Tied in with the 2015 book by the author with the same title. This presentation will delve into the connection between actual history and ghost stories, proving once and for all that even if a haunting can't be validated, ghost stories are part of history.  This program also shows what happened when James A. Willis, sometimes called 'Weird Willis', got to spend the night, sometimes alone, inside over 20 different historic buildings in Ohio that some people believe are haunted.  

James A. Willis, fueled by a steady childhood diet of Boo Berry cereal, Creepy magazine, and late-night Vincent Price movies, soon developed a taste for the unexplained and quickly began seeking out all things strange and spooky. When he wasn't trying to coax the boogeyman out from under his bed for a photo shoot, Willis pondered such eternal questions as what happens to us when we die, is there life on other planets, and what possesses someone to decorate their house with 1,001 milk jugs?

In 2015, Willis released Ohio's Historic Haunts: Investigating the Paranormal in the Buckeye State. A joint effort with Kent State University Press, the book approached hauntings and ghost stories from a historical perspective and chronicled Willis' personal experiences when locked inside of some of Ohio's most haunted locations. Willis currently resides in Galena, Ohio, with his wife and daughter, two narcoleptic cats, and one Queen-loving parrot.

His book will be available for purchase on the night of the program and at the program location.