature of Steven’s account, we are left to wonder what caused the events in Watseka.  Was Lurancy the victim of a temporary psychological condition that, without our modern understanding of psychology, was left largely untreated? Were there supernatural elements at play?

The memory of the Watseka Wonder is very much alive today. If the story resonated with you, why not visit the Vennum House? It offers tours and ghost hunts. The story was also mentioned on the extremely popular historical horror podcast Lore. In 2009 the story also inspired a “documentary” called The Possessed.  Full disclosure: I haven’t seen it, so view at your own risk.

Suggested Readings:

Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey.
Possessed: Women, Witches, and Demons in Imperial Russia by Christine Worobec
Possessions: the History and Uses of Haunting in the Hudson Valley by Judith Richardson
Demon Possession in Elizabethan England by Kathleen Sands

Footnotes:

[1] “Mesmeric Mysteries,” Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH), Jun. 22, 1878.
[2] E. W. Stevens, The Watseka Wonder: A Startling and Instructive Chapter in the History of Spiritualism, (Chicago: Religio-Philospocial Publishing, 1878), 1-2.
[3] E. W. Stevens, The Watseka Wonder, 2-4.
[4] “Mesmeric Mysteries,” Cincinnati Enquirer.
[5] “Mesmeric Mysteries,” Cincinnati Enquirer; E. W. Stevents, The Watseka Wonder, 4-6.
[6] E. W. Stevens, The Watseka Wonder, 10, 13-16
[7] “The real thing,” Daily Illini (Champaign, IL) Mar. 30, 1974.
[8] E. W. Stevens, The Watseka Wonder, 12.

Other Sources Used:

“Watseka, IL.” Google Maps. Accessed October 26, 2018.
“Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2017.” United States Census Bureau. Accessed October 15, 2018.
“Vennum House,” Watsekawonder.com. Accessed Oct. 15, 2018.
Mahnke, Aaron. “Mary, Mary,” Lore. Podcast audio. Dec. 23, 2016.
“The Possessed (2009).” IMDb. Accessed Oct. 15, 2018.

Housed at the southern end of campus, right next to Orchard Downs, is the university’s Student Life and Culture Archive. Dedicated to preserving the history of student life on campus, this archive holds a wide variety of artifacts. From old newspapers to interviews to clothing, they have something that is bound to be of interest to everyone. There is no assignment required to visit, just a curiosity for what you’ll find there.

The question then is what exactly will I find there? The short answer is, a lot. For example, are you in a sorority or fraternity? Then you’re in luck because the archive has complete histories of 16 different chapters as well as a good deal of documentation on others. You can find everything from membership requirements to event information dating back to the founding of many of these chapters.

Perhaps you want to look into academics from the school’s early years. Want notes from a Constitutional History and Logic class from the late 1800’s? The archives have you covered with notes written by Alfred Gregory. Or if engineering is more of interest to you then you can access class notes from a senior level Civil Engineering course, about local bridges, from 1930. (Please note it is probable that the courses have changed in content over the years so maybe don’t try to copy these notes instead of attending class. Or do, I am not here to tell you how to live your life.)

If you are interested more in the social side of student life then you may be drawn to documents from numerous student organizations on campus including copies of the African-American Cultural Program publications from the 1960’s through the 2000’s. There are also copies of student comedy newspapers including the Illini Mothers’ Tyme (1969) and Booze News (2004-2006).

If you have an interest in politics you may want to look in the archives University of Illinois in the Cold War Era LibGuide which provides links to numerous resources within the archives. Included is a link to the photography subject file which houses pictures from the famous March Riots that shook campus during the 1970’s. There is also the collection of unrest documents which include flyers in favor of protesting the Vietnam War. Or perhaps you can read the Walrus, a student run alternative newspaper from the 1960’s.

If sports are more up your ally, these archives house a large number of documents pertaining to African American student athletes. These documents range from interviews with players such as Claude “Buddy” Young as well as a thesis written on African American athletes at Illinois in 1972.

If my best attempt at channeling a used car commercial has successfully sparked your interest then by all means head out there to visit. Simply head over to the Horticulture Field Laboratory by Orchard downs. (If you want to take the bus I’d suggest taking the Bronze 8 or the Teal 12 to the Orchard Downs North Shelter stop which is directly across the street from the lab.) Once you walk into the building take a right and on the right side you’ll see the reading room filled with wooden tables and chairs (it is almost impossible to miss.) Then present your icard to the archivist and tell them what you are looking for. Before you know it you’ll be handling notes from the time of your grandparents, no long process involved and no assignment required. If you aren’t sure where to begin, you can always look through the archive’s lib guide at https://guides.library.illinois.edu/SLC or simply ask one of the archivists for advice. While you’re there consider asking them what their favorite item in the archive is: who knows what they’ll have to show.