BEAR VALLEY MANOR

1

This story begins like many other stories before it, with a house. Much like the cliche goes, this was no ordinary home. Standing in stark contrast to the bright, red, and orange landscape of the California desert surrounding it, the Bear Valley Manor was a once majestic, now gnarled gothic style home. It's dark, broken walls mixed with the haunting gargoyles watching over the four-story manor. Of course, the other cliche about the manor was that it was haunted.

At least that was the legend in the small town of Apple Valley. According to the locals who grew up in the small desert town, the Gothic Manor was built in the late 1920s and finished construction on October 30th, 1930. It was commissioned by millionaire Maxwell Williams, a real estate magnate who had helped fill several cities and towns in Southern California with bustling suburban neighborhoods and shopping centers. He was 40 years old at the time the home was finished building and moved into it with his wife, Delores.

Delores "Harwell" Williams was born in a small North Carolina town and grew up with the dreams of so many other young women before her: to become an actress. With stars in her eyes and hope in her heart, she made her way to Hollywood when she was a teenager, but after years of rejection and heartache, she found the dream she thought she had was not her heart's true passion. Instead, she had a passion for writing. As she began her journey to become a novelist, she met Maxwell at a lavish Hollywood party that a friend of hers had scored an invite to.

After a couple of drinks and conversations about the future, the two found themselves in love. Despite a ten-year age difference, the lovers found themselves unable to live without the other, and a year later they were married. As a gift to Delores, Maxwell commissioned the home to be built as inspiration for Delores to begin her writing career. His plan worked, for after a year of living in the home together, she produced her first novel.

Titled "The Haunting of Williamson Castle", the gothic era novel became a smash hit overnight. Delores watched in gleeful delight as her dreams came to life, and Maxwell stood by her side, supporting her as her star took off. Achieving a rare feat of being recognized as a novelist in an era like that, Delores Williams became one of the world's foremost horror writers at the time. Sadly, this was to be her one and only novel.

On October 31st, 1934, Maxwell and Delores Williams were murdered in Bear Valley Manor. Once an ode to the love Maxwell and Delores had for one another, the couple were instead massacred within the home. An unknown assailant broke into the home while the couple was away earlier in the day, and waited in the unused wing of the 4th floor until night arrived. A rainstorm hit the small town that night, crafting an atmosphere made and suited for a night of horror. As thunder cracked across the cloudy sky that night, the assailant made their way into the couple's bedroom, where they proceeded to use an ax to kill the couple.

Delores star power and Maxwell's wealthy connections made their murder front-page news, but the fact the murders took place on Halloween night and that police never found any evidence to point to a specific perpetrator turned the story into a legend. Rumors over the decades have warped the true story of course. Some locals say that Maxwell found Delores with another man, and killed her before killing himself. Others say the couple disappeared, and because of their celebrity status officials made up a story to cover up the fact that they had vanished altogether. Some rumors held more weight than others, but the truth can never stay buried for long.

Over the years, the home that had built with love and inspiration fell into disrepair. No one has ever been able to sell the property. Any attempts to tear down the home have ended with entire construction and demolition crews fleeing the home, and although they never spoke of the reason why everyone knew they had been chased off by the ghosts of Maxwell and Delores. Finally, a real estate firm known as Starstruck Reality purchased the property, and mysteriously never built anything upon the land. Instead, they left the decaying home alone, fencing it off from the public eye.

It is here, on this land and in this once-promising manor, that I am going to find my story. I am going to go into this manor and discover whether the legends are true. I am either going to find the ghosts of Maxwell and Delores Williams or prove once and for all that this home is nothing more than a "ghost" of a once beautiful Gothic Manor. My name is Danielle Sinclair, and tonight I am hunting for the dead.