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From the mediums of Spiritualism's golden age to the ghost hunters of the modern era, Taylor shines a light on the phantasms and frauds of the past, the first researchers who dared to investigate the unknown, and the stories and events that galvanized the pubic and created the paranormal field that we know today.

According to legend, one of the strangest possessions in American history occurred in the small Illinois town of Watseka in 1878, creating a mystery that endures to this day. But what really happened in this enigmatic case and how much of the mysterious story that has been told over the years --- about the spirit of one dead girl invading the body of a living one - is truth and how much is fiction? Author Troy Taylor, one of the leading researchers into the supernatural in the country, has spent years delving into the facts behind this chilling story - searching through dusty records, wandering through old graveyards and visiting the sites associated with the case. This book, which is the first full-length, non-fiction title to be written about the case since 1879, unveils the true facts behind what occurred in Watseka in the 1870s and allows the reader to judge for himself whether Lurancy Vennum was truly possessed by the spirit of Mary Roff. This eye-opening, and sometimes terrifying book, is a must-have title for anyone with an interest in the mysterious and a taste for the unknown!