The Horrors of the House of Wills

Hello! For those of you who do not know me, my name is Daryl Marston; I'm the former co-lead investigator of the A&E network TV series Ghost Hunters, and the author of The Horrors of the House of Wills.

In almost every interview I have done over the years, I was always asked what my most chilling paranormal investigation was; my answer was always The House of Wills in Cleveland, Ohio. For years, I was also asked to write a book about this location and investigation.

I have investigated over 400 locations in the almost twenty years that I have been investigating the paranormal, but nothing has come close to being as dark of a location as The House of Wills. When people ask me what it was like, I can only explain it as a living, breathing organism that attracts human energy and feeds off it, much like a leech does the blood of an unwilling victim. The energy in these types of locations seems to be brought on by layers of negative events over a long period of time, and when a human host is introduced into the equation it can allow this type of negative energy an opportunity to feed and grow. Some investigators call this a slow burn, as do I.

I truly believe that The House of Wills is one of those slow-burn type of cases that feed off a human host and somehow control their emotions once it has its hooks in a victim. I have seen this type of haunt on several occasions, but never to the extent that I witnessed there with my own two eyes (along with the eyes of several other eyewitnesses who are mentioned in the book). This type of case is very rare and dangerous for everyone involved, especially the owner of the property. In this case, though, I would consider him not as much the owner, but the steward of the location, because I believe no one can honestly own or control The House of Wills. I also believe in a lot of ways the house owns him now. Once it can no longer control him or he breaks away it will then search for another victim to harvest energy and control. I consider myself very lucky and blessed to have been able to walk away from that investigation and to be able to tell my story of what happened to me and the other investigators that unfortunate night.

Another reason I consider The House of Wills such an insanely active and dark location is the history of the building, from its glory days until its demise in the early 2000s. This location has worn many hats since it was designed and built by a high-ranking architect of the Masonic temple in the late 1800s. It was a German social club, then a hospital, and then Cleveland's largest African American funeral home and mortuary. This location has seen its share of both the good and the bad over the years. The House of Wills closed its doors in the early 2000s and soon fell into disarray from exposure to the elements and standing vacant for almost a decade. At that time a gentleman by the name of Eric Freeman purchased the property. Eric is a well-known Satanist in the Cleveland area who brought his beliefs with him into the location, which added to the layers of the location's history. In my opinion, all of this has made the House of Wills what it is today: a ticking time bomb of negative paranormal activity waiting to take advantage of anyone who dares to cross over its threshold.

The House of Wills is not to be taken lightly by even the most seasoned investigator, and it is a location I would avoid at all costs if you have any kind of stress or other issues in your life. What I mean by this is that if you have any kind of problems with relationships, finances, or health, do not investigate locations like this one. These types of hauntings can latch on to the energy you are carrying from these personal issues and then turn them against you, making them even worse than before you visited this type of place.

I always try to encourage new and young investigators to avoid these types of places at all costs. If you are not mentally prepared for a location such as The House of Wills, it can very well destroy your life. As you will read in The Horrors of the House of Wills, that is what almost happened to me. I had no idea what I was walking into as an investigator, and I paid the price for it in many ways. One of my goals is to educate other investigators on the dangers of these types of hauntings and what not to do when investigating some of these more sinister haunts if you cannot avoid them. Writing this book allowed me to take what I learned from investigating the House of Wills and share it with you.

Be safe out there and Happy Hunting.