Renowned author Ezekiel Holloway (also known as Zeke), spent most of his life in orphanages after his father's death and his mother's disappearance during the Civil War.

His desperation in a search for a job to help finance his passion leads him to discover a misleading newspaper advertisement about being a caretaker for the aforementioned mansion.

When he awakes, Zeke meets a spirit in a crystal ball named Madame Leota, who informs him of the reason he was lured, as well as the mansion's history.

Leota reveals that Atticus Thorn has trapped 999 souls in the mansion as part of his attempt to take over the afterlife and should be sent into the Depths of the Afterdeath.

During the briefing, she gives him a magic lantern called Beacon of Souls, which can fight off dark forces and destroy the evil for good.

After fighting dozens of enemies, Zeke eventually gains a pirate's ring that unlocks a passageway to the Vault of Shadows, Atticus Thorn's secret lair behind a painting in the Foyer.

Each room will offer a variety of challenges through fighting increasingly difficult enemies and providing unique problem-solving opportunities and puzzles.

The enemies the player encounters begin as simple ghosts and small spiders, but will progressively become more difficult deeper into the mansion.

There are many examples of this, such as rooms where the bookcases will move around or float, and the player must make a series of jumps in order to successfully reach the light switch.

A more unique example is seen in the Observatory in which the player looks through the telescope and is transported in to space, having to make a series of jumps in low gravity traversing various pieces of rubble.

When not focusing on platforming, the player can expect to see very unique puzzles or challenges such as being shrunk down and placed onto a billiards table, while a ghostly hand takes shots at them with the cue ball.

This gameplay cycle will repeat until Zeke has collected all 6 soul gems (with the sixth being embedded in a ring), which allows him access to the final boss room.