Member-only story
The Roff House: Much More Than Your Typical Haunted House
The Watseka Wonder was America’s first documented case of spirit possession.
Tonight, my local library hosted an online Zoom presentation in anticipation of Halloween. It was a talk given by Curt Strutz, a paranormal investigator who has a show on YouTube called Paranormal Generation. During the presentation, Strutz discussed two haunted structures in America, one of them being the Hoff house in Watseka, Illinois. The story of spirit possession in the house intrigued me so I decided to look it up for further reading.
In the spirit of the upcoming holiday, here is the story of the Hoff House and the mysterious woman who said she was possessed by one of the house’s inhabitants.
Where it all began
From what I could see on Google Maps, the house is located on the north side of town, in a sparsely inhabited section and across from the park with a baseball field. A perfect place for a spooky house.
The town only has a population of little over 5,000 people. According to an article by Cassie Fortin, who grew up in the town…
