Simon Moody’s mom inherits her wealthy Uncle Edmund’s estate, giving them more than enough money to pay all four years of Simon’s upcoming college tuition. The only problem is, they have to leave Brooklyn, move to the little town of Caligo Falls, and make Wilder House, the infamous Victorian mansion built by Edmund’s grandfather in 1905, their new home. They’ve also inherited a mysterious caretaker named Harrington, and a punctual but melancholy cook, Mrs. Morley.

Edmund Wilder leaves Simon a mysterious ring, along with a cryptic note, a quote from Hamlet. There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Simon and his new friend Clara Barley soon find themselves entangled in the unfathomable, sometimes terrifying, sometimes heartbreaking mysteries of Wilder House.