The Haunted Lemp Mansion in St Louis Missouri

The Haunted Lemp Mansion - St Louis, MO

The Lemp Brewery today. Photo by Kathy Weiser,

October, 2004.

The Lemp Mansion today is a fine restaurant, dinner

theater and Bed & Breakfast. Photo by Kathy Weiser, October, 2004.

Brother Charles eventually remodeled the mansion back into a residence and lived in the house along with two servants and the illegitimate child of his brother William. Charles, too, became an odd figure, as he grew older. Developing a morbid fear of germs, his obsessive compulsive behavior included wearing gloves at all times to avoid bacteria and constantly washing his hands. It was during this time that William's illegitimate child, now in his 30s, died at the mansion. He was buried on the Lemp Cemetery plot with only a small flat marker, with the word "Lemp."

Shortly after the "Monkey Face Boy's" death, Charles became the fourth member of the Lemp family to commit suicide. First, he shot his beloved Doberman Pinscher in the basement of the mansion. Then, climbing the staircase to his room on the second floor, he shot himself. Charles was discovered on May 10, 1949 by one of his staff, still holding a .38 caliber Army Colt revolver in his right hand. Though the dog was shot in the basement, he was found half way up the stairs.

Of the Lemps, only Edwin Lemp, who had long avoided the life that had turned so tragic for the rest of his family, remained. He was known as a quiet, reclusive man who had walked away from the Lemp Brewery in 1913 to live a peaceful life on a secluded estate in Kirkwood, Missouri. Edwin passed away quietly of natural causes at age 90 in 1970. According to Edwin’s last wishes, his butler burned all of the paintings that the Lemps had collected throughout his life, as well as priceless Lemp family documents and artifacts. These irreplaceable pieces of history vanished in the smoke of a blazing bonfire.

The Lemp family line died out with him and the family's resting place can now be found in beautiful Bellefontaine Cemetery.

After the death of Charles Lemp, the mansion was sold and turned into a boarding house. Along with the nearby neighborhood, the building began to deteriorate, and the haunting tales began. Residents complained of ghostly knocks and phantom footsteps being heard throughout the house. As these stories spread, tenants were hard to find for the boarding house and it continued to decline to a near flophouse status.

Lemp Family Burial Site, Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri. Amy Stark, September, 2005.

However, in 1975, the old mansion was saved when Dick Pointer and his family purchased it. Immediately they began to renovate the building, turning it into a restaurant and inn. Workers within the house often told stories of apparitions, strange sounds, vanishing tools, and a feeling of being watched. Frightened by the hauntings, many would leave the job site never to return.

Since the restaurant opened, staff members have reported several strange experiences. Again, apparitions appear and then quickly vanish, voices and sounds come from nowhere, and glasses will often lift off the bar flying through the air by themselves. On other occasions, doors are said to lock and unlock by themselves, lights inexplicably turn on and off of their own free will, and the piano bar often plays when no one is near.

Said to be haunted by several members of the Lemp family, there are three areas of the old mansion that have the most activity -- the stairway, the attic, and what the staff refers to as, the "Gates of Hell" in the basement. It is this area of the basement that used to be the entrance to the caves running below the mansion and the brewery.

The attic is said to be haunted by William, Jr's illegitimate son, referred to only as the "Monkey Face Boy." This poor soul, born with Down's Syndrome, spent his entire life locked in the attic of the Lemp Mansion. Strange occurrences are often witnessed on this third floor level of the mansion. The face of the boy has regularly been seen from the street peeking from the small windows of the mansion. Ghost investigators have often left toys in the middle of his room, drawing a circle around them to see if the objects have been moved. Consistently, when they return the next day, the toys are found in another location.

In the downstairs women's bathroom, which was once William, Jr's personal domain and held the first free standing shower in St. Louis, many women have reported a man peeking over the stall. On one such occasion, a woman emerged from the bathroom, returning to the bar and and stated to the two men she was there with: "I hope you got an eyeful!" However, the two men quickly denied ever having left the bar, for which the bartender verified. This ghost is said to be that of the womanizing William Jr.

In William Lemp, Sr's room, guests have often reported hearing someone running up the stairs and kicking at the door. When William killed himself, William Jr was known to have ran up the stairs to his father's room and finding it locked began to kick the door in to get to his father.

Several years ago a part time tour guide reported hearing the sounds of horses outside the the room where William Lemp, Sr had kept his office. However, when the tour guide looked through the window, nothing was there. This area, north of the mansion and now used as a parking lot, was once utilized as a tethering lot for horses.

The Women's Restroom on the main floor of the

Lemp Mansion was once the personal domain of

William Lemp, Jr. October, 2004, Kathy Weiser.

(Click picture to see an enlarged version)

The mansion has been featured in a number of magazine articles and newspapers and now attracts ghost hunters from around the country. Today it features a bed and breakfast with rooms restored in period style, a restaurant featuring fine dining, and a mystery dinner theater. Tours are also available at the mansion.

The Lemp Mansion is located at 3322 De Menil Place, a short distance from the Mississippi River. To get there Take Broadway from Interstate 55 and follow that to Cherokee Street. Go west on Cherokee and turn right onto De Menil Place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Continued Next Page

Lemp Mansion Contact Information:

Lemp Mansion

3322 De Menil Place

St. Louis, Missouri, 63118

314-664-8024

Also See:

History of the Lemp Mansion

Legends of America Visits the Lemp Mansion

Reader's Experiences at the Lemp Mansion

St Louis - Gateway to the West

St. Louis Area Legends & Folklore

Ghosts of the Bethlehem Cemetery, St. Louis

Ghosts of Greater St. Louis

Haunted Bissell Mansion in St. Louis

Join other ghost hunters for discussions, information, advice and more at our

NEW Ghosts & Hauntings Forum!

Book your lodging in St. Louis right HERE online

Would you like to share your ghostly story or legend. If you send it on, we will feature your tale on Legends of America! Just zap us an e-mail us or post your story on our Bulletin Board

<<Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>

From the Rocky Mountain General Store

Route 66 Signs - Dozens of great metal signs to decorate that office or den. Makes a great gift for Route 66 enthusiasts and car buffs. See them all HERE!