Small Town Whispers

A Letter From Heaven and a Warning

28 min · 1 de may de 2026
Portada del episodio A Letter From Heaven and a Warning

Descripción

We'd love to hear from you! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/fan_mail/new] A child’s body goes still. A household runs out of options. Then an ordinary white envelope drifts down from the ceiling with instructions detailed enough to save a life. We’re back in Watseka, Illinois, digging deeper into the infamous Lurancy Vennum possession and exorcism case, and the moment Dr. Stevens realizes something unseen might be answering him. We track the emotional cost alongside the paranormal claims: the exhaustion inside the Roff home, the relief when “Mary” speaks again, and the heartbreak of a mother lighting a single birthday candle for the daughter who isn’t really there. Outside the home, the pressure turns public. Easter at the Methodist Church brings a petition, threats, and a demand that Lurancy be sent away. Faith, fear, and control collide, and the warning that follows raises the same question Watseka has asked for generations: is this danger, divinity, or something we don’t have language for yet? Then Porchlight Whispers shifts the lens to the present with a Reddit story [https://www.reddit.com/r/Paranormal/comments/1e5xjuz/my_fiancé_is_speaking_to_me_from_the_other_side/] about signs from the other side: a fiancé’s name appearing everywhere, a meaningful song arriving at the exact moment it’s needed, and a dream that asks, “Did you get the message?” We share perspectives from comfort to skepticism, including the uneasy possibility that not every “sign” is what it seems. If you’ve ever felt a message brush past the edge of the explainable, we want to hear it. Subscribe, share Small Town Whispers with a friend who loves true history and the paranormal, and leave a rating and review so more listeners can find the show. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/support] If this show resonates with you, please hit follow, share it with a friend who loves true history and the paranormal, and leave a rating and review. It really helps us get discovered, and it helps boost my morale!  If you’ve enjoyed listening and you would like to support the show, please consider donating through the following, which are also listed at the end of the episode: Venmo- Bethany-Borden-1 Paypal- BethanyBorden865 Buzzsprout website [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/support] CashApp- $SmallTownWhispers Please share your stories with us at porchlightwhispers@gmail.com  or send us a message on the Small Town Whispers Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581954877702]!  You'll also want to head to our Patreon page [https://patreon.com/SmallTownWhispersMidnightSociety?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] for exclusive footage of the Roff house, bonus listener stories, and more!  Did you know we’re on YouTube?! I dare you to put it on at bedtime. https://www.youtube.com/@SmallTownWhispersPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@SmallTownWhispersPodcast] Don't forget to tell a friend or family member about the show.  Thank you!

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27 episodios

Portada del episodio Hello, Goodbye

Hello, Goodbye

We'd love to hear from you! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/fan_mail/new] Water is not supposed to burn, and yet that’s exactly where this story goes. We pick up the final excerpt from Watseka, America’s Most Extraordinary Case of Possession and Exorcism, and it turns into one of the most intense seance scenes I’ve ever read. Then the narrative cuts to Hickory Street, where Lavinia Durst hears someone inside her home.  After that, I switch gears into Porchlight Whispers with guest Billy Lewis, a filmmaker who built Scare Network, a streaming platform for paranormal documentaries, horror, true crime, and monsters. Billy talks skepticism, EVPs, shadow figures, and the kind of evidence that changes you, including a chilling scream caught on camera during the Malifice shoot and the one abandoned hospital where he truly felt watched. https://www.scarenetwork.tv/ [https://www.scarenetwork.tv/] https://www.facebook.com/ScareNetwork [https://www.facebook.com/ScareNetwork] https://www.youtube.com/@scarenetworktv [https://www.youtube.com/@scarenetworktv] If you’re into the Watseka Wonder, possession and exorcism history, haunted locations in America, or modern paranormal investigation, queue this one up. Subscribe, share it with a friend who loves the strange, and leave a review with your theory about what really happened here. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/support] If this show resonates with you, please hit follow, share it with a friend who loves true history and the paranormal, and leave a rating and review. It really helps us get discovered, and it helps boost my morale!  If you’ve enjoyed listening and you would like to support the show, please consider donating through the following, which are also listed at the end of the episode: Venmo- Bethany-Borden-1 Paypal- BethanyBorden865 Buzzsprout website [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/support] CashApp- $SmallTownWhispers Please share your stories with us at porchlightwhispers@gmail.com  or send us a message on the Small Town Whispers Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581954877702]!  You'll also want to head to our Patreon page [https://patreon.com/SmallTownWhispersMidnightSociety?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] for exclusive footage of the Roff house, bonus listener stories, and more!  Did you know we’re on YouTube?! I dare you to put it on at bedtime. https://www.youtube.com/@SmallTownWhispersPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@SmallTownWhispersPodcast] Don't forget to tell a friend or family member about the show.  Thank you!

5 de jun de 202630 min
Portada del episodio The Unforsaken Chair

The Unforsaken Chair

We'd love to hear from you! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/fan_mail/new] A seance isn’t supposed to turn physical, but this one does. We’re back inside the Roff Home circle for the second part of the seance being held by Mary/Lurancy.  Then the porch light clicks on in Wilmington, North Carolina, and my guest Sarah, a true Wilmington native, walks us through the haunted locations she’s convinced still hold energy. We talk about the USO building on Orange Street and the way a historic theater space can feel “loud” after traged. From there, we head to Bellamy Mansion, where a widow’s walk turns cold and a sealed-off room becomes the setting for Sarah’s most unsettling memory. We close at Oakdale Cemetery, where childhood curiosity about channeling collides with a moment that feels far too specific to brush off, and we pull the thread that runs through everything tonight: why some people feel open to the unexplained, and why some towns feel like they keep what happened there. If you love paranormal podcasts, real ghost stories, haunted Wilmington history, and the Watseka possession case, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who sleeps with the lights on, and leave a review so more listeners can find us. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/support] If this show resonates with you, please hit follow, share it with a friend who loves true history and the paranormal, and leave a rating and review. It really helps us get discovered, and it helps boost my morale!  If you’ve enjoyed listening and you would like to support the show, please consider donating through the following, which are also listed at the end of the episode: Venmo- Bethany-Borden-1 Paypal- BethanyBorden865 Buzzsprout website [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/support] CashApp- $SmallTownWhispers Please share your stories with us at porchlightwhispers@gmail.com  or send us a message on the Small Town Whispers Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581954877702]!  You'll also want to head to our Patreon page [https://patreon.com/SmallTownWhispersMidnightSociety?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] for exclusive footage of the Roff house, bonus listener stories, and more!  Did you know we’re on YouTube?! I dare you to put it on at bedtime. https://www.youtube.com/@SmallTownWhispersPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@SmallTownWhispersPodcast] Don't forget to tell a friend or family member about the show.  Thank you!

29 de may de 202625 min
Portada del episodio Another Daughter Appears

Another Daughter Appears

We'd love to hear from you! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/fan_mail/new] A wound that vanishes by sundown. A dining room cleared like a stage. Twelve chairs set in a circle with one seat left empty and untouchable. I’m taking you back to Watseka, Illinois and the Roff House, where the final seance begins to form around Lurancy Vennum with a level of planning that feels equal parts family gathering and ritual. Before the lamps are turned down, I share something personal: how fear and perfectionism kept me from publishing creative work for years, and why finishing this season matters to me. Then we return to the pages of Watseka as Mary directs the room, assigns seats like a clock face, and insists on absolute trust. A small basin of water appears, a protective charm is brought into the circle, and the group joins hands as Lurancy slips into stillness. What follows is why this story has never let go of people. A new voice breaks through, and it’s not subtle. Two brand new voices appear out of thin air, seeking through Lurancy. Tune in to her channel in this episode. If you’ve been following this Watseka possession and exorcism journey, this chapter is the hinge that swings everything forward. Subscribe, share Small Town Whispers with a friend who loves paranormal history, and leave a rating and review so more listeners can find the show. And if you’ve got a story of your own, email Porchlight Whispers at gmail.com or message the Small Town Whispers Facebook page. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/support] If this show resonates with you, please hit follow, share it with a friend who loves true history and the paranormal, and leave a rating and review. It really helps us get discovered, and it helps boost my morale!  If you’ve enjoyed listening and you would like to support the show, please consider donating through the following, which are also listed at the end of the episode: Venmo- Bethany-Borden-1 Paypal- BethanyBorden865 Buzzsprout website [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/support] CashApp- $SmallTownWhispers Please share your stories with us at porchlightwhispers@gmail.com  or send us a message on the Small Town Whispers Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581954877702]!  You'll also want to head to our Patreon page [https://patreon.com/SmallTownWhispersMidnightSociety?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] for exclusive footage of the Roff house, bonus listener stories, and more!  Did you know we’re on YouTube?! I dare you to put it on at bedtime. https://www.youtube.com/@SmallTownWhispersPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@SmallTownWhispersPodcast] Don't forget to tell a friend or family member about the show.  Thank you!

22 de may de 202627 min
Portada del episodio A Double Warning

A Double Warning

We'd love to hear from you! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/fan_mail/new] A brother shows up at the door with his hat in his hands and a request that sounds simple: “Can Rancy come see Ma?” That one question pulls the Roff household back into the most volatile part of the Watseka-inspired possession story, where every choice feels like it could tip the case toward healing or disaster. Bethany and the Small Town Whispers team walk you through a chapter where love is real, the fear is louder, and the town is watching. We start with a quick, important reminder that this is a fictional retelling loosely inspired by The Watseka Wonder and Dr. E. W. Stevens’ 1878 account, with dramatic liberties taken for storytelling. From there, the tension climbs fast: Henry Vennum worries about a petition to have Lurancy committed, Lurinda Vennum arrives in tears to see her daughter, and the fragile peace at the Roff home feels like it might finally hold. Then Loozie returns to Watseka, and a single church visit detonates into a brutal confrontation that leaves blood on a Sunday sidewalk and a warning no one can pretend they didn’t see. Under the Porchlight Whispers segment, we zoom out into paranormal history and American spiritualism, tracing the Hydesville farmhouse, the Fox Sisters, and the infamous knocks that helped spark a national obsession with séances and spirit communication. Was it trickery, mass grief, or something genuinely unexplained? We sit with the question that keeps haunting every ghost story: if someone you loved could reach back from the other side, would you answer? If you’ve ever had signs you couldn’t deny, email us at Porchlight Whispers at gmail.com, then subscribe, share this episode with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/support] If this show resonates with you, please hit follow, share it with a friend who loves true history and the paranormal, and leave a rating and review. It really helps us get discovered, and it helps boost my morale!  If you’ve enjoyed listening and you would like to support the show, please consider donating through the following, which are also listed at the end of the episode: Venmo- Bethany-Borden-1 Paypal- BethanyBorden865 Buzzsprout website [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/support] CashApp- $SmallTownWhispers Please share your stories with us at porchlightwhispers@gmail.com  or send us a message on the Small Town Whispers Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581954877702]!  You'll also want to head to our Patreon page [https://patreon.com/SmallTownWhispersMidnightSociety?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] for exclusive footage of the Roff house, bonus listener stories, and more!  Did you know we’re on YouTube?! I dare you to put it on at bedtime. https://www.youtube.com/@SmallTownWhispersPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@SmallTownWhispersPodcast] Don't forget to tell a friend or family member about the show.  Thank you!

15 de may de 202624 min
Portada del episodio A Letter From Heaven and a Warning

A Letter From Heaven and a Warning

We'd love to hear from you! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/fan_mail/new] A child’s body goes still. A household runs out of options. Then an ordinary white envelope drifts down from the ceiling with instructions detailed enough to save a life. We’re back in Watseka, Illinois, digging deeper into the infamous Lurancy Vennum possession and exorcism case, and the moment Dr. Stevens realizes something unseen might be answering him. We track the emotional cost alongside the paranormal claims: the exhaustion inside the Roff home, the relief when “Mary” speaks again, and the heartbreak of a mother lighting a single birthday candle for the daughter who isn’t really there. Outside the home, the pressure turns public. Easter at the Methodist Church brings a petition, threats, and a demand that Lurancy be sent away. Faith, fear, and control collide, and the warning that follows raises the same question Watseka has asked for generations: is this danger, divinity, or something we don’t have language for yet? Then Porchlight Whispers shifts the lens to the present with a Reddit story [https://www.reddit.com/r/Paranormal/comments/1e5xjuz/my_fiancé_is_speaking_to_me_from_the_other_side/] about signs from the other side: a fiancé’s name appearing everywhere, a meaningful song arriving at the exact moment it’s needed, and a dream that asks, “Did you get the message?” We share perspectives from comfort to skepticism, including the uneasy possibility that not every “sign” is what it seems. If you’ve ever felt a message brush past the edge of the explainable, we want to hear it. Subscribe, share Small Town Whispers with a friend who loves true history and the paranormal, and leave a rating and review so more listeners can find the show. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/support] If this show resonates with you, please hit follow, share it with a friend who loves true history and the paranormal, and leave a rating and review. It really helps us get discovered, and it helps boost my morale!  If you’ve enjoyed listening and you would like to support the show, please consider donating through the following, which are also listed at the end of the episode: Venmo- Bethany-Borden-1 Paypal- BethanyBorden865 Buzzsprout website [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539508/support] CashApp- $SmallTownWhispers Please share your stories with us at porchlightwhispers@gmail.com  or send us a message on the Small Town Whispers Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581954877702]!  You'll also want to head to our Patreon page [https://patreon.com/SmallTownWhispersMidnightSociety?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] for exclusive footage of the Roff house, bonus listener stories, and more!  Did you know we’re on YouTube?! I dare you to put it on at bedtime. https://www.youtube.com/@SmallTownWhispersPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@SmallTownWhispersPodcast] Don't forget to tell a friend or family member about the show.  Thank you!

1 de may de 202628 min