Willows Weep

Delainey Root, MVC writer
October 24, 2022

Willows Weep is called “the most evil house in America” and it is located in Cayuga, Indiana.

The appearance of the building alone adds to the creep factor. The house has a floor plan that looks similar to that of an upside-down cross. This is not a floor plan commonly seen due to the religious and demonic implications of an upside-down cross. The structure is a 1,427-square-foot single-family home.  It was rumored to have been built in 1890.

The house was shot into the public eye when the History Channel show, “The UnXplained” featured the house in episode one, “Evil Places.” Brenda Zimmerman, a paranormal investigator, now owns the property and was featured on the show. 

The house gained its title as “the most evil house in America” due to the numerous unexplained deaths in the building and the following paranormal activity. 

Minnie Lamb, the first resident of the famed house was believed to have died in the residence in 1932 of bronchial pneumonia. Minnie and her husband, Anuel Sykes, had one child before her death. They named this child Mary Mae Runyan. A doctor local to Cayuga was called into the home on January 12th, 1923. Here he said the daughter, “is under doctors care. She was nearing a nervous breakdown, but is now improving.”

 In 1999, Curtis and Cheryl Skinner purchased the home. Only two years later, Cheryl died at 42 inside the home of myocardial infarction. Curtis then died in 2006 at age 63 from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. 

The show discusses three men who were possibly poisoned in the house; however, this is difficult to find information on and cannot be confirmed.

Paranormal investigators recount experiencing attacks, disembodied voices, shadow figures and poltergeist activity. However, the house is no longer open to paranormal investigators, nor is it open to the public. 

Many people are skeptical about the “ghosts” supposedly found in this home. Real or not, this house gives many people the heebie jeebies, and many people do believe the ghost stories that surround the property.