Paranormal record / 1948
August 7, 1948. A small brown spot appeared on the wallpaper of a farmhouse outside Macomb, Illinois. It smoldered. It spread. Then it burst into flames. In the first week, Charles Willey's family counted more than 200 fires, about 20 a day. Walls. Curtains. An ironing board. A cloth on a bed. The house had no electricity. Soon the farmhouse and two barns were gone, and on a single day more than 1,000 spectators came to look. Then came a confession. The owner's niece said she had used matches. Paranormal writers have questioned that answer ever since.
The Willey farm lay outside Macomb, in McDonough County, Illinois. Charles Willey, Charley or Charlie to the papers, lived there with his wife. With them was their niece, Wonet McNeil, 12 or 13 depending on the source. Her parents were divorced. Her mother lived in Bloomington, and Wonet had recently visited her. The farmhouse had no electricity. Faulty wiring was ruled out from the start.